Community meal

The Community Meal board has approved this image for the flyers, and is waiting for a real charcoal drawing to have also as a poster. I am excited about the prospect of helping in an enterprise like this one, and there are many questions in the back of my mind that I wanted to ponder before the day of the first meal.

One of the things that I am very glad is the anonymous character of the ministry, feeding the poor can be sometimes difficult, especially when the families that most need it do not come out and ask for help. In a community meal such this one though, nobody knows the real need that you have, for some families may be the actual material food, but for others it may just be the need for some encouraging conversation, thus everybody's needs could be meet in an anonymous way.

The question that I have is mainly how to adress the plurality of faiths in such a gathering. We know that there would be people from every path in life, and from every different religion or confession of faith. How is one to behave in such a place as to be guided by the Holy Spirit?

One thing that is noteworthy is that many people get thrown back when talked about the gospel, or even when they see that we are professing one faith, other people feel rejected or not welcomed if you have a different faith or if you disagree with the tenets of your respective different churches.

On the other hand, to erase God from the picture or even the Truths that originate a work of Mercy as such, is to be cheating, and eventually will leave the ministry dry and empty of meaning.

I juts read an excellent article by Father Alfonso Galvez, in the Latin Mass, The Journal of Catholic Culture and Tradition, Vol. 18, n3., where he talks  about Love for the Truth. He says:  " Since the first Love is God, it follows that to forget or to be ignorant of that Love is to forget or to be ignorant of God. And since God is also supreme Truth, the absence of God leads in the same way to being deprived of truth.....Like everything that is the product of Kingdom of Lies, the only place that these paths will bring man is to perdition. the Truth alone, which is what shows man the path of holiness, is the only thing that can lead to the fullness of the new man. The truth is the only thing that can set man free (Jn 8:32) and bring him to holiness. That was what our Lord prayed would be given His disciples when He said, in His farewell address, Father, sanctify them in the Truth (Jn 17:17).

I do not view this Community Meal as an ecumenical gathering of some sorts, which would not be charitable after all, but yet, how you bring Truth without offending? How you bring Truth with Love? How you bring the real Charity?

I know that for example, the Anabaptists do not have any zeal in converting people, or saving the souls of their English neighbors. I think they have their eyes focused in teaching their family in the faith and in this way they are expanding very efficiently. They are also big in leading by example, and using silence as a means of disaccord between two parties, which in the extreme cases leads to the famous shunning.

Now in a Community Meal such as the one that will happen, how is one to behave? should be good in this case to observe strict silence of one's faith and just show example by actions, e.g. showing genuine interest in the people, dressing appropiately, leading one's family as is observed in one's faith but not speaking about it unless asked directly?

Or would that be a coward sign of weakness, a betrayal of Truth?

After thinking it over it dawned to me that it may be different for every person we encounter. Just like with a gift, if we really want to give something to the person that is of their liking we must first empty ourselves of our own preferences and likings, so it is the same in  this case, by emptying ourselves of our own selves, we can allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in conversations and actions, and give to each one what is best, for some might be talking about the weather, for some might be talking about God, for some might be a smile or a tending hand. I will pray those days especially for this, so that God can work through us, and Mary can be by our side.