Some Things Are Just Useless!

Psalm Ten

"Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"? But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

"You hear, O Lord, the cry of the poor; you encourage them, and you listen to their plea, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."

Wealth is useless on the day of death; isn't it? All is left behind for someone else to see their very own short days of fleeting gain. Then, they too pass away – all is vanity. However, great is the generosity of God, who grants us eternal virtues; clothing us in expensive raiment - generosity, patience, kindness and goodness, but only for those who let him. And so we pray . . .

R Lord, you hear the prayer of the poor!

For those who go to bed hungry,
- that they may be fed by those who go to bed full. R

For those who suffer the diseases of poverty,
- that they may find help from those who suffer the diseases of affluence. R

For those who are neglected,
- that they may find care from those who are loved. R

For the poor souls who have died,
- that they may be loved and remembered by those who are alive. R

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

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Hugs from Hughes for the Poor

Tim Hughes, is a Christian worship leader and songwriter. He is Director of Worship for the Anglican Holy Trinity Brompton Church, central London, and a well-known worship leader across many other denominations. His worship songs “Here I am to worship” and “Beautiful One” are among many of his compositions sung each week in churches around the world.

Recently, Hughes, began mixing the theme of social justice with the ministry of worship. “As we read the Bible, we see so clearly God’s heart for the poor,” Hughes explains. “It ranks second only to idolatry as the most popular theme in the Old Testament. And in the New Testament, one in 10 verses relate to poverty, justice, or wealth. So if you take these themes out of the Bible, you’re left with a very, very thin book!”

Justice, in fact, began as a value in Hughes’ from during his earliest memories. “My parents always had a sense of loving the poor and the marginalized,” he explains. “My dad’s a vicar, and I remember vividly as a kid every Christmas the church ran a lunch outreach for the elderly, the homeless, and those who just didn’t have families. I remember we’d peel potatoes and serve food and drinks to people. In one sense it kind of felt strange: ‘Why aren’t we home opening our presents?’ But the concept of an outward Christian faith really stuck with me.”

Hughes has sees more clearly than ever the link between justice and worship. “I was involved in a mission to London called Soul in the City and there saw 10,000 young people come together to spend 10 days reaching out to the community. We picked up litter, painted old houses, organized sports for underprivileged kids, played late-night cafes and gigs for unbelievers. And when we gathered together to worship through song, there was an amazing depth to our worship. It felt like God was pleased with us because we weren’t just singing the songs; we were actually living a life of worship that was making a difference to those around us.”

Here are the lyrics of a relatively new song, composed in 2007 by Tim Hughes, inspired by his compassion for the poor:

"God of Justice"

God of Justice, Saviour to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus, You have called us
Freely we’ve received
Now freely we will give

We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go

To act justly everyday
Loving mercy in everyway
Walking humbly before You God

You have shown us, what You require
Freely we’ve received
Now freely we will give

Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out Lord
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Why Our Poverty and Wretchedness is Good for Us

by Jean-Pierre de Caussade

You want . . . to find a little help in yourself and your good works? That is precisely what God does not wish; that is what he cannot tolerate in souls that aspire to perfection.

What! rely upon self, count upon your good works--what a wretched survival of self-love, pride and perversity! It is to rid chosen souls of these that God makes them pass through a desolating state of poverty, wretchedness and spiritual nakedness. He wishes slowly to destroy all the trust and reliance they have in themselves, to deprive them of all their resources, so that he may be their sole support, their sole trust, their one hope, their one resource!

How accursed is that hope which unreflectingly you thus seek in yourself! How glad I am that God destroys, confounds and obliterates that cursed hope by means of this state of poverty and wretchedness! When all trust, all hope, all earthly and created aids have been taken from us, we shall have no more hope save in God alone.

This is the right hope, the right trust known to the saints, a hope and a trust based solely upon the mercy of God and the merits of Jesus Christ. But you will have this hope only after God has destroyed in you the last clinging roots of your trust in self. This may come to pass only if God keeps you for a while yet in entire spiritual poverty.

Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade (+1751) was a French Jseuit, a writer and

respected spiritual director.

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On Being Perfect

Perfection is more about charity to the poor and to each other than it is about some sort of moral “rightness” propelled by one’s drive to be perfect. Those who find solace in being correct and living a perfect life for God, but who do not observe the law of charity – patience, kindness, being non-judgmental, mercy and forgiveness may have explaining to do once on the Other Side.

Thomas Merton once said, “Perfection is not a moral embellishment which we acquire outside of Christ, in order to qualify for union with him. Perfection is the work of Christ himself living in us by faith.” (Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness, New York, Image Books, 1963, pg.54)

Jesus commands us to, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) Meaning, through the parable of the prodigal son, he reveals that the Father is allways merciful to the wreckless son or daughter, poor, the lost, lustfully addicted and the broken. Now, he wishes us to go and do likewise in order to be perfect like God the Father himself.
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Shower The People With Love

Mark Mulligan, a writer for The Herald, reports on the Fargos, a couple from Everett, Washington, who operate a mobile shower from a trailer on Wednesday evenings outside of the First Presbyterian Church in Everett. They also give away new sets of undergarments to folks who use the shower or come by and ask.

The Clearview couple, Louise and Frank Fargo, started Shower to the People more than two years ago when they decided to provide homeless people an important comfort many people take for granted.

“It just kind of hit me that some people have nowhere to take a shower,” Frank Fargo said. “And they are so appreciative. They think it's a great idea.”

For some of the people passing through, that shower is the only one they get that week. The fresh smells of soap and shampoo fill the trailer and the alley behind the church. A white curtain hides the part of the trailer where people can remove their clothes. Another curtain then leads into a small shower.

People are asked to limit their showers to five or eight minutes, but the Fargos don't watch the clock closely. The trailer gets instant hot water, and more can be added on site, so they never run out, Louise Fargo said.

The Fargos take the trailer to First Presbyterian Church in Everett on Wednesday nights and to Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood on Saturday mornings.

As many as 20 people take advantage of the shower each time. More usually use the shower at the end of a month, when their money may be running out, Frank Fargo said.

“They may be treating themselves to a motel at the beginning of the month, but by the end, they are stretched pretty thin,” he said.

About 900 people have used the shower since the Fargos started their unusual ministry.

Frank Fargo got the idea after reading a book, called Under the Overpass [see Under the Overpass blog, Monday, July 14, 2008), about a young man who was looking for something to do with his life when God told him to become homeless for several months. The man in the book describes going for weeks without a shower. Frank Fargo, who has met homeless people through his church, was touched.

He bought a trailer and outfitted it with a bigger shower, extra water tanks and the hot-water system.

The Fargos pay most of the expenses themselves, but they also get donations from the community. Frank Fargo hardly ever leaves his church, Cascade View Presbyterian, without a bag of donations for his shower.

The trailer has its regulars, and the Fargos worry when they don't show up.

The couple are well-known among church volunteers. The simple service they provide is giving people their confidence back, said First Presbyterian church member Merle Kirkley, who was helping clean up after the community meal.

“For someone who may be living in his car and hasn't had a shower in a week, this will make him feel better about himself,” Kirkley said.

Donations of toiletries and new socks and underwear can be dropped off at Cascade View Presbyterian Church, 1030 E. Casino Road, Everett.
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To Make Sure That We Do Not Forget

Nobel Peace Prize winner and foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa brought the homeless, sick, destitute and dying home to “die like angels.” She attributed her many charitable works to her daily Holy Hours of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Mother Teresa said, “I know I would not be able to work one week if it were not for that continual force coming from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“On the Cross Jesus said: ‘I thirst.’ From the Blessed Sacrament Jesus continues to say to each of us: ‘I thirst.’ He thirsts for our personal love, our intimacy, our union with Him in the Blessed Sacrament. His longing for us to be with Him in the Blessed Sacrament is infinitely greater than our longing to be with Him.” “Put your sins in the chalice for the precious blood to wash away. One drop is capable of washing away the sins of the world.”

“The Eucharist is connected with the Passion. If Jesus had not established the Eucharist we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. There is a saying that to be far away from the eyes is to be far away from the heart. To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of his love.” “When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now.”

“Our lives must be woven around the Eucharist . . . fix your eyes on Him Who is the light; bring your hearts close to His Divine Heart; ask Him to grant you the grace of knowing Him, the love of loving Him, the courage to serve Him. Seek Him fervently.” “To be alone with Jesus in adoration and intimate union with Him is the greatest gift of love—the tender love of our Father in Heaven.”

“All of us know that unless we believe and can see Jesus in the appearance of bread on the altar, we will not be able to see him in the distressing disguise of the poor. Therefore these two loves are but one in Jesus.”

“If we really understand the Eucharist, if we really center our lives on Jesus' Body and Blood, if we nourish our lives with the Bread of the Eucharist, it will be easy for us to see Christ in that hungry one next door, the one lying in the gutter, the alcoholic man we shun, our husband or our wife, or our restless child. For in them, we will recognize the distressing disguises of the poor: Jesus in our midst.”
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Shipwrecked and Sugar-Coated

At first glance, some may live life as though the depths of human brokenness belong only to say, the homeless or the prisoner, for example. In reality, our faith teaches us that all have sinned and all are therefore broken. Saint Teresa of Avila once said, “There is nothing here about the world’s system that I like.” The whole, entire place is broken. She longed for heaven.

Over the past nine months, bloggers and readers were asked if, while growing up, they were given the truth about our human condition. They were asked the question . . .

Did your parents, teachers and religious leaders prepare you for the “shipwrecked” human condition rampant in the world today? Or, do you think their message was sugar-coated. It left you to figure out the truth of our human brokenness on your own?

The majority, 58% felt as though they received the "sugar-coated" version. Quite possibly it contained a message that seemed to ignore the fact that all of us are extremely broken and in need of a Savior.

About 42% believe that the message they received while growing up was the direct, "shipwrecked" version. It’s here where one may have discovered that addictions, confusion, hatred, unforgiveness and the worst of all human tendencies is within all of us.

Thank you for participating. Scroll down to near the bottom of this main page and vote in all polls. Your opinion counts!
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Command, Command!

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

"Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Wealth is useless on the day of wrath, but virtue saves from death. Proverbs 11:4

Many are the needs of the poor around us. Even the rich are poor in virtue if they fail to give. Great is the generosity of God, who has given us all things in Christ. May he help us to share with the least, and so we pray:

R Lord, hear the cry of the poor!

For those who go to bed hungry,
- that they may be fed by those who have way more food than they need. R

For those who suffer the diseases of poverty,
- that they may find help from those who suffer the diseases of affluence. R

For those who are neglected,
- that they may find care from those who are loved. R

For those who live this life in homelessness,
- that they may be granted an eternal home. R

O God, you loved the poor of this world so much, that you gave us your only-begotten Son for our salvation. Grant that we who have received such an enormous gift from you, may not withhold from those in need any gift that lies within our power to give, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Needing a Savior and Saving a Life is Part of the Human Condition

It’s a story nothing short of amazing. A handful of homeless men lifted a 2 ton Cadillac off a little girl who was pinned beneath it. One of the heroes is a New Mexico man (photo) who credits his tribal heritage for saving the girl’s life.

The man who helped save 9-year-old Robyn Rubio’s life is not only tearful, but humble when he talks about his act of bravery.

“I don’t want to be called a hero,” said Stanford Washburn.

Washburn, a person who has nothing, gave everything he had to rescue Robyn. He even credits his Navajo heritage with saving her life.

“I chanted for her, ‘Please don’t leave us, be with us, be well, be well.’ That’s my chant,” said Washburn.

Washburn calls Shiprock, N.M., his home, but right now he’s homeless. The rescue took place while he was drinking in an alley near the Las Vegas strip in Nevada when he saw a Cadillac hit Robyn head-on. Washburn and several other transients jumped up and ran to help, miraculously lifting the 5,000 pound car off of Robin’s tiny body.

“I know she was scared, I know she was real scared,” said Tina Rubio, Robyn’s mother. Her daughter had to undergo treatment many days in intensive care.

What Robyn will know one day is that a homeless man from New Mexico saved her life. But it’s likely he won’t be the one to tell her. He’s much too humble.

“I’m just one of you guys, a red-blooded human being,” said Washburn.

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Police Department said he doubts the men could have picked up the car if a child had not been underneath it. They also said it shows how humans regardless of their circumstances react to saving a life.
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15 Promises that Prevent Eternal Homelessness

Our Blessed Mother, made 15 promises to those who say the Rosary daily. She told these promises in her appearance to Saint Dominic, when in approximately 1209, she taught him the rosary. At the time, he was struggling with blasphemous pagan villagers in the South of France, to whom he was preaching the Gospel with great difficulty. Here is what Mary said . . .

1. To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.

2. Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary will receive [additional] special grace.

3. The Rosary will be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin and dispel heresy.

4. The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies. It will draw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish.

6. Whoever recites my Rosary devoutly reflecting on the mysteries, shall never be overwhelmed by misfortune. He will not experience the anger of God nor will he perish by an unprovided death. The sinner will be converted; the just will persevere in grace and merit eternal life.

7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite my Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces and will share in the merits of the blessed.

9. I will deliver promptly from purgatory souls devoted to my Rosary.
Purgatory is a place of cleansing. It is God's mudroom.

10. True children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in heaven.

11. What you shall ask through my Rosary you shall obtain.

12. To those who propagate my Rosary I promise aid in all their necessities. You will be assisted in all your needs if you encourage others to pray the Rosary.

13. I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have as their intercessors, in life and in death, the entire celestial court.

14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.
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Good Samaritan or Levite and the Priest?

If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?

1 John 3:17

The poor are all around us, aren’t they? It can be a coworker that is shunned by the “popular ones”. Quite possibly, it is the person who struggles to read a sign or is confused in finding their way. Can it be our neighbor, a shut-in or someone around us who is unemployed? Our wealth is not always our money. Wealth may also be our time, our interest in another, our compassion and concern. It is whatever good that God has done for us that another is lacking.

We sinned each day we passed you by
And did not bind your wound,
To this one’s pain and that one’s cry
Remaining unattuned

So doing to the very least,
We did, O Lord, to you;
For, like the Levite and the priest,
We had so much to do.

We left you lying there for dead,
Abandoned and unhealed;
In your unheeded cry for bread,
Selfishness is revealed!
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