Homeless Wind

A chilly wind blows across the homeless plane

Through the souls of those without addresses or fame

On the sidewalks in the doors forgotten people merge in impotent night

With dreams of prosperity love's touch living the hopeful life

An overhang against the rain

A ward against earth's heatless grip

Enough blankets to still the wind
Success ...

by Michael Burgwin

A Funny Way of Saying It

Those of us who enjoy the temporal wealth of homes and money frequently remain disconnected to our own “poverty.” Thus, we find it difficult to connect with others who are actually living in physical poverty. For instance, many view the homeless, the addict and the poor as the real losers in life. However, with a little honesty and soul searching, we begin to connect with our own personal brokenness, our own sins – like this guy …

A well to do gentleman is walking along the street in a big city. A homeless man calls to him "Excuse me Mister, can I have $5?" "Will you buy booze with it?" asks the gentleman "No." Says the homeless guy. "Will you gamble it away?" asks the gentleman. "No." "Will you come home with me so my wife can see what happens to a man who doesn't drink or gamble?"
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Why we Love the Poor

Christian thinkers have agreed with the claim that one must love other people for themselves and not for an earthly reward. As Jesus Christ said “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies ... For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew, 5:43-48; cf. Luke, 14:12-14; Acts, 20:35). Indeed the Christian manual Didache (c. 100) claims that the true Christian must give to everyone that asks without looking for repayment. Hence several Christians such as Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215), Lactantius (c. 240-320), Basil (c. 330-379), Ambrose (c. 340-397), Jerome (c. 347-420), Augustine (354-430), John Cassian (c. 360-433), Dorotheus of Gaza (c. 505-565), and Gregory the Great (c. 540-604), as well as the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita (c. 500-200 B.C.E.), assert that one’s love is true only if one is willing to love someone who may not return one’s love.

Excerpt from .... Vincelette, Alan, “Unconditional Love,” in Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions, ed. Yudit Kornberg Greenberg (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008), v. II, pp. 647-649)

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Thomas Talk

It's no ordinary Monday! Today is celebrated the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). Thomas was the dominant thinker of the middle ages. He combined the science and philosophy of Aristotle with the truths of Christianity, holding that Aristotle got "it" right." However, one catch - without Christ in the equation he did not capture the whole truth.

Saint Thomas identified the Eternal Law or the Divine Reason of God that governs and orders the entirety of creation. He would say that the Eternal Law is "imprinted" on all things including all men. He also identified Natural Law which is that part of the Eternal Law that is presented to humans in the forms of logic and reason. Thomas is famously known for the Summa Theologica. Unfortunately, it was never a work he personally completed after his own human reason paled in comparison to a supernatural revelation of God that took place in his life just months prior to his death. Refusing to continue on with the writing project, students completed the Summa Theologica for Saint Thomas.

Nevertheless, Saint Thomas Aquinas views of serving the poor come from a philosophical perspective. He believed that private property is necessary for human life and is an extension of Natural Law. He acknowledges that under Natural Law all property is communal, but also contended that the addition of private property was an extension, and not a contradiction of Natural Law.

He believes that possession of private property is necessary because: (1) men will more resolutely and attentively take care of things if they possess them instead of the goods being held in common by all or many others; (2) possession advances order rather than chaos and confusion as responsibility can be determined; and (3) private possession promotes a more peaceful state.

However, in regards to serving the poor, He also said that while the ownership of goods should be private, the use of person’s goods must be in common (so that the poor and needy can have their share) or must be in service of the common good.

Joyous feast day to all Saint Thomas Aquinas parishes, colleges and organizations!
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More on the Internet:

http://www.quebecoislibre.org/

A Modern-day Saint Speaks

Responding to Four Good Reasons (see Thursday, January 24, 2008) a reader reacts to the notion that our life in Christ is made more complete when we experience suffering for doing the good just like our Master who was also misunderstood, despised and rejected. Anonymous lets a modern-day saint speak … "The more Jesus intends to raise a soul to perfection, the more he tries it by suffering. So rejoice, I say to you, in seeing yourself so privileged, in spite of your unworthiness. The more you are afflicted, the more you ought to rejoice, because in the fire of tribulation the soul will become pure gold, worthy to be placed and shine in the heavenly palace." - Padre Pio
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Charity and Feeding the Poor Begins at Home

Unlike newspapers that can stack up in the garage, most families are unaware of the amount of food that is wasted. It quickly disappears down the garbage disposal without a second thought. The average four-person household wastes about $600 of food each year. Meanwhile, the working poor in America as well as the homeless often struggle to find their next meal.

The US already produces enough food to feed every citizen, but so much of it is wasted. About 40% of all food produced in America is never consumed. That amounts to more than 29 million tons of food waste each year, or enough to fill the Rose Bowl every three days. Nationwide, food scraps make up 17 percent of what we send to landfills.

One non-profit organization has become creative in reducing food waste. The Food Bank of Central New York encourages member food pantries to run an “open choice” pantry, letting families pick what they need and want instead of prepacking boxes. They also run a service called “Second Helpings,” where prepared, uneaten food is frozen by restaurants and caterers — then they pick the food up and deliver it directly to homeless shelters, member soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and other places that serve hot meals to those in need. Food Bank of Central New York has a “Fresh Foods” program that picks up donated perishables daily from grocery stores and delivers them to sites where people wait hours for the chance to take home fruits and vegetables, milk, juice, etc. Finally, they work with local farmers and wherever possible to glean from their fields after the harvest what won’t be sold in order to give to people who can’t afford to buy.

Possibly looking at the problem and entertaining solutions like Food Bank of Central New York, will help inspire us to seek do the right thing with our own food supplies. Helping the poor and homeless begins with wise use of food beginning with meal planning, grocery store outings, curtailing impulse buying, effective food storage and better use of leftovers. Just like charity, we discover feeding the poor begins at home.
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More on the Internet

Information provided by HIA blogger Jonathan Bloom who is writing a book on wasted food in America. Visit http://www.wastedfood.com.

From Honor and Privilege to an Historical Perspective

Responding to the reality that according to God's word, we can actually meet and see the Lord in the poor, the homeless and the abandoned (see Looking for God? Monday, January 14, 2008) blogger Liz said... "Experiences like the one we shared on Sunday night remind us that God is so present and that he is looking out for everyone - like the cold and hungry woman on her bike looking for some help [at 10pm]- and we gave it to her. And we all benefited from it. It's an honor and privilege to do God's will."

Passing along an historical perspective concerning The Weight of my Wretchedness by Sor Juana Ines De LA Cruz (see Friday, January 18, 2008) Ernesto said ... "Beautiful indeed …. Consider how she was ordered by her bishop to destroy all her work because he said, 'It is not proper for a nun to be writing about worldly things.' According to some historians, she destroyed about 90% of her work - because of her vow of obedience. But it really sounds to me it was more about “evil envy” creeping into the motives of some of the religious leaders. Some of her works, like this one posted were not destroyed because they were already in the hands of some of her friends."

Four Good Reasons

Not long ago HIA posted, “Preaching the Prosperity Gospel to the Homeless?” (see Thursday, January 3, 2008). The "Gospel of Prosperity," popular in America for decades now is the notion that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches and minimize suffering. On the surface, it’s a nice notion, but in reality not the life Jesus led or promised His followers. To the contrary, Jesus experienced suffering and so suffering is co-shared by His followers.

In yesterday’s Mass Gospel reading (Mark 3:1-6), Jesus enters a synagogue and meets a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees scrutinize Jesus’ every move to see if he will heal on the Sabbath. Jesus knew their judgemental and hardened hearts. He said …, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather destroy it?” They remained silent. Of course Jesus was not intimidated. He chose to do the good and so the man was healed. Immediately the Pharisees went out and took counsel with the Romans to put Jesus to death. It is here in this story we clearly discover that doing the good exposes Christians to suffering - not alleviate it.

No matter at work, at home, while serving the poor, helping the abandoned and the forgotten - when doing the good, we should not be surprised when we suffer undo scrutiny, criticism, rejection, anger and more when doing what is right. But that is good news!

Thus there are four good reasons to believe that our life in Christ is made more complete when we experience suffering for doing the good just like our Master who was also misunderstood, despised and rejected:

Reason #1: Jesus in His own words tells us …"You will be hated by all the nations" (Matthew 24:9, 14). In other words, no matter where you go - doing the right thing just like Jesus did, in His name - you will suffer.

Reason #2: Paul calls our following Christ the "filling up of what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Colossians 1:24). In other words, God's purpose is that the afflictions of Jesus that purchased our salvation be imitated and demonstrated in all true believers.

Reason #3: Jesus sent out the first Christians by saying, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you" (John 20:21). "If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household …" (Matthew 10:25).

Reason #4: A fourth reason is that Paul said to Timothy, "Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ…" (2 Timothy 2:3). Paul also asserts, “But share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling...” (Timothy 1:8).

Welcome to the Kingdom of God!

Iraqi Veterans Losing Battle

For as long as the United States has sent its young men — and later its young women — off to war, it has watched as a segment of them come home and lose the battle with their own memories, their own scars, and wind up without homes. To the dismay of many Americans, Veterans make up 25 percent of homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a recent VA homeless report, (see Tsunami Effect, Thursday, November 8, 2007).

In an article published Saturday January 20, 2008 AP writer Erin McClam reports on the growing concerns of homelessness conquering Iraqi war veterans. She said … “This is not a new story in America: A young veteran back from war whose struggle to rejoin society has failed, at least for the moment, fighting demons and left homeless.

“But it is happening to a new generation. As the war in Afghanistan plods on in its seventh year, and the war in Iraq in its fifth, a new cadre of homeless veterans is taking shape.

“And with it come the questions: How is it that a nation that became so familiar with the archetypal homeless, combat-addled Vietnam veteran is now watching as more homeless veterans turn up from new wars?

“What lessons have we not learned? Who is failing these people? Or is homelessness an unavoidable byproduct of war, of young men and women who devote themselves to serving their country and then see things no man or woman should?”

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We See You Saturday

One morning in November, the realization hit that reaching out to the homeless is about seeing the unseen (see "We See You Saturday" Monday, November 12, 2007). This past Saturday, the delivery of supplies to the poor living under bridges and on city streets is about “seeing” people - in much the same way that Jesus takes the time to see the short guy Zacchaeus up in the tree (see Sunday, November 4, 2007) and blesses him. We do the same when we take time to encounter and “see” the normally unseen. On this occasion we had a chance to see an entire organization that is serving the poor, Transition House (photos). The home helps approximately 150 residents at any given time to transition out of a life of poverty and homelessness.







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