“THOSE WHO GIVE WILL NOT BE LEFT WITHOUT REWARD”  Is the first, in a series of my reflections on gratitude.   Every time we see images of poor and malnourished children or, even worse, children dying from a lack of food; we as parents, become moved and cannot help but wonder what if this was my kid? How painful must it be for a parent to helplessly watch their children die because they do not have the resources to save them. This breaks our hearts! And the pain we so deeply feel pushes us to help. Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say “Give until it hurts." In other words, give from the bottom of your heart, lovingly, even if it causes a burden for you to do so. Nothing comes easy in life especially when it comes to providing our loved ones with safety and fulfillment. Now, let’s see these images of lack through the eyes of Faith. Many billions of people have food and a place to live but are dying or, even worse, are the living dead. The poet Rubén Dario said, "Those who quietly enjoy a cold tomb are not dead; dead are those who have a dead soul and yet still live!" This is a reality for billions of people in the world today. And what hurts me most is that people would mostly feel touched by those who are physically starving but not by those who are starving spiritually. Both should move us equally! Billions live in material poverty but enjoy the abundant life that Jesus has offered to them, even if they do not have plenty of food to eat they are still fed. A fulfilled person is on the path to Salvation despite their physical needs. While individuals that apparently have no material needs, but God, are on the path of death through starvation. Jesus warned us about this many times "for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the Lost." (Luke 19:10) i.e., the sinners on the path of death; a spiritual hunger strike. Today, I pray for the Father to Bless you and provide for your needs, especially for the most important one, your Faith. For where there is Faith, there is Hope and Love. And where there is Faith, Hope, and Charity nothing will be missing from your life! Today, I see a crowd of lost souls and I ask the Lord for wisdom so that we, as His children, can help save millions upon millions of souls. I could be very satisfied with the extent we have achieved so far and for having witnessed the Salvation of thousands of souls but it would hurt to know that there are many millions more that we have not been able to reach due to the simple lack of material resources from the Faithful who know the Joy of the Lord. Let us say that we have 50 gallons of milk and we can feed 200 people a…