On GK and Hope in the Lord

A very brief but insightful comment by an anonymous blogger in The Defense of the Real CFC:

"In the context of CFC and Gawad Kalinga [GK], I believe the basis for such hope is the faith that has been embedded in the heart of a CFC follower and the truth of Jesus fully revealed in the Catholic Church.... I refer here to the hope that is borne by volunteers who've committed to show the face of Jesus in poverty-stricken areas. "

which prompts me to respond:

I BELIEVE so too, and very emphatically. For everyone involved in GK, it is primarily an encounter with God who in Christ has shown us his face and opened his heart for us, so that we know we are redeemed through the hope that it expresses. This is the precisely the hope that Pope Benedict XVI expresses in Spe Salvi as the life-changing and life-sustaining hope. It is the hope for the Redeemer, that anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope. Social Doctrine must be appreciated in the light of its moral- theological nature, in what Tony Meloto says that GK should bring us closer to God. It is in this sense that the human promotion in the Church's social doctrine is integral to evangelization, and is tightly linked, as one cannot disassociate the plan of creation with the plan of redemption. And yes, we should always be wary of the evil one, who does not rest in seeking to subvert the good in GK.

In GK, it is not the face of Tony Meloto or Luis Oquinena, or anyone for that matter that shows. It is the face of Jesus.