Matthew 5:1-12            What makes a saint

In 1987, Dr Paul Farmer founded Partners in Health in Haiti.  Its mission was to provide high-quality healthcare to patients from impoverished backgrounds and those who lived far from healthcare facilities.  Over the following thirty years, the organization expanded across Africa, Latin America, Russia and the Navajo Nation in the US.  Dr Farmer’s goal was to make the latest sophisticated treatments, which were available only in wealthy regions, available to all people.  He was instrumental in bringing lifesaving HIV drugs to the people of Haiti in the early 2000s and was later involved in founding a medical school in Rwanda, where he had been teaching before he passed away unexpectedly in February 2022.  Described as a ‘global health champion’, Dr Farmer’s driving forces were equality, solidarity and love.  His central philosophy could be summed up in his own words: ‘The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.’  Dr Farmer was a social justice campaigner, what some might call a modern saint.  Aware of the disparities around the world, he set about finding creative ways to narrow the gap.

Saints are all around us, teaching us about God through their actions.  They persevere in all they do for their communities and those on the margins.  They are the blessed ones.  The Paul Farmers of this world inspire us to strive to live the Beatitudes of Jesus in our daily lives.  The Beatitudes are an urgent call to honour the dignity of all people, especially those whose suffer.  The most pressing need of our time is to bridge the gap between the haves and the haves-nots.  When we hear of the disparity between the income and lifestyles of the super-rich and the poorest people in the world, it can be hard to stomach.  Becoming aware of our privilege is the first step towards solidarity.  The Beatitudes call us to put our hunger for justice into action.  Perhaps that is the making of all saints.       Copyright © Triona Doherty & Jane Mellett. The Deep End: A Journey with the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Matthew (Dublin: Messenger Publications, 2022).

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“[Saints] make our hypocrisy so apparent that we want to change our lives – not because of guilt but because we want to be alive, we want to be more like Jesus. . . [they] leave us the scent of God, the aroma of Christ.  God occasionally drops a handkerchief – and these handkerchiefs are called saints.                – Shane Claiborne