As many of my readers know, I am trying my best to help the Catholic Missions in Kenya and Tanzania in east Africa through my connection with our local Father John Judie. One of the results of my making connections over there is that I get a text or an e-mail almost every week from Bishop Filbert Mhasi of the Diocese of Tunduru-Masasi in Tanzania. He has visited me twice here in Louisville. He likes to keep me informed about the effectiveness of my involvement.
Recently, I received this photo of his visit to one of his 140 "out stations" (we call them "mission churches"). As a gift to him from the parish, the people presented him with a couple of live chickens. No doubt, it was the best they could do, being very poor and without money themselves. I saw this happening in the video of the dedication of St. Veronica Church in Kenya, the new church we sponsored from here that was dedicated on August 10 of this year. At "collection time," instead of passing collection baskets, people brought their gifts up to the altar themselves to give to the priest - vegetables, bread, live animals, cloth, plants, a little money or whatever they had!
It reminded me of why the priest always ceremoniously washes his hands, with the help of the servers at Mass, right after he offers up the bread and wine. I have heard that some people think this has something to do with Pontius Pilate washing his hands of any involvement with the death of Jesus. Personally, I have always heard that it has to do when gifts of bread, wine, vegetables and live animals were given to the priest in the early church as gifts to be offered up - just like they do today in poor countries like those in east Africa. After receiving such gifts, the celebrant needed to wash his hands before offering up the bread and wine of the Mass. This ceremonial hand-washing became part of the ritual that has lasted into our day, even though we may have forgotten from where it came!
The people of the "out station" in Tanzania, may have presented their gift of live chickens to Bishop Mhasi after Mass, but it is a perfect example of what the very poor do all over the world even today - they give what they have! (Read Jesus's story about "the poor widow's contribution of a few pennies" in Luke 21:1-4)
Even though they cannot afford to give money they don't have, they inspire me with their giving of what they do have! They are living examples for us Catholics on this side of the world!
No comments:
Post a Comment