CALCUTTA, the city of the “poorest of the poor”, said Blessed Mother Theresa.
But they no longer hold this distinction. No, the poorest of the poor are to be found in a very different place…
The new streets of Calcutta are lined with high-rises and espresso shops. The poor wear ties and the hungry don high heels. At night, they wander the gutters of television, looking for a morsel of pleasure here, or a bite of fulfillment there. Or you’ll find them begging on the lonely streets of the Internet, with words barely audible behind the clicks of a mouse:
“I thirst…”
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:38-40)
I see Christ in the new streets of Calcutta, for from these gutters He found me, and to them, He now sends.
