The Poor also need human love and dignity, warmth and tenderness, not just food and justice

What are the “signs” of these human gestures syllabically put as L-D-W-T?

The first sign common to all letters is physical presence. This happens when you see, hear, touch, smell the needy poor. This is flesh and blood human being like myself/ourselves. This can have a quality presence when we have a welcoming attitude inwardly and outwardly. When smilingly we open our house door or lower our car window or stare at a beggar’s outstretched hand, our inner and outer gesture is truly welcoming. This qualified presence is one sign of human love and dignity, warmth and tenderness. There are of course many beautiful variations. But here we need to pause and reflect on this from the perspective of faith.

In a previous Shalom I made mention of what St. Teresa of Calcutta said to me in November 1978 in the city of Calcutta during the Second Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences. She said that if a nun is not able to pray daily for an hour before the Blessed Sacrament she would not be able to experience the presence of Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor. Simplistically, it means the Jesus presence brought about in us by our Eucharistic devotion will make us see Him in the poor. How is this possible will be explained in the next Shalom.