THE PRIEST AND THE URBAN POOR

The speaker has shared to us his new paradigm regarding the formation of the poor people. In the previous years he was active in the work of conducting seminars to organize the urban poor. The development work to alleviate the living conditions of the marginalized sector of the society is really complicated. In each of the poor family many problems can be identified. Thus, the emerging difficulty is how to formulate a program that would be effective and efficient.
Our resource speaker told us about his disillusionment in the development works. In a certain place, a series of formation and seminars had been conducted to ensure the viability of the program. It was meant to inculcate good values to the beneficiaries of the program implemented to ease the livelihood of the residents. The leader of that particular community had undergone the seminars and promised to support the program. It was only later in the ongoing implementation that the priest discovered the corrupt practices.
The result of the evaluation shows that the seminars conducted had only a very minimal impact. One of the reasons that he found out is the consideration of a meaningful education. He gave the example of the case of the Basic Ecclesial Communities in which the seminars given have no lasting effect. There is no clear assurance of an effective formation since the seldas formed do not prosper.
That priest’s paradigm shift had given us an alternative view regarding formation. He followed Mother Theresa’s principle of a family-based and family-oriented education. This means that learning must start in the family especially during the childhood years. Our speaker proposed a system in which a family is to be adopted. He said that this family must be carefully chosen among the poor. In his experience as he shared to us, he saw the growth of the children and as they grow into mature individuals they know how to look back where they came from. Those who became successful in life now are actually sharing their resources to help those who are in need. This experience is contrasted with the situation of the beneficiaries of many seminars conducted for livelihood. It has been observed that these people are too far behind in terms of values with those who started their formation in childhood.
Our speaker proposed that in any effort for the urban poor the words of Mother Theresa must be taken into consideration. According to Mother Theresa, education starts from conception. So, any psychosomatic problems could be traced from childhood. And any problem that occurs in adulthood could be helped by supplying what has been lacking during childhood.
Considering all these things, in the work concerning urban poor backing-up is needed in order to attain lasting effect. Even the formation of BECs, as an example, mostly had been unsuccessful because of the vague element of education. Thus, we are encouraged to commit our whole self. In the work of the church we have only given a part of ourselves but not totally. This is the challenge to the priest to give himself totally and to become open to the reality that confronts him in the ministry. This means an attitude of openness to the possibilities present in reality. And in the ministry we need to have a deep trust that the Lord is present in each of us.
This paradigm that has been presented is an eye-opener for a wider horizon. We might not be able to see the results in our lifetime, but we have done our share in making people come into the attainment of a better life and being liberated from a miserable life of poverty. But how about those poor people who are presently suffering and continue to exist in a dehumanizing situation?
We face a world in which poverty is caused by organized greed, and we who take pride in being called Christians, being called “Children of the Light,” should organize ourselves to counteract organized greed with organized care. And care not just for the soul, but also for the body, because this is what is close to the heart of Jesus. He asks us, “When I was hungry, did you feed me? When I was thirsty did you give me drink?” Today, to where the needs of the poor be placed? Is it not on the hands of the Church who continues the work of Jesus in caring for the poor, the neglected, the excluded, the marginalized, and the oppressed sector of our society?