THE BACK DOOR MINISTRY
1.
Margaret has been the parish residence cook for many years. Fr.
Dan, the parish pastor, always trusted in her and Margaret felt very
comfortable with her job. Fr. Dan was very kind and flexible but
Margaret was aware that he was the «boss». Very often Margaret, while
in the kitchen, was interrupted by the poor who would knock at the
back door begging for food. The majority of them were women with their
children where malnutrition was very visible. The group of the poor
started growing and Margaret’s heart bled for them. When she prepared
the meals for the pastor and his two associates she started adding
some more food hoping she would never be caught by her boss. She would
put their food on the table and in separate dishes Margaret would
serve the poor that started being regular at the rectory’s back door.
She knew she was «stealing» but she also knew that a little more food
wouldn’t make a big difference in the budget of Fr. Dan. Actually she
was sure he wouldn’t even notice it. But… one afternoon Margaret was
caught. Fr. Dan needed something from his car, used the back door and
saw a group of people enjoying a delicious hot meal. There was even a
table with a few chairs that Fr. Dan had never seen there. Fr. Dan
stopped, looked at the poor and looked at Margaret. She blushed…
stuttered a few words, tried to explain but nothing of what she was
trying to say made any sense. When she was expecting Fr. Dan to scold
her she realized that Fr. Dan had tears in his eyes. And something
fabulous happened. In that afternoon Fr. Dan established in his parish
a new program and Margaret became the first Director of the «BACK DOOR
MINISTRY».
2.
Last Sunday, (June 5th, 2016) all of us, at Penha de França English
Mass, were surprised by the presence of a small group of young people.
They were all homeless. I already knew some of their stories. Some are
very dramatic and some are horror stories. Sleeping in the streets is
not fun. They found out about the project People Helping People (which
was started at the Chapel to help the poor) and about the
compassionate tourists that support People Helping People. They came
without being invited. They knew that in the Catholic Church there are
no questions asked, that they don’t have to dress well and smell well
and that they don’t need letters of recommendation. However, I have to
confess that not everything worked that well. It was obvious that
everyone felt a bit uncomfortable and that is understandable. I felt
that it was like forcing two people to be married without knowing each
other and without being prepared for each other. But they had coffee
and cookies at the Social Room even if I was told that some people,
very carefully, took special care of their purses. The following day
(Monday, June 6th, 2016) I had lunch with them in downtown of Funchal.
Now I invited them to be my partners in starting a new project at
Penha de França. I invited them to come to the Portuguese Mass the
following Sunday, (June 12th, 2016) at 11:30 AM (after the English
Mass). After that Portuguese Mass there will be a fresh and delicious
lunch waiting for them at the Social Room. Two restaurants have
already volunteered to donate their hot lunch.
3.
It is my joy to announce that today, June 12th, 2016, the 51st
Anniversary of my Priestly Ordination, we inaugurate in our Chapel
Penha de França a new project called THE BACK DOOR MINISTRY.
God loves you and so do I…
Fr. Bernardino Andrade
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