The volume “The hiding place of Christ. The conception of the poor as a sacrament in the work of Giacomo Cusmano “arises from a research conducted over two and a half years by Professor Lorella Parente on the figure and work of Giacomo Cusmano, following the achievement of a theology, called the “Theology of Charity and Solidarity Award. In memory of Msgr. Nervo and Msgr. Pasini “, organized and promoted by Caritas Italiana, General Secretariat of the CEI, Foundation “E. Zancan” and the Diocese of Padua. An excerpt of the text is reported:
«Cusmano was truly a pater pauperum. The Boccone del Povero Association (established in 1868) ranks at the height of his socio-charitable intervention. The practical and pastoral objective is, from the very beginning, to reserve a double “morsel” for the poor, in close connection with each other: that of material food, taken from dishes already placed on the table in the homes of Palermo families and destined to fill the dish of the indigent; and the spiritual one of the Eucharist, through which Jesus Christ makes himself the bread of eternal life for all (cf. Jn 6:51). A “morsel”, therefore, with a sacramental outcome, which, in Cusmano’s mind, is above all the work of divine grace, destined to save the poor by benefiting them, but also to save the rich with the exercise of Christian charity offered for the benefit of the needy and the dispossessed, sanctifying themselves through humble service to Jesus Poor. A service carried out by the Blessed between omnipresent economic difficulties and personal spiritual crises, with a dedication, almost an obstinacy – always encouraged by his spiritual father – and a surprising spirit of sacrifice: to those who exhorted him, in fact, in the 1980s. In the nineteenth century, when he was admitted to hospital, he was a doctor, given his problematic health conditions, he replied: “I can’t, the poor are waiting for me”. For him, it was like saying: “I can’t, Christ is waiting for me” […] The saving presence of the Lord becomes real and tangible in the flesh of the poor. Hence the peculiar theological theory of Cusman’s life: “The Poverelli are objects of worship for us, and poverty a sacrament”. Service in favor of the poor, consequently, becomes a sacred, privileged and grace-giving action for those who perform it. The Blessed therefore teaches that salvation always passes through the Poor “(pp. 189-190).
Professor Lorella Parente
