Hope in Action

Look about you with Christ’s eyes, listen with his ears, feel and think with his heart and mind. Are you ready to give all as he did for truth and justice? Many of the examples of the suffering which our saints responded to with compassion are still found here in this city and beyond. And new injustices have arisen: some are complex and stem from the exploitation of the heart and manipulation of the mind; even our common habitat, the earth itself, groans under the weight of consumerist greed and irresponsible exploitation. We must listen deeply. We must respond with a renewed social action that stems from the universal love that knows no bounds. In this way, we ensure that our works of mercy and justice become hope in action for others.
-Pope Benedict XVI

Hope in action The Pope's words to the youth.

Last night I watched Little People, Big World. The 17 year old twins volunteered to help families whose homes were damaged in a flood. Jeremy said very simply that he put himself in their places, and thought about how he would feel if he and his family lost everything and no one showed up to help. It was a simple but powerful statement of a growing maturity from a teenager.

How would I feel if that happened to me?
What if no one showed up to help?

But then when he and his brother Zach showed up to help, there was a really distasteful job to be done. Someone had to climb into the flooded basement and clean out the ducts. Zach's reaction was to jokingly say he was a good size for that, considering he's got dwarfism. Both he and his twin Jeremy volunteered along with a few other teens and climbed down an open window to the basement. It was smelly. Gross. One of the homeowners was crying because people he didn't even know showed up to offer so much help.

Hope in action. People don't need words. They don't need platitudes or advice. I can't tell you how many times I hear from people in a jam who are reaching out through email for help. Where are their neighbors, their churches, their community? I think as I try to help them from hundreds of miles away.

I've gotten over my discomfort at asking for help for others, but it's quite different to ask for help for myself, so I never blame people who ask me to help them find help. I know how hard it is to do. The reality is this: some people just don't hear the call when you ask. They bounce it back on you, even in your worst moment. They forget to ask:

How would I feel if that happened to me?
What if no one showed up to help?

And they miss a chance to be hope in action. Instead their response is:

I have my own problems.
Isn't there someone else you could ask?

Imagine how this would make you feel if you needed help badly. Much worse and, of course, it explains why some people won't ask for help and email someone named Wheelie Catholic.

There are a lot of good people out there. And most of us, including me, can help sometimes and at other times can't. But there's a difference between being willing to help and sometimes not being able to and an arrogant attitude that perceives the people who need the help as blameworthy. That attitude just flies in the face of hope in action and forgets to ask:

How would I feel if that happened to me?
What if no one showed up to help?