Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice:  for they shall have their fill.

As many of us gave thanks a little over a week ago for the food we had placed in front of us on Thanksgiving, how many of us gave any thought to the almost 1 billion people worldwide who don’t have enough to eat?  “One of the worst sounds a parent can hear is their child crying at night tormented by hunger.  Many parents living in poverty hear this cry and yet they have no food to give them,” said Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis.

Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based federation of 164 Catholic charities, has organized a “wave of prayer” that will begin at noon, December 10 on the South Pacific Island of Samoa and head west across the world’s time zones.

Pope Francis will offer his blessing and support for this campaign in a five-minute video being released on the eve of the launch. See our Parish Website for this.

Caritas is urging Catholics to take a few moments at noon on Tuesday, December 10 to join the world in praying against hunger as well as engage in long-term action though raising awareness, advocacy, charitable work or other efforts supporting food security.

 So set your cell phones to remind you to join the wave and pray for an end to hunger, even if it’s simply the Lord’s prayer, with special emphasis on “Give us this day, our daily bread.”

For more information see Caritas Internationalis website at food.caritas.org.

“A way has to be found to enable everyone to benefit from the fruits of the earth, and not simply to close the gap between the affluent and those who must be satisfied with the crumbs falling from the table.” – Pope Francis