Here we go again. The annual “eating less” season! The fasting, abstinence, no chocolate or coffee, cutting back “maybe this Lent I will finally lose weight” time of the year.
What does eating, or eating less, have to do with following Jesus?
There are lots of stories in the gospels about eating. One of the more powerful ones is in the gospel of Mark, where the evangelist gives us the story of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus calls on his disciples to do something about other people’s hunger.
There are over one billion people in the world today who do not know whether they will eat on any given day. It is the first time in the history of the human race that such a number of people are food insecure.
I had felt like being in the wonder land as Fr. Joseph and I traveled in Uyuni well known for its salt desert. During the travel, both of us severly suffered from headaches because of the altitude. La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, is located on the top of the Andes Mountain which is over 3,600 meter.
We took a bus for 12 hours to get to Uyuni and then drove a SUV for a couple of hours to get to the salt desert. It was spellbinding. I uploaded some pictures in my Flickr that you can find in the right column of the homepage. Just click the Flick sign to be in the wonder land!
It has been a week since I came back to Bolivia to visit my priest classmate. How good to be with a friend in the foreign soil! He seems to really enjoy ministering to Bolivians which is an inspiration to me.
After the last mass in 2009, the four Korean priests including me visited a house. The room was so small and poor that two parents and four children share four beds and temporary kitchen outside. Nevertheless their hospitality is no less than a five-star hotel’s. Probably they served to us very poignant food for the family. As the time was closer to the midnight, I could hear more fireworks. My friend explained that Bolivians love to do fireworks for the special holidays such as Christmas and New Year. Although they are poor, he continued to tell, they know how to celebrate and express their joy. Listening to the cheap fireworks’ sounds, I knew that it was a special and blessed moment to celebrate the new year among the poor. In the southern hemisphere, wearing a short sleeve T-shirt, I was looking at the sky decorated with splendid colors and sounds. I wish every Bolivian find happiness in touch life and the missionaries live well among them as good brothers. What a beautiful night!
Recently, I have joined one of a million Catholic voices working to confront global poverty. I believe that the fact we all know about global poverty is not real until we take a concrete step to make a difference. By learning about the issues affecting our brothers and sisters worldwide and taking action in support of changes, we will fulfill our responsibility as one of human family and will improve their lives.
One million Catholic voices can make a real difference. So I commit myself to recruit ten people from my network to joinCatholics Confront Global Poverty. Please consider to do this sign-up invitation and invite others to promote human life and dignity by working to confront and end global poverty.
