From the Website of CBCP
links: http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=34778
The group Lugaw ni San Jose has been feeding Quiapo's homeless for ten years now. (Photo: Raymond A. Sebastián/ CBCP News)
Tondo lay group feeds Quiapo homeless
Filed under: Headlines |
MANILA, April 25,
2014—Like what every true Christian ought to do, a Catholic lay group
from Tondo gives free “lugaw” (rice porridge) and bread every Friday to
hundreds of Quiapo’s homeless and beggars as their way of paying forward
the graces that Señor Nazareno has so “generously bestowed on them”.
“We know that we can only do so much. With or without
us, these people and their families will still go to sleep on an empty
stomach. But it does not make any difference to us. We are just doing
what the Lord has commanded us to do: feed the hungry,” said Emil
Mendoza, the man in charge of handing out small buns.
The group Lugaw ni San Jose has been feeding Quiapo's homeless for ten years now. (Photo: Raymond A. Sebastián/ CBCP News)
“Lugaw ni San José”
Named “Lugaw ni San José” (LSJ) in honor of Christ’s
foster father, the group has had as its mission for over ten years now
the feeding of Quiapo’s starving poor.
“The Nazareno has always been kind to us, so it is only
proper that we return the favor. And being blessed that we are, it only
befits us as Catholic Christians to extend charity to our less fortunate
brothers and sisters,” Mendoza shared.
The volunteers of LSJ provide for breakfast at 6:00 a.m., lunch at 12 noon, and early supper at 6 p.m. all for free.
“I have only been receiving lugaw from LSJ for the past
two months. It is nice of them to be doing what they do,” said a young
man who requested anonymity.
He related that he has called the pavements of Quezon
Boulevard home ever since he fled poverty in Mindanao in order to try
his luck in Manila.
In the course of the day, LSJ will have given away as
many as four large cauldrons of lugaw and ten boxes of “pan de leche” to
more than a hundred persons who patiently wait in line to have their
bowls filled.
Repeat performance
“There seems to be no end to the queue. But that is to
be expected because many, if not most, of these people will have a
repeat performance,” Mendoza kidded.
“But that is all right. It is never a big deal. This may
be the only time of the week when they can eat as much as they want,”
he added.
According to other LSJ volunteers, they are thankful
that they very rarely run out of lugaw to give. Because at the end of
each morning and noon feeding session, they quickly pack up and shuttle
back to their base in Tondo’s Gagalangin community where they will cook
another potful of lugaw before heading again to Quiapo for the next
feeding session.
“Feeding the hungry” is one of the “seven corporal works of mercy” which the Church enjoins all faithful to observe.
The other six are: giving drink to the thirsty; clothing
the naked; sheltering the homeless; visiting the sick; visiting the
imprisoned; and burying the dead.
These are drawn from the Gospel of Matthew (25:35-36)
which reads, “I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a
drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ (Raymond A. Sebastián)
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