“When we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that our lives are all that really belongs to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines what kind of [humans] we are. It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non-violent struggle for justice. To be a [human] is to suffer for others. God help us be [human].”
On March 31st, we celebrate Cesar Chavez day. The latter statement was given when he ended a 25-day fasting for la causa (the cause) in favor of farm workers. I found his words appropriate
words for our season of Lent. Chavez’s words are an invitation, to be honest with ourselves, but it is also a challenge to question ourselves what kind of human beings we want to be during our
time on earth.
We often hear mainly about Chavez’s activism but not his deep spirituality as a Catholic Christian. St. Francis was one of his exemplars, and Catholic social teaching influenced his life,
emphasizing a preferential option for the poor and encouraging the cultivation of solidarity. In short, Chavez’s vocation was to join the cry for justice from farmworkers to live with more dignity as they were treated as second-class citizens.
Chavez lived his discipleship, embracing a life of struggle and suffering for the sake of equity and justice for all people. For him, seeking justice for all was an expression of his faith.
“What keeps me going? Well, it’s like a fire–a consuming, nagging, everyday and every-moment demand of my soul to just do it. It’s difficult to explain. I like to think it’s the good Spirit asking me to do it. I hope so…If you really want something, you have to sacrifice.
Because of my faith the concept of sacrifice is understood” (Dalton, 2003).
As we continue our journey in Lent, may Chavez’s life help us reflect on the kind of humans we want to be now, help us identify the cries of our day so that we can join them and do something
about their cries, and may the good Spirit help us embrace new expressions of our faith and discipleship.
Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle
Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
thus I will know my people’s plight.
Free me to pray for others,
for you are present in every person.
Help me take responsibility for my own life
so that I can be free at last.
Grant me courage to serve my neighbor
for in service there is true life.
Grant me honesty and patience
so that I can work with other workers.
Enlighten us with song and celebration
so that the spirit will be alive among us.
Let the spirit flourish and grow
so that we will never tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died for justice
for they have given us life.
Help us love even those who hate us;
so we can change the world.
Amen.
