Welcome the Stranger, Feed the Poor
and Visit those Sick or in Prison
The inspiration behind Tom Booth’s You Welcomed Me
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me. I assure you, as often as you did it for the least among you, you did it for me.”
— Matthew 25:35-40
Pope Francis came to the United States and addressed the Joint Session of Congress and asked all Americans to re-consider the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Thomas Merton and, champion of the poor, destitute and hungry, Dorothy Day. All of these towering figures in American history have inspired and challenged us, but it is Dorothy Day whose riveting, radical and faith-based life that most inspired the song (and recording) You Welcomed Me:
“What we would like to do is change the world - make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do.... We can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing that we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.”
— Dorothy Day
The music and message of my OCP recording You Welcomed Me is, in some ways, my musical response to the message of the gospel. The Catholic Church has a name for that response: The corporal works of mercy! TO feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and to welcome the stranger! Pope Francis has been repeating this message over and over! “Smell the like the sheep” he has said! I have several songs on this collection that reflect that message fairly simply:
Go into the World
Do Something Beautiful for God
You Welcomed Me
Ready and Willing
I hope these songs inspire others (and myself!) to serve those in need around us; wherever we find ourselves, and whomever they are. Sometimes we ask ourselves: What is God’s will for me? We can fall into a pious hole and do nothing. Maybe it is a simple as asking: God, who do you want me to be? In the gospel passage at the beginning of this blog, we read the words of Jesus, who says:
I assure you, as often as you did it for the least among you, you did it for me.
Did what? What are we to do? What are the corporal works of mercy?
- Feed the hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Shelter the homeless
- Visit the sick
- Visit the prisoners
- Bury the dead
- Give alms to the poor
Sometimes the answers to questions in life are simple. But maybe it IS easier than we think! Just look around you and ask yourself a question and LITERALLY pray:
Lord, who is the poor in my life? Who are the hungry you want me to feed? God, how can I serve you today in a practical way?
We are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today! He is counting on US to reach out out to the needy. We pray, we go to church, we receive the sacraments; all of this is to strengthen our desire and commitment to feed the poor and welcome the lost!
St Teresa of Calcutta famously said:
Do you want to do something beautiful for God?
There is a person that needs you. This is your chance.
Check out You Welcomed Me.
