Peter’s question in the Gospel reading today is a question asked by every believer and follower of Christ, whether in religious life or in the ordained ministry of the Church or as a simple lay person: “What do we get in return for following Christ? What will be our lot for giving up things for his sake?” The simple answer for all, “We hope to save our soul and have eternal life with God.”
St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga (1901 – 1952), a Chilean Jesuit priest lived an exemplary life of service to Christ, leaving “houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or property for my Name’s sake.” And he was rewarded with eternal life and happiness with God.
He set up shelters for children, whether abandoned or not, in need of food and a place to stay, called Hogar de Cristo (Home of Christ). People in Chile remember his 1946 green pickup truck where he drove around at night searching the streets to help those in need that he could reach. There were numerous collaborators and benefactors who assisted his apostolate and these shelters spread all over the country. Between 1945 and 1951, it is estimated that more than 850,000 children received assistance from this movement.
“I hold that every poor man, every vagrant, every beggar is Christ carrying his cross. And as Christ, we must love and help him. We must treat him as a brother, a human being like ourselves. If we were to start a campaign of love for the poor and homeless, we would, in a short time, do away with depressing scenes of begging, children sleeping in doorways and women with babies in their arms fainting in our streets.”
St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga.
