He worked with Cesar Chavez. He

walked with Martin Luther King, Jr. He

sits with Jesus and listens and moves

naturally to praxis.

 

He says he owes his work on behalf of the

poor to his devout and pious mother

who taught him well when he

was a little boy.

 

Now he is sixty-six and has no pension

and has refused the grand gift of one.

He asked, “How can I stand with the

poor, oppressed

 

workers if I have that which they don’t?”

He had to stand his ground with them

and not capitulate to what he called the

diabolical system that keeps

 

so many impoverished. He was asked,

“Aren’t you concerned for yourself?”

He smiled innocently, kindly and quoted

book, chapter and verse

 

about being fed and clothed and

about trusting. He spoke in English

about what he learned in Spanish.

Jesus spoke in Aramaic

 

and the word was written in koine

Greek and transliterated as en arche

en ho logos; kai ho logos en pros

ton theon; kai theos

 

en ho logos: “In the beginning was the

Word and the Word was with God

and the Word was God,” and that

word in any language is love.