Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack Bhubaneshwar celebrated the Day with the Missionaries of Charity in Bhubaneswar. “This is a special day for our people who are the last, the least and the lost,” he said. The theme of this day was “Stretch forth your hands to the Poor”.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack Bhubaneshwar spent the World Day of the Poor with the Missionaries of Charity in Bhubaneswar.
"The Sisters of Mother Teresa stretch out their hands to serve the poorest of the poor,” he explained. “I observed this World Day of the Poor with the Sisters of Mother Teresa together with the poorest of the poor, the destitute, the lonely and the marginalised.”
“Odisha itself is a poor place, most of our people are mostly migrants who work in other states. After the lockdown, they returned to Odisha, and found nothing,” said the prelate, speaking to AsiaNews.
“Returning migrant workers faced poverty and hunger, economic hardship and unemployment. This is a special day for our people who are the last, the least and the lost.”
The theme of this day was ‘Stretch forth your hands to the Poor’. With this mind, the Missionaries of Charity in Bhubaneswar stretch forth their hands to the poorest of the poor, the marginalised, the unwanted.”
The Sisters of Mother Teresa are missionaries who serve the poor, without discrimination of caste or creed. The latter include homeless elderly women, many with psychiatric problems, but here, thanks to the Sisters of Mother Teresa, they feel the compassionate love and healing touch of Jesus.
“Archbishop John Barwa came to the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa House” for the World Day of the Poor. We had a special prayer service, (most of them are not Christian) followed by a small celebration and a festive dinner,” Sister Rangina Kerketta, MC Superior, told AsiaNews.
“All together we are 130 here at the Missionaries of Charity, at Mother Teresa House, 12 sisters who take care of 80 poor elderly women, plus helpers. Today, together with Archbishop John Barwa, we had a beautiful celebration of the World Day of the Poor; everyone was so happy.”
“Mother Teresa once said: ‘We need to realise that poverty doesn't only consist of being hungry for bread, but rather it is a tremendous hunger for human dignity. We need to love and be someone for someone else.’”
Pope Francis, during the Mass for World Day of the Poor in Rome yesterday, said: “We sometimes think that being Christians means not doing harm. Not doing harm is good. But not doing good is not good.”
Instead, “We must do good, go beyond ourselves and look, look at those who need more. There is so much hunger, even in the heart of our cities. So many times, we slide into the mindset of indifference: the poor are there, and we look the other way. Stretch forth your hand to the poor; they are Christ.”