Homeless in America: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

We will Turn and Follow You ... Homeless In America, Downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, February 28, 2009

Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook: Turn and Follow You ...

Friday, February 27, 2009

Isaiah on Fasting and Unplugged for Lent 2009

“So why do you fast? Many of you don’t seem to get it, do you? All the while you fast you go to work and carry on your own selfish pursuits. You are unkind to your coworkers, unkind to your boss and trample over others to get what you want. When the day is done, you have quarreled in your heart and fought with your words to assert your own self-seeking interests. But really, do you think your fast will be heard in heaven while you are living such an unmerciful life?

“How would you like to participate in a 2009 Lent fast that will really get you heard in heaven? Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to look ridiculous and do such things as bow your head all day, sleep on burlap and dump ashes on your head! So what does a real fast look like? I’ll tell you …

“When you wake up each day, seek out those who are struggling – who are weighted down by troubles. Seek out those who are confused, underperforming and seem to be bound up in chains. Who are those people in your life? Are they coworkers, a spouse, a son, daughter or a homeless person begging in front of Albertsons? Now go and set them free with your compassion, mercy, love and understanding. Set them free! Invite them to share with you at your dinner table and make yourself their food. Clothe the naked, give alms to the homeless and for heaven’s sake do not turn your back on the losers in your very own family. Do not condemn them, but relentlessly reach out to them. Do not forsake your own.

“If you will do this, guess what? You will have interior peace that will feel like supernatural liquid Valium running through your veins. God will protect you and be your guard. You will have Him on your side in all that you do. Then, when you fast, you can rightfully pray and the Lord will answer you. You will cry for help and the Lord will shout to you, ‘Here I am!’” Isaiah 58:1-9 Unplugged

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Rita’s NDE - Near Death Experience - Sends Her Back to Earth to Serve the Homeless

Excerpt from Rita Bennett's book:

To Heaven and Back

True Stories of Those Who have Made the Journey

"Three months after a cesarean section, I entered Kansas University Medical Center because I had a serious infection in my reproductive organs. Just before leaving for the hospital, I began thinking I was going to die, though there wasn't any fear connected with it. As I looked at my relatives, a strange feeling came over me, as though I were seeing them for the last time.

"While at the hospital, doctors tried antibiotics for several days to see if they could avoid major surgery, but they could not. I underwent a hysterectomy and all seemed well. Recuperating in the hospital three days later, I began feeling strange. Something was very wrong, so I called a nurse. Doctors discovered that I had double pneumonia, a blood clot, internal bleeding, and kidney failure.

Fighting for Life: "Doctors rushed me to X ray, and during the test I drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point I heard the doctor in a loud voice asking the nurse to check my blood pressure. I heard the nurse answer, "Zero. Zilch." I realized they were fighting for my life. [I remember taking my last breath and then I was clinically dead]

Met by Jesus: "Feeling so peaceful and free, I started moving upward. I realized my body was below me, and I vaguely remember observing efforts by the medical team to revive it. My main interest was that I was above the room. I was not even in the room but in the first sky. I say first sky in the heavens, because it seemed as though there were three heavens that I passed through.

"As I recall, he [Jesus] had dark brown wavy hair and an olive complexion. I looked into his eyes. They were piercing but loving, and as clear as blue water. You could almost see yourself mirrored in his eyes. When he looked at you, he looked straight through you and into you. You realized immediately that he knew all there was to know about you.

Before God the Father: "In a matter of seconds I found myself before the Most High. The Most High is the term I use because I recognized the presence of God the Father. In looking at Him, I couldn't really see Him, but there was an awesome glory, an awesome presence. You could feel it everywhere, and I realized that He was on the throne. Stunned by it all, I felt as small as a little ant, so insignificant. Trembling, I found myself prostrate. While I was lying there on my face, He spoke to me. I wondered how anyone could feel worthy in God's presence. I wasn't condemned, but I didn't feel worthy. It's hard to explain.

Jesus the Advocate: "Then I heard the Father and Son communing about my case. Jesus said, "My blood is sufficient. She's mine!" When He said that, all the doubts about my unworthiness disappeared. I jumped up and down, shouting and rejoicing. I have never been so happy in all my life! The kind of love I felt is beyond explanation. I kept saying, "Oh my God. Oh, my God. This is my Mediator. This is my Advocate." Just as I read in the Bible. I never wanted to leave his side. I told him so, but a look in his eyes said I had to return. I asked, 'Must I really leave?'

"He looked at me with tenderness and said, 'Yes, because there is work I have for you to do.' Coming back into my body in intensive care was as quick as my journey out had been. It seemed like the speed of light. Christ brought me back.

Caring for the Homeless: "Following my recovery, I took an art class in oil painting. But my obsession with painting Jesus was a mild change compared to other areas of my life. Perhaps the biggest turnabout was my point of view. Before my NDE I used to fuss and bicker with Walter my husband about petty concerns. I had wanted many things for myself. When I came back, I had a different appreciation for human relationships. They are so important. Much of what we think of as important isn't important at all.

"Then, I felt the Lord telling me, 'Feed my sheep.' This was at a time when Walter and I began a shelter for the homeless. We were called to that work for several years. I guess there are different ways we can feed his sheep or his lambs. Care of children is another way, and currently I'm a foster parent. We care for five children in our home.

"After having this fantastic near-death experience, I thought I should be doing big, wonderful projects for God. He has shown me that life is not about doing big things, but about doing whatever I do for Him. While I was in heaven, God did not give me a specific commission that I know of, but my strongest sense is that my purpose is to love."

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Monday, February 23, 2009

The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor

The 40 days of Lent are rapidly approaching. This week, Ash Wednesday begins the time to purge, clean out, deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Christ to Calvary, burrow into hell and Resurrect to new life on Easter Sunday.

Who would like to join us in the theme "The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor" for Lent? Though Christ was rich, he emptied himself, left heaven and became poor like us. How can we go and do likewise?

Here are three things each can do throughout Lent to gear up and gear down to hear His voice and discover more insights about the poverty of Christ on the Cross within the theme, "The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor."

1. If you have not done so already, Subscribe! to receive the free daily reflections sent out by our voice for the poor, http://www.homelessinamerica.blogspot.com/ - just enter your email address in the top, far right column of the main page. Read them when they arrive.

2. For 40 days, in your morning or evening prayer, ask the Lord to reveal to you your own poverty. What makes you a poor wretch. You may not know right now; you may even think you are nearly perfect! But, ask the Lord to reveal that to you. Ask for His help with your poverty so that in Him you can become rich.

3. Put aside small alms for the poor every day. Example, if you usually order a soda when you eat out ... try free water for your meal! Then calculate the savings over 40 days and donate that amount to the poor at http://www.servantsofthefather.org/donation or mail it to SFM, P.O. Box 42001, Los Angeles, CA 90042

If you do this, the Lord will hear you. The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor!

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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Homeless Man, Homeless Woman

Stacy Dawson

I watched you walking all alone
Loaded down with your bags
You looked so worn out and miserable
You clothes were mere rags
Are all your earthly belongings
Contained in the bags you hold?
Do you have anywhere to live
Or shelter from the cold?
Your greying hair and beard are so oily
When were you last able to get clean?
People curse and spit at you
Why are people so mean?
You didn't choose to live this way
Life has dealt you a raw deal
I've spent some time on the streets
I understand somewhat how you feel
The ducks in the lagoon you gaze out over
Eat so much better than you
People feed them till they burst
But never spare a single thought for you.

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Jesus Is My Everything

by
Mother Teresa

Jesus is the Word made Flesh.

Jesus is the Bread of Life.

Jesus is the Victim offered for our sins on the Cross.

Jesus is the Sacrifice – offered at the Holy Mass for the sins of the world and mine.

Jesus is the Word – to be spoken.

Jesus is the Truth – to be told.

Jesus is the Way – to be walked.

Jesus is the Light – to be lit.

Jesus is the Life – to be lived.

Jesus is the Love – to be loved.

Jesus is the Joy – to be shared.

Jesus is the Sacrifice – to be offered.

Jesus is the Peace – to be given.

Jesus is the Bread of Life – to be eaten.

Jesus is the Hungry – to be fed.

Jesus is the Thirsty – to be satiated.

Jesus is the Naked – to be clothed.

Jesus is the Homeless – to be taken in.

Jesus is the Sick – to be healed.

Jesus is the Lonely – to be loved.

Jesus is the Unwanted – to be wanted.

Jesus is the Leper – to wash his wounds.

Jesus is the Beggar – to give him a smile.

Jesus is the Drunkard – to listen to him.

Jesus is the Retarded – to protect him.

Jesus is the Little One – to embrace him.

Jesus is the Blind – to lead him.

Jesus is the Dumb – to speak for him.

Jesus is the Crippled – to walk with him.

Jesus is the Drug addict – to befriend him.

Jesus is the Prostitute – to remove from danger and befriend.

Jesus is the Prisoner – to be visited.

Jesus is the Old – to be served.

To me – Jesus is my God. Jesus is my Spouse. Jesus is my Life. Jesus is my only Love. Jesus is my All in All. Jesus is my Everything.

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Lightening Strikes Home

On Pentecost Sunday of 1845, Frances Schervier was a twenty-six-year-old Franciscan Third Order lay servant. She had just returned to her home in Aachen, Germany after attending to her many rounds of charitable works when she found her friend Gertrude Frank standing rain-soaked at the door. Gertrude insisted upon staying overnight. Later that evening after Frances had gone to sleep; Gertrude woke her up, declaring, “By command of the Lord, I have something to tell you.” She then related how she had experienced repeated visions of Christ who had commanded that Frances was to found a new religious congregation to heal His wounds, that is, to care for the poor and the sick. Gertrude’s hesitation to convey this message to Frances had been brought to an abrupt end earlier that day when, as she was heading to her own home, a thunderstorm overtook her and a lightening bolt struck the road a short distance ahead of her. Frances went on to found and become the mother superior of the Sisters of the Poor of Saint Francis. Mother Frances converted death row inmates by remaining with them on their last night to prepare for death. She died on December 14, 1876.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Jewelers with a Heart of Charity for the Homeless

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Debbie Fox, the owner of Fox Fine Jewelry of Southern California has been giving away free necklaces in the month of February to individuals who have lost their job and who may also be homeless. The necklaces are sterling silver and range in price from $50 to $100 each. Each comes in its own special gift box with wrapping if so desired.

It’s easy to claim one of the necklaces. The unemployed or homeless need only bring in their termination or foreclosure notice along with personal identification such as a driver’s license.

“We want to help those truly in need, who can’t afford a gift for themselves or their loved ones right now,” says Debbie Fox. She continues, “I’ve been deeply affected by the dramatic increase in the number of people selling their jewelry to us; I wanted to find a way to give back to the community.”

The idea originated with heart shape pendants, but realizing the offering will go beyond Valentines Day, the store is also offering two additional styles: one is a blue topaz drop pendant, and the other is a pearl necklace.

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Friday, February 13, 2009

We are made with Divine Construction

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1: 26 & 31

The homeless, the disabled, gays, lesbians, mentally challenged and many other groups who are marginalized and alienated in society are often perceived by some to be sub-human and therefore vulnerable to “holocaust” and extinction. Power, unmerciful thoughts and dominance begins in the heart and once it takes root, the sin of it clouds perception. Sin allows us to see things not as they are. Instead of viewing all humans made with Divine construction, we view some as sub-human. Here is just a partial list of a dangerous trend in individual and public thinking about the poor, the alienated and the homeless.

1. Suspect Sought for Attempting to Set Man on Fire Philadelphia, Nov. 29, 2007
2. Vicious attack against a homeless man New York, Oct. 5, 2007
3. Homeless Beating Gets Local Teen 10-Year Jail Sentence Merritt Island, Fla., Oct. 5, 2007
4. Three Charged In PB County Homeless Beating West Palm Beach, Fla., Aug. 10, 2007
5. L.A. Teens Taped Homeless Beatings on Cell Phones Los Angeles, July 17, 2007
6. Unexpected Plea Made By Teen In Homeless Beating Daytona Beach, Fla., March 31, 2007
7. Break In Taped Homeless Beating San Francisco, March 20, 2006
8. Videotaped Homeless Beating Verdict Corpus Christi, Texas, Oct. 30, 2007
9. Homeless shooting victim sues OSU frat Corvallis, Ore., Oct. 14, 2006
10. Two Convicted For Murder Of Homeless Woman Berkeley, Calif., Sept. 25, 2006
11. 15-Year Old Sentenced to Clean Bed Pans/Animal Shelters 7-Days a Week Corpus Christi, Texas, Sept. 7, 2007
12. Police Search for Boys Responsible for Homeless Beating Fort Lauderdale, Fla., September 2006

13. Police: Teens Charged In Homeless Beatings May Have Attacked 2 More Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 21, 2006
14. 3 Homeless Men Beaten, 1 Fatally Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 12, 2006
15. Teens Plead Not Guilty In Homeless Attacks Cleveland, Aug. 9, 2003
16. Random Attack Has Neighborhood On Edge Tacoma, Wash., May 29, 2001

17. FBI is contacted as mother of eight receives numerous death threats via phone and email because of her need for community assistance, Los Angeles, CA, February 12, 2009.

Mercy, Lord! Lord have mercy …

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Elixir for Christian Unity

Canyon country (photo), just about 60 miles north of Los Angeles paints a perfect picture of mountains, hills, snow capped peaks and ocean mists while decorative cumulus clouds frequently dot the landscape for a finishing touch. The picture is only marred by its many homeless residents that camp frequently on the riverbeds, ocean gateways and in alleyways.

In the picturesque city of Santa Paula, just about 5 weeks ago, an interdenominational group compassionately came together to create “Many Meals.” Here is how one community is responding to the homeless … Each Wednesday, volunteers cook in their own homes trays of lasagna, meatballs, salad, rice, beans, desserts and more. They throw a party for the poor!

Under Kay’s direction they set up the weekly potluck at a local church that has donated its facility for the event. Meals are served from 5pm to 7pm at God of the 7th Day Church on Mill Street. Jack, a pastor from nearby Bible Fellowship Church busily assisted the effort while Fr. Charles stopped by with a donation from his Catholic parish to lend a hand with food and supplies. Uniting on God’s word and serving Christ in the poor has no doubt proven to be the elixir for Christian unity in this sleepy town of SoCal’s Canyon Country!

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Go and do Likewise

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God's desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, "Go and do likewise."

Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham founded Samaritan’s Purse more than 35 years ago. They have done their utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. The organization, located in Boon, North Carolina reaches hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ; earning them the right to preach the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Particularly noted, they have an emergency relief program that provides desperately needed assistance to children and other victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. They also offer food, water, and temporary shelter, meeting critical needs and giving people a chance to rebuild their lives.

People often ask Mr. Graham, "Why did you come?" The answer is always the same: "We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Their ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always. As the Apostle Paul said, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5).

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Monday, February 9, 2009

Mother Knows Best

Last night, a first-hand story was related to Homeless in America by Mary Lou, a Ventura County California resident and member of Our Lady of Guadalupe church. She was born and raised more than 60 years ago in Oxnard, CA. In the 1940s, her mom, Josephine taught the children lots about charity to the poor and the homeless. Not by speaking, but by example!

Josephine almost daily welcomed the homeless, (called “bums” at the time) into her own home. She gave them whatever hot meal she was cooking and insisted that they eat off the nice china of the house and not from paper plates. Mary Lou remembers the word getting out and soon many of the poor would daily gather around their family’s house for a little food and a little comfort from Mama Josephine.

Now, more than 60 years later, the Oxnard Rescue Mission has carried on the tradition next door to the family’s original residence that had been sold decades ago. The home itself has been coincidentally purchased by the rescue mission and is now operated as a transition house providing overnight accommodations for the homeless.

Josephine has since passed on, but when she was alive, she would frequently wish to go and park by the mission to see what had become of her little home-based labor of love. Now in heaven no doubt, she looks down kindly on those poor who frequent her neighborhood today and upon those who compassionately carry on her tradition.

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Saturday, February 7, 2009

Mercy, Lord!

"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23;34

R Mercy, Lord!

For all the loving we have missed,
- that Christ may be our Lord, Lover and Savior. R

For pretending Lord you don’t exist in the poor and the abandoned,
- that the Holy Spirit may awaken us to reality. R

For the homeless and the powerless,
- that Christ may be their defense. R

For the threatened and the frightened,
- that Christ may be their protection. R

For broken and abused children living in families and alleyways,
- that they come to know God their Heavenly Father, Jesus their brother and Mary their Mother. R

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Friday, February 6, 2009

"I feel like crying, but I'm not going to cry"

Quotes Captured in a Focus Group at the

Raleigh Rescue Mission

Homeless Men & Women in their own Words ...

How did you become homeless?
“It wasn’t a single thing that got me here. It’s a combination of things.”

What do you need to not be homeless?
“A chance.”
“People in the community to come forth and assist people like us to get out of homelessness.”

What would it take to not be homeless?
“Businesses to come forward and give on-the-job training.”

What do you need to maintain a home?
“A job.”
“A program to give us housing and someone to check in on us.”

If you had 2 million dollars, what would you put in place to end homelessness?
“Buy houses…for a transition program.”
“A factory…give people work and give them a part in the company so that they are part of it. Let them make it into something… Make it more than a hand out.”
“Rehabilitate us…like they rehabilitate prisoners…give us education, training…help those in hard times.”

How does it feel to be homeless?
“It’s been hard, scary, frustrating, and disappointing.”
“Homeless title makes us feel bad.”
“I feel like crying, but I am not going to cry.”

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Galaxy Builder Lord Jesus the King

But why is Jesus present in the poor and the homeless? Is it that he unites and identifies with the lowly? Are they His people? Yet, He is the all -powerful Lord of the universe; Galaxy Builder Lord Jesus the King! Saint Ambrose brings the Potent and the Powerful down to earth and explains Him in a way that even the deaf can hear His voice. Ambrose once said – “But a very little while, and a change we could never imagine will happen. The lowly will find joy and the poor will rejoice. Why? Because of a Presence that even a blind man can sense … Because it is a Presence we have been waiting for all our life. Have pity on us! The Lord Jesus took compassion on us in order that he might call us to Himself and not scare us away. He comes as someone gentle, someone humble.”

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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Everyone deserves their own Space!

Today’s blog is not necessarily about a person that is homeless in America , but certainly illustrates the point that everyone deserves his or her own space – even the homeless!

MSNBC reported not long ago that a homeless woman who sneaked into a man’s house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing. Police found the 58-year-old woman hiding in the top compartment of the man’s closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said.

The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months. One of the cameras captured someone moving inside his home Thursday after he had left, and he called police believing it was a burglar. However, when they arrived they found the door locked and all windows closed.

“We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide,” Itakura said. “When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side."

The woman told police she had no place to live and first sneaked into the man’s house about a year ago when he left it unlocked. The closet is part of a Japanese-style room, one of several rooms in his one-story house where the man lived alone — or so he had thought.

Police were investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed, as well as details of her life inside the closet, and if she had taken anything else besides food. She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and apparently even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman "neat and clean."

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Monday, February 2, 2009

Your Light will Burst Forth Like the Dawn

by
Saint Augustine

You are told to love God. If you say to me: Show me whom I am to love, what shall I say if not what Saint John says: “No one has ever seen God!”. But in case you should think that you are completely cut off from the sight of God, he says: “God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God.” Love your neighbor, then, and see within yourself the power by which you love your neighbor; there you will see God, as far as you are able.

Begin, then, to love your neighbor. Share your bread with the hungry and bring into your home the homeless poor; clothe anyone you see to be naked, and do not despise your own flesh and blood. What will you gain by doing this? “Your light will burst forth like the dawn.” Your light is your God: he is your “dawn,” for he will come to you when the night of time is over: He does not rise or set but remains for ever.

By loving other people and caring for them you make progress on your journey. Where are you traveling if not to the Lord, to him whom we should love with our whole heart, our whole soul, or our whole mind? We have not yet reached his presence, but we have our neighbor at our side. Support, then, this companion of you pilgrimage if you want to come into the presence of the one with whom you desire to remain for ever.

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