Helps: when making a difference in the lives of others is the goal

"Whatever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did unto Me."

When God gifts a Christian with the charism of Helps, he/she is then able to offer their talents to enable another person to serve God and people in effective ways. Isn’t this the gift in which the giver prefers to stay in the background, yet needs direct contact with the one who is being helped? Making a difference in the lives of others is the goal, whether that is by giving new knowledge and encouragement, making the dreams of the other come true in some way, enabling others to accomplish goals that were never part of their wildest dreams, or in the words of the Scripture, doing the works of mercy.

The charism of Helps is very unique because it seems that all God’s creatures possess it in some way. There are few people who can truly say that they simply cannot help another. God gifts everyone with some area of expertise by which they can make another’s life a little better, more joyful, more fulfilling. This charism enables one to carefully discern their abilities when they see a need, and then to proceed to offer the assistance. This charism affords one opportunities to be creative, to stretch one’s own capabilities in new and ingenious ways. It is one of the best ways to live out one’s faith, namely to do Christian ministry for one’s neighbor. It is a form of prayer in action.

One modern day Jesuit, Miguel Pro, lived and died a martyr during one of the most awful persecutions of Catholics in Mexico, and proved himself to be a person with the charism of Helps. Padre Pro acted not in great and glamorous ways but in attending to the simple needs of his neighbors. He found himself living in a time that churches were destroyed, confiscated, and turned into army barracks; religious articles were desecrated and used for profane purposes; statues were chopped up for firewood; priests and sisters were outlawed. Yet Miguel Pro carried on an undercover ministry that made religious worship possible. He had grown up in a happy family, enjoyed games and music, practical jokes, and pranks. He showed an early talent for acting, and when in later years he was a hunted priest, he posed in civilian guise, cigar in hand, in front of the anti-Catholic president’s house. To avoid detection, he could quickly change from a man of God on the street to a civilian. His father was a miner and often the young Miguel would carry water and candies to the miners. This concern for the workers carried over into his adult life when he labored for their behalf. He was able to provide food for 96 families.

During his days of religious training to become a Jesuit, he found his companions rather glum and too serious. He managed to arrange outings and sports, play the guitar and sing, and do the dances from their native regions. His charism of Helps was beginning to take shape. However, martyrdom loomed on the horizon, and seemed to be his destiny especially when he saw his pastor, Father Mateo Correa Magallanes, who baptized him and gave him First Communion, executed because he would not reveal the militants’ confessions he had heard. The pastor’s date of martyrdom (February, 1927) was just a few months before that of Padre Pro.

The Jesuit Miguel Agustin Pro was killed by a firing squad in front of news cameras that the government had brought in to record what it hoped would be the embarrassing spectacle of a priest pleading for mercy. But instead of wavering, Pro displayed great dignity, walking to the place of execution bravely. He extended his arms in the form of a cross and proclaimed loud and clear: "Viva Cristo Rev," "Long live Christ the King."

What had Padre Pro done for his God? The simple deeds of a man who was filled with the love and God and neighbor, and had nothing to give but himself and the practice of the charism of Helps.