Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – “The Gospel reminds us that bread given to the poor is bread given to Jesus Himself. He takes it from us, transforms it, and the multiplies it and fills it with a new energy: it is the ‘daily bread’ that the Lord taught us to ask for, from the Father.” These are the opening words of the Message for Thanksgiving Day in Italy 2008, which will be celebrated on Sunday, November 9. The Message is entitled “I was hungry and you gave me food.” (Mt. 25:35), and was issued by the Italian Bishops' Commission for Social and Labor Questions and Justice and Peace.
The Message continues, saying: “Man’s dialogue with God also includes the request for a basic need like bread. Likewise, Christ was inspired by many of the characteristics of rural life in proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The Church, following the teachings of the Gospel, does not only pray ‘give us this day our daily bread,’ but in following the Lord’s example with the crowd, in the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, she makes every effort, through numerous initiatives at the service of mankind and in promotion of equal distribution, to make sure that no one lacks what they need to live.”
The message mentions the current phenomenon, which is a drama lived by many, of the uncontrolled rise in the price of food, and indicates that “the human race is experiencing a food crisis that is no longer limited, as it was in the past, to certain areas of the planet, but has even extended to include those populations that not long ago were considered immune from such a risk.” This crisis has concrete causes: “climate changes, with repeated droughts and floods in the areas of cereal production, the increase in demand for cereals and feed on the part of developing nations, less investment in cereals and more focus on bio-fuels, the rise in the cost and in financial speculation of fuel and alimentary goods.”
Having determined the causes, there needs to be an effort made in finding the proper instruments to resolve this situation of injustice, taking into account several basic reference points: firstly, “the principle of universal distribution of goods that offer a basic foundation, whether it be moral or cultural, so as to untie this complex ‘knot’ that binds the environmental crisis with poverty.” “The example of Jesus with the multiplication of the loaves and the fish that were offered by an unknown boy (cf. Jn. 6:9) clearly shows that the path from availability to distribution is the main means to resolving the food crisis with justice.”
“With the means available to modern man,” the Message continues, “it is morally unacceptable that there are still thousands of people dying of starvation, left without the basic good of access to food.” The text later recalls the various statements of the Holy Father on the world food crisis, encouraging all people to try their best “to contribute to solving this problem, supporting the role of the small farmers in developing nations, giving a boost to local and regional markets, denouncing the political monopolies of the large agricultural industries, and promoting the welfare of the rural families, especially the women.”
The Message concludes with a reverent gaze in adoration towards the Eucharist: “the one who is nourished on the Bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent before the one who, even in our day, is deprived of daily bread, in the sure hope that the prayer of the just will not remain unheard.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 28/7/2008)
