In the second meaning of the word RESUCITAR (to resurrect), the RAE dictionary tells us that colloquially it means “to restore, renew, give new life to something.”
This summer I had a missionary experience in Mozambique with five other companions. During this experience, I met Mrs. M., a widow with a deep faith who had spent her long life working as a teacher. She had a very warm personality and cared deeply about all her neighbors. A few years ago, in her desire to help others, she gathered a group of people, members of the Songo parish, to start the Caritas group from scratch.
Thanks to her efforts and those of her collaborators, Caritas Songo was launched with the fundamental objective of restoring dignity to all those in need in the village.
Every day, she would go out on foot with her group to visit, accompany, distribute, listen… always with a smile on her face and a transparent gaze that showed the merciful Jesus she carried to everyone.
I could talk about many of the experiences I shared with Mrs. M., but the one that impressed me the most was the day we went with the group to respond to an emergency call. An elderly man had been left on the street because he had been kicked out of the house where he lived. He took refuge in an abandoned, dirty, dilapidated room with no door. The neighbors alerted her to the situation, and Mrs. M., without hesitation, came to his aid, taking money out of her own pocket to cover the old man’s basic needs, mainly food and water. She asked the community to mobilize to find a solution to the problem of the missing door, and they quickly managed to bring one that solved the old man’s lack of privacy and security. And just as the Good Samaritan did, she left more money with one of the man’s neighbors so that she could buy more food and whatever else he needed.
Her generosity, selflessness, and humanity, in the style of the Gospel, made us think about our own attitudes and behaviors in the society in which we live. Would we have acted in the same way? Probably not.
Two months ago, I received the news of her death. The same Jesus who was present in her charitable work called her to reward her and thank her for being Good News.
Mrs. M. was determined to restore, renew, and give new life, that is, to RESURRECT, all those who came to her for help. Nor did she forget to go to those who could not or did not want to come to the parish. Those were her chosen ones, the same ones whom Jesus approached because he knew that they would not take the first step.
Now she enjoys the RESURRECTION that she gave to so many people in Songo.
Faina Toledo, CLM
