Beyond the Clouds by Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. | Page 36

Of course, conceptual clarity and Church teaching are all important. But let us be careful: do not forget the people of God, the person created in the image and likeness of God. It is one thing to sit in an air-conditioned room, listen to Mozart, and engage in the hobby of an intellectual or rational chess game to create a theology. It is totally another thing to participate in the life-giving, saving mission of Jesus Christ of feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and raising the dead to life. This is the mission of Jesus Christ. If you are particular, call it the apostolate of Jesus Christ. But dirty your hands, go to the streets, visit the prisons, console the elderly, give a biscuit to a starving child. If you are not able to do that, you speak only empty words and engage solely in spiritual fantasy. Your high intellectual and rational boasting will mean nothing. Show the courage to go and live in Bolivia or Congo DR for a year. Then it is easier to understand what is mission. This is one of the dangers in the Church and our Religious Congregations. Beautiful sermons are prepared with much effort. That is good and needed. But the Gospel message has a simplicity of its own. Its message will touch the hearts of people when we maintain that simplicity. I heard Mother Teresa speak in the city square of Goa, India, in the 1980s. Holding the Rosary in her hands- surrounded by people of many religions- she said simply: "God so loved the world and so he sent his only Son Jesus Christ.” God loves you all. He loves the poor and downtrodden. Each one of us is created in His image and likeness. When you love the poor, you love God. Service to the poor is peace. It’s as simple as that. All were edified by these modern saint’s words; there was no question about conversion or interreligious dialogue. The human being- created in God's image and likeness- became the centre point of dialogue. A woman of God spoke, and the people listened. Mother Teresa displayed evangelisation par excellence through her entire life testimony; a mission 36