Wealth, Seduction and Happiness

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mt. 19:21

We must take care to guard against greed, for though one may be rich, life does not consist of possessions, Jesus warns us in Luke 12:15. Our happiness lies in God alone. Those who are rich in goods and prestige would do well to devote all they have to the service of the Lord. Seduced by money and fame? Better yet, become seduced by the riches of the Gospel. Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Mt. 19:23-26
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The First Thanksgiving

Everyone has heard that the first Thanksgiving took place with a bunch of Pilgrims off the Mayflower in 1621, but it was Abraham Lincoln who, in the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, established the annual celebration of Thanksgiving. Lincoln had learned how important it is to stop and thank God in the midst of great difficulties. He wrote . . .

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."

~Abraham Lincoln~
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Builder of Our Eternal Home

May we live as God’s household, holding fast to our confidence and pride in our hope. Amen. Hebrews 3:6

To Jesus Christ our foundation, cornerstone and Builder of our eternal home, let us pray:

R Lord, make your Church the dwelling place of God!

- - That all who are called by your name may care for the poor, broken, homeless, lost, orphan, widow, sick and dying around us: R

- - That your ministers and religious stewards may remain faithful to your Gospel of poverty, justice and truth: R

- - That our worship and gatherings may remain filled with those who are downtrodden, despised, rejected and humiliated: R

- - That the charity of your people here on earth may shine like the sun in the early morning darkness: R

"You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22
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The Great Communicator

Ronald Reagan is acclaimed as “the great communicator,” but some say he sometimes used his rhetorical skills to stigmatize the poor. During his poverty speeches while dutifully promising to roll back welfare, Reagan often told the story of a so-called “welfare queen” in Chicago who drove a Cadillac and had ripped off $150,000 from the government using 80 aliases, 30 addresses, a dozen social security cards and four fictional dead husbands. Journalists searched for this “welfare cheat” in the hopes of interviewing her and discovered that apparently she didn’t exist.

Another of Reagan’s enduring legacies is the steep increase in the number of homeless people, which by the late 1980s had swollen to 600,000 on any given night – and 1.2 million over the course of a year. Many were Vietnam veterans, children and laid-off workers.

In early 1984 on Good Morning America, Reagan defended himself against charges of callousness toward the poor in a classic blaming-the-victim statement saying that “people who are sleeping on the grates…the homeless…are homeless, you might say, by choice.”

In this regard, recently, a Homeless In America poll came to an end. For about the past year bloggers and visitors have been sampled about this blaming-the-victim view. They were asked . . . What do you think? Are they homeless by choice? Are they homeless because of complex societal/personal factors? Here is how everyone answered:

One hundred percent of respondents believe that the poor homeless are suffering homelessness because of complex societal and personal factors. No one polled believes that they are homeless by choice.

Thank you for participating in this and all the Homeless In America polls. Please scroll down to near the bottom of this main page and participate in all of them. Your opinion counts!
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Santa's Homeless Sleigh is Coming to Town

A BIG hearty thank you and God bless you goes out to the many Ventura, California area restaurant owners and establishments who generously supported this year’s Servants of the Father of Mercy holiday fundraiser for the homeless.

This holiday season the Servants of the Father of Mercy has launched a fundraiser for the 1000s of homeless whom we serve food, water, clothing, blankets, and spiritual supplies in Ventura and Los Angeles. It is called Santa’s Sleigh Holiday Raffle - $5 a chance to win one of two sleighs packed full with 100s of dollars in treats, dining certificates, gift certificates and more. The winners will be picked at a Holiday Party and Drawing, Friday, December 30, 2011.

In grateful acknowledgement to the following for their participation and the $100s of dollars in gift certificates that they have donated:
* Mai – Mai’s Café
* Coco – Coco's Beauty Salon
* James – Red Brick
* Tom – Urbane Café
* Derek – Sharkys
* Jose-Luis – Santa Paula Photography Studio
* Franco – Java Joes Café
* Nicole – All Star Nails
* Shelley – Noah's Bagels
* Patty & Paige – Fern's Flowers and Gifts
* Scott – Century Theater

If you would like to participate in the raffle (there are two sleighs – two chances to win) send an email with your address and how many tickets you would like to Contact@ServantsoftheFather.org. Post your donation at the donate tab, www.ServantsoftheFather.org. Or, post checks to Servants of the Father of Mercy, P. O. Box 42001, Los Angeles, CA 90042.

God bless everyone for their participation!
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Putting on the Ritz

Urban Peak Homeless Shelter for homeless young people reaches out to those in need on a monthly basis in a unique partnership with the Ritz-Carlton, a newly opened (2008) 5 star hotel in the Denver, Colorado area. Every third Thursday of the month, a complimentary dining event is made up for the youth. Employees and even guests of the Ritz-Carlton get into the action by cooking and serving breakfast to the poor at the Urban Peak homeless shelter.

Would you like to join the team? Put on your “chef’s hat” for the entire morning -- whether flipping pancakes or rolling up burritos, this is an opportunity to have fun, interact with the youth and get involved in the local community. Family members under the age of 18 are welcome to volunteer in the meal preparation but must be accompanied by an adult. Urban Peak is located just minutes from the Ritz-Carlton property, and offers extensive services for homeless and runaway youth; the organization helps guide teens and young adults out of homelessness and other life challenges by providing safety, respect, essential services and a supportive community, empowering them to become self-reliant and more successful in life.

More on the Internet at: http://www.urbanpeak.org/
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Seeing is Believing

Over the past year, bloggers and visitors to Homeless In America were asked in a poll to disclose how often they may encounter a homeless person. According to their responses, fewer than 50% seldom see or speak to someone who is homeless. Of course, when living in big cities it is practically impossible to miss seeing those who are down and out. But for those living in more rural regions of the country, one may miss the reality of homelessness, nearly 3.5 million lost, broken and lonely souls, many living in Calcutta-like conditions, especially under bridges in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

After polling the question: “How often do you see or speak to a homeless person?” Here is how everyone responded . . .

Daily (16%)
Every few days (16%)
Once or twice a month (22%)
Rarely (44%)

There is a spiritual danger when we do not see the poor, especially when they are obvious as was the case of Lazarus and the rich man, a parable told by Jesus in this regard, (Cf. Luke 16:19-31). At the end of the story, the rich man ends up in the eternal place of torment, not because of sins he committed, but because of what he did not do in his lifetime, namely helping the poor.

Jean Vanier, the founder of l‘Arche communities for the disabled, expands upon the lessons to be learned from “Lazarus and the Rich Man.” While speaking on radio with Lydia Talbot, he once said, “I think there is a whole mystery which we find in Luke. Lazarus was an excluded outcast, a leper, and he is the one that enters into the kingdom. The rich man, who wasn't able to see him, rejected him. He goes into the place of torment. You see, the danger for rich people is that they become frightened and they build up barriers around their hearts, defense mechanisms, because they have to preserve their riches, preserve their image, preserve their power. So they become people of with lots of fear, whereas Lazarus has nothing to defend. He's just himself.”
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Homeless Help Prepare Protesters

Recently, Associated Press writer Erika Niedowski reported that with the temperature dropping, Occupy Protesters are stockpiling donated coats, blankets and scarves, trying to secure cots and military-grade tents, and getting survival tips from the homeless people who have joined their encampments.

"Everyone's been calling it our Valley Forge moment," said Michael McCarthy, a former Navy medic in Providence. "Everybody thought that George Washington couldn't possibly survive in the Northeast."

More than a month and a half into the movement, Occupy Wall Street activists from New York to Colorado have pledged to tough out the snow, sleet and cold as they protest economic inequality and what they call corporate greed [and unfair bank fees, etc.].

But the dangers of staying outdoors in some of the country's harsher climes are already becoming apparent: In Denver, two protesters were hospitalized with hypothermia this week during a storm that dumped several inches of snow.

The activists also know full well that the number of demonstrators is likely to drop as the weather gets colder.

Some movements are scouting locations indoors, including vacant buildings or other unused properties, possibly even foreclosed homes, though some question the wisdom of holding a protest outside the public eye.

Boston's Occupy movement, which has roughly 300 overnight participants and could face some of the most brutal weather of any city with a major encampment, has set up a winterization committee that will try to obtain super-insulated sleeping bags and other winter survival gear.

Activists from the movement's flagship encampment, consisting of hundreds of people in New York City's Zuccotti Park, are sorting through packages arriving daily that include coats and jackets.
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What does the Bible say about compassion for the poor?

Well, here it is! And this is just from the beginning of the Bible . . .

Deuteronomy 14:29
“Keep it in reserve for the Levite who won't get any property or inheritance as you will, and for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who live in your neighborhood. That way they'll have plenty to eat and God, your God, will bless you in all your work.”

Deuteronomy 15:7
“When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse.”

Deuteronomy 15:11
“There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.”

Deuteronomy 24:19-21
“19: When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don't go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work. 20: When you shake the olives off your trees, don't go back over the branches and strip them bare--what's left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. 21: And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don't take every last grape--leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.”
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Tips on Being Homeless or Just Dirt Poor

Whether you are technically homeless or just dirt poor, finding food and water or other amenities like heat can be a daunting task. Here are a few tips from the pros – people who have been there and know something about how to survive.

- Check out events like church gatherings, Sunday morning coffee and donuts, open houses or special museum nights. Usually they have free food. Free samples at grocery stores and markets are also an awesome welcome.

- Friends who haven't seen you in a while will occasionally offer to buy you lunch or coffee. Yeah, it feels like a humbling guilt trip, but it's because they care about you. Obviously don't ask, but if they offer its okay to say yes.

- Can’t afford the gas or electric? Use blankets and layers of clothing instead of heat. Hot drinks work nicely too. Also, for about $20 at Amazon.com, Lasko makes a Ceramic Personal Space Heater that will keep you toasty warm for pennies a day.

- Some grocery stores have a "damaged food" shelf. Here there are dented cans or apples with bruises, but otherwise fine food which is sold for cheap.

- Some restaurants have "meal deals" where you can buy a combination of items and get it all at a reduced price. The food will last you several meals.

- Bulk up on inexpensive carbs like pasta, couscous, beans, rice and lentils.

- Shop for fruits and vegetables in season. You probably don't need watermelon in December!

- Stock up for the day with sugar, ketchup, honey, napkins and cups . . . anything like that’s in the condiment stand in a restaurant.

- Shop independent thrift shops, The Salvation Army and Goodwill for clothes. Hand-me-downs from family and friends are awesome too!

- Get your water at a friend's house or a fast food soda fountain instead of buying bottles.

- Shower at a friend's house or occasionally check into a gym by getting a day pass – some offer them for free just to try out the gym. Go work out for a few minutes and then use their shower. Many already have soap and shampoo in them as well.
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A Cluttered House

By Caryll Houselander

"To be rich is to live in an overcrowded house, a house of life overcrowded with false values; they encumber like useless heirlooms. They ought to be thrown out of the windows but the courage and the virility to do this are lacking . . .

"Poverty is like one room. The windows are open, the sun comes in, the walls are whitewashed, there are one or two books chosen for our delight, they are read and re-read; if there is a picture it is one bought at the cost of sacrifice because it is a real joy, we see it because there is no bric-a-brac to distract from it. There is one earthenware pot that holds water, and the wild flowers know in it their affinity to earth and rain. This room is a workroom, in it we learn the joy of good work, done well, and of the real charity, the fellow-feeling, of working with others. We share the dreams, the ardors and the endurances of other people; we have the key to love.

" ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,’ says Christ. ‘For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ This is true, all the other Beatitudes promise future blessedness, but this one gives the loveliest of all, here and now, the kingdom of heaven, which in this life, is known in the wonder and realization of life and beauty, in the keenness of the mind and of the senses, in the power of selection and in the response of the unspoilt spirit to God and man. "

Caryll Houselander (+ 1954) was a British mystic, poet and spiritual teacher.

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