For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.
This is one of my favorite sections of scripture. Jesus is telling a story about the king who separates people, the good and kindly, from the not so good. To the group he says that when I was hungry you gave me food. In confusion, they all protest, questioning when they’d seen him hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or in prison? To the good and kindly people he said whenever they did these things to the least of his family, they did for him. And likewise to the not-so-good, he said that when they saw the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned and did nothing, they did the same for him.
In our tradition, our baptismal covenant echoes these words. Will you seek and serve Christ in all people? I absolutely believe God is in all of us; the Holy Spirit connects us all and Christ is fully human in all. So when we feed, clothe, visit, heal the least, we do this to Christ himself.
Louise de Marillac was a lesser-known companion of St. Vincent de Paul, champion and servant of the poor. She assisted de Paul in his charitable missions for the desolate and poor. Eventually, she realized she needed more help and sought that help from the very people she was serving. She invited four country girls who, because they themselves were weighed down by destitution and suffering, they had the right attitude and constitution to work with others. This was the beginning of the Daughters of Charity. Louise de Marillac would urge the sisters “Love the poor and honor them as you would honor Christ Himself.” This was the foundation of their order.
Shouldn’t this be the foundation of our lives? As Christ says, "for just as you did to the least these, you did it to me." I pray that I see Christ in all people today, affording the compassion deserving of all.
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