In his encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, published last June, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that to feed the hungry is an ethical imperative for the universal Church, as she responds to the teachings of her Founder, the Lord Jesus, concerning solidarity and the sharing of goods” This duty of solidarity goes way beyond the shipping of food to those whose survival is threatened by starvation. “The problem of food insecurity needs to be addressed within a long-term perspective, eliminating the structural causes that give rise to it and promoting the agricultural development of poorer countries” (Benedict XVI, ibid).

Only a few days left before the end of the first decade of the new millennium! As we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Son of God in our flesh and in our history, it is relevant that we remind ourselves of a few guidelines given to us by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter marking the beginning of this millenium: Novo millenio ineunte (January 6, 2001). He invites the Church to start afresh from Christ, to implement the injunction given to Peter, to "put out into the deep", while remembering his promise: “I am with you always”.