Homeless in America: We're All Technically Homeless: News from St. Luke's Youth Ministry

Monday, March 31, 2014

We're All Technically Homeless: News from St. Luke's Youth Ministry

After a wonderfully busy weekend, we’re finally getting a moment to share some inspirational photos from last Saturday's StreetReach to the homeless living under the bridges and on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The St. Luke's Youth Ministry youth leader Ivonne, the other youth leaders and more than thirty kids all came by bus to serve the Servants of the Father of Mercy homeless family in DTLA, about 6,000 in the central district. Thank you, thank you for all you have done for the homeless!

The youth group brought 300 pairs of socks, 300 candy bars, 300 chip packs water bottles, bags of clothing, pot of pasta y fagoli and more. May God bless everyone that participated and Fr. John for helping put it all together. At the end of the day the youth were asked, "What did you learn?" One quipped, "Don't take things [like my house and home] for granted." The others were asked, "Why are all of you technically homeless?" Tough question, but one quickly had the correct answer - "Because we are not in heaven yet!" Here are some pictures from the day . . .

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* * * REMINDERS * * *

* RETREAT
Reminder to mark your calendars now: Memorial Day Weekend, Servants of the Father of Mercy Annual Community Retreat, Prince of Peace Abbey, Oceanside, CA, 4pm Fri - Sun 2pm, May 23 - 25 - suggested donation is $195, however no one is left behind because of money! Guests are welcome. RSVP today! Msgr. Liam Kidney Pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Pacific Palisades and Abbott Charles of the Abbey will be our special guests leaders and speakers.

* GRAND OPENING
Annual anniversary celebration and grand opening of the Servants of the Father of Mercy chapel and warehouse, Fr. John Neiman presiding. Reserve your calendar now: Friday, June 25, 2014, 6p to 9p. Mass, blessing and reception. Your family, friends and guests are invited too. RSVP. 1544 Morse Ave., Ventura, CA 93003, near the corner of Market Street and Morse Ave, across from the VFW Hall.

* HAWAIIAN LUAU FUNDRAISER
Sunday, May 18th, a fundraiser sponsored by Mai's Café and Tina's Polynesian Dancers, dinner buffet and show from 2pm to 5pm. Servants of the Father of Mercy Warehouse. Tickets $20, Children $10, kids 5 and under free. 1544 Morse Ave., Ventura, CA 93003, near the corner of Market Street and Morse Ave, across from the VFW Hall.
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The Wealthy & Middle Class Sin of Self-righteousness may not be easily Seen or Confessed

"One of the temptations of upper-middle class life is to create sharp edges of our moral sensitivities and it allows a comfortable confusion about sin and virtue. The difference between rich and poor is not that the rich sin is more than the poor’s sin, but that the rich find it easier to call sin a virtue. When the poor sin, they [the poor] call it sin; when they see holiness, they identify it as such. The intuitive clarity is often absent from the wealthy, and that absence easily leads to the atrophy of the moral sense." Fr. Henri Nouwen

Mary, A Celestial Apparition or Model of Mercy

From Fatima and Lourdes to Mexico City, millions of pilgrims flock to Mary, our Blessed Mother. What does she require of her spiritual children? Does she need a spectacle of mystical and celestial adoration? Would it be more pleasing to her that we also follow her in lowliness and humbly participate in God’s mercy for the poor? Mary proclaims in Luke chapter one, “For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant… He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty… He has remembered his promise of mercy.”

Discovering God in our own Poverty

When we are not afraid to confess our own poverty, we will be able to be with other people in theirs. The Christ who lives in our own poverty recognizes the Christ who lives in other people’s. Just as we are inclined to ignore our own poverty, we are inclined to ignore other’s. We prefer not to see people who are destitute, we do not like to look at people who are deformed or disabled, we avoid talking about people’s pains and sorrows, we stay away from brokenness, helplessness and neediness. By this avoidance we lose touch with the people through whom God is manifested to us. But when we have discovered God in our own poverty, we will lose our fear of the poor and go to them and meet God.
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Grace Flows from Gratitude

Did "God shed His grace on thee?" The homeless in America have many things to teach us who think we are rich. When the last meal was not as good as usual, I am thankful for what I was given - grace flows from gratitude. When the house requires more work than usual, I am thankful for the shelter - grace flows from gratitude. When going to work becomes a complaint, I am thankful for the income - grace flows from graitude. When the mattress becomes less comfortable today than it was the night before, I am thankful for my bed - grace flows from gratitude. When my companions in life seem to bring more work than they bring joy, I am thankful for friends - grace flows from gratiude. The homeless in America have many things to teach us who think we are rich.

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Monday, March 31, 2014

We're All Technically Homeless: News from St. Luke's Youth Ministry

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