ARCHBIHOP FOLEY REFLECTS ON HUNGER IN THE WORLD

VATICAN CITY, MAR 19, 2003 (VIS) - Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, delivered a homily today, solemnity of St. Joseph, at a Mass for a Study Day on "Hunger in the World" offered at the Lay Center of Foyer Unitas at the Irish College. He said that "on this day in which we will be reflecting on hunger in the world, I would ask that we reflect on how Jesus was nourished - and how He chose to nourish us."

"There are no reports that Jesus went hungry," said the archbishop. "Not only was Joseph a faithful worker and provider, but there was extended family in Nazareth - always a helpful form of insurance against hunger. In considering the problem of hunger in the world today, it would seem that a principal problem is not supply; it is distribution. In Nazareth, Joseph worked, and the family ate. While he was a carpenter and not a farmer or a shepherd, the Holy Family lived in a basically agricultural and pastoral community, and food could be readily purchased.

Archbishop Foley exclaimed that "Today, in the world, because of war, unemployment, drought and an ineffective food distribution system in many parts of the world, millions go hungry. ... But all of us must work together for that peace and stability and effective distribution system which will make it possible for all families to retain their self-respect, to be able to earn and prepare their daily bread and to nourish their children - as Joseph and Mary nourished Jesus."

In conclusion, he underscored that "Jesus, in leaving us His most beautiful memorial, gave us the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, in which we are able to be nourished on the path to eternal life."

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