This is America!

by

Chuck Warnock

[Homelessness in America] is the sin of a society where executives of a failed global enterprise take home millions in “bonus” earnings, passing the victims of corporate greed and criminality in their BMWs and Mercedes-Benzs. This is America. This cannot, must not, should not continue to be the only America.

We who still have jobs, homes, cars, checking accounts, cell phones, computers, warm meals, a bathtub, dry socks, a toothbrush, a clean toilet, and who sleep peacefully at night, unafraid of being robbed, beaten, or killed — we must not let this continue. We must act, give, pray, cry, organize, open our churches, do whatever it takes to care for those kicked down by a system not of their making.

Our shame should stalk us like death until we repent, reach out, and restore those who have been displaced ... We are God’s people. This must not stand.

________

What will you do with your Homeless in America?
VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.
SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.

What Has Happened?

by

Isabella Miller

What has happened ... They ask when they see me ...
I am homeless ... They think I did it to myself ...
They think I am scum to be put on a shelf ...
A shelf of denial ... A shelf of pain ...
They look down on me as I stand in the rain ...
For I once too had what you had ... A job , a car, a family too ...
But that was all taken by no one, not even you ...
For I came from the bottom and worked my way too the top ...
Then by no fault of my own it had to drop ...
So here I am as I stand in the rain ...
You can look upon me with all the pain ...
For no one is safe from this one disease ...
Homelessness can happen as fast as you can sneeze ...
So the next time you see me on the street threadbare ...
Just remember not to judge me for we all can be here ...

________
What will you do with your Homeless in America?

VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.

SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.

The Last Penny

Just prior to her death a few years ago, an Austrian woman Maria Simma spoke with an American writer, Nicholas Eltz in detail about her advice to popes, priests and other Christians since the 1940s based on hundreds of encounters with what she has termed, “The Poor Souls,” apparently in Purgatory. After these numerous supernatural experiences, she has become a believer in Jesus’ words … “I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Luke 12:59

In the book “Get Us Out Of Here” by Nicholas Eltz, Maria Simma states on page 162 …"A soul came to me once during the day. I was walking home one afternoon up in the woods and along came an extremely old woman. My first thought was, ‘Goodness, does she ever look old!’ She wandered toward me and looked sad and somewhat lost. I greeted her and asked why she was up there on her own and that it was getting late. She answered, ‘No one cares for me. No one takes me in and I have to sleep on the streets.’ I then thought her marbles must be loose. I considered for a second and then offered to take her with me, knowing that if she was a nuisance she wouldn’t be around for that long. ‘I will take you, but my place is small. It is all I have but it is a roof, and I can feed you.’ She cheered up instantly and said, ‘That is all I needed.’ And she was gone.

"Later I learned that she, at some point in her life, had turned someone truly needy away, and therefore had to go to Purgatory until the day that another person took her in. In this way [by offering to take her in] I made up for her sin [of neglect of others]. My offering this to her was reparation for her neglect. Reparation is ALWAYS necessary and if we do not do it voluntarily, God will arrange for it."

________

What will you do with your Homeless in America?

VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.
COMMENT – Daily insights, prayers, thanksgiving & praise.
SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.
LIST – Yourself as a blog “Follower” middle right column.
INVITE – Friends and family to Subscribe!

The Life of a Priest who Served both Union and Confederate Soldiers Inspires us on the 4th of July

Fr. Peter Whelan sacrificed everything to bring Christ to others. He saved thousands of souls, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, visited the prisoner.

Fighting the Good Fight DVD is the first and only documentary presentation of the life of the remarkable and truly inspiring Fr. Peter Whelan, a Civil War chaplain and parish priest, whose life was lived according to St. Paul's words "No longer I, but Christ who lives within me." Peter Whelan left his life in Ireland and journeyed to the American South in 1830 to serve in the poor Catholic mission parishes.

Fr. Peter was more than a military chaplain, he was also a parish priest and even the administrator of the diocese of Savannah for two years. When offered the Episcopal appointment to the diocese of Savannah himself, he humbly declined. He served indiscriminately imprisoned soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies - actually living with the men in the difficult conditions of the prison camps - both Union and Confederate. He was the only chaplain at the notorious Andersonville prison camp in Georgia; perhaps the most amazing part of his life. The horrors at Andersonville caused the death of over 13,000 Union prisoners of war.

Fr. Peter is another superb example of a Catholic priest of heroic virtue - he said "When I give for Christ's sake, I give the best!" and he lived his life that way. In the jubilee Year of the Priest, there is no better time than now to tell the awe-inspiring story of his life and work with the poor, the prisoner and the abandoned.

________
What will you do with your Homeless in America?
VOTE ! Scroll down & vote in the polls.

Everyone is a First-hand Expert in Woundedness and thus, a Potential Expert in Helping others in their Woundedness

by
Mother Elvira Petrozzi
Founder of Comunita Cenacolo, Caring for the Lost and Desperate in Fourteen Countries

"I have to take care of this [others’] wounded existence, and for me the first wounded existence I must heal is my own. Today if we are not specialists, nobody will listen to us. Our competence to enter into this wounded nature is the mercy that we have received to be healed of our own wounded nature. Which one of us cannot say we are wounded in some way? Who among us still does not have open wounds? This wounded existence is us, every one of us. It is the first school for being able to close to the wounds of others.

"Today we are credible only if we have experience. We can say that we are experts. Personally I assure you that I feel that I can love only because I am continually filled up by God’s Divine Mercy. You know what mercy means? It means to become wounded by sin. This is my experience. The wound of my sin guarantees that the love that I give to my brothers is authentic. You know that I work with those who are addicted to drugs and that I live with them in a material and physical sense, but I live in their wounds. I get dirty in their mud, and I suffer in their darkness. The healing of these wounds cannot come from my natural compassion, from my human comprehension, or from the love of a consecrated woman.

________
What will you do with your Homeless in America?

VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.
COMMENT – Daily insights, prayers, thanksgiving & praise.
SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.
LIST – Yourself as a blog “Follower” middle right column.
INVITE – Friends and family to Subscribe!
http://www.homelessinamerica.blogspot.com/
VISIT – http://www.servantsofthefather.org/
DONATE - http://www.servatsofthefather.org/donation
JOIN OUR TEAM – Vocations@ServantsoftheFather.org

Homeless In America is Rated by RSSMicro FeedRank in the top 8% of
Lifestyles/Religion Blog Feeds & Reads

It's a Question of Mission

Throughout the ages of Christianity it seems as though Christians have struggled with defining their core mission. For instance, was it building church buildings or even achieving world domination? Of course Jesus said at the outset of his ministry what his mission was … from day one he stated … that he had come to “preach good news to the poor and to set the captive free” (cf. Luke 4:16-21). But is our mission to the poor the same as Christ’s or is there different expectations for our lives today?

About six months ago, Homeless America set out to poll subscribers and readers their opinion about concern for the poor. We asked the question: “Jesus commanded that His followers clothe, feed and care for the poor. Who does that apply to today?” Here is how they responded …

82% believe that every Christian everywhere is responsible for Jesus’ command that His followers should clothe, feed and care for the poor.

7% responded that specialists like missionaries are now responsible to carry out His command.

7% thought that Church poverty committees are best suited for the task.

3% are not sure.

Thank you for participating! Please scroll down to the bottom of the page and participate in all the Homeless In America polls. New ones are forthcoming.

_______

What will you do with your Homeless in America?

VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.

SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.

Who was our first example of the rich entering the lives of the poor, so that by their poverty we might become rich?

The Apostle Paul has the answer ... "Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also. I say this not by way of command, but to test the genuineness of your love by your concern for others. For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

"And I am giving counsel in this matter, for it is appropriate for you who began not only to act but to act willingly last year: complete it now, so that your eager willingness may be matched by your completion of it out of what you have. For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have; not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: 'Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.'" 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

_______

What will you do with your Homeless in America?

VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.
COMMENT – Daily insights, prayers, thanksgiving & praise.
SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.
LIST – Yourself as a blog “Follower” middle right column.
INVITE – Friends and family to Subscribe!
http://www.homelessinamerica.blogspot.com/
VISIT – http://www.servantsofthefather.org/
DONATE - http://www.servatsofthefather.org/donation
JOIN OUR TEAM – Vocations@ServantsoftheFather.org

Homeless In America is Rated by RSSMicro FeedRank in the top 8% of Lifestyles/Religion Blog Feeds & Reads

Take a Homeless Vacation, Raise lots of $$$ for the Poor, but Beware there will be Critics!

The Village Voice, a popular New York City publication reports that recently 32-year-old business professional Yusef Ramelize has taken a week's vacation from his job as a production coordinator to dabble in homelessness, as part of an effort to raise awareness and money for homeless shelters and food banks. Joining the ranks of the homeless began on a Sunday night, with Ramelize spending the night in the Union Square subway station and taking a short nap in a chair at McDonald's. He was kicked out for sleeping. According to the Village Voice, he's been staying in touch with his non-homeless friends with an iPhone. Friends have been bringing him food at night, though none of the meals are worth more than five dollars. So far he's raised $2,785. But, naturally, Ramelize has his critics. One commenter on the Voice website is quick to find fault: "You've got to realize that him taking up a graciously allowed chair at a 24 hour McDonald's denies that chair to someone in need. Sure, maybe the greater good could be served in the long term, but he could be hurting folks in the present. Did he give his apartment over to a homeless person while it was unoccupied for the week?"

_______
What will you do with your Homeless in America?

DONATE – http://www.servatsofthefather.org/donation

JOIN OUR TEAM – Vocations@ServantsoftheFather.org

Grieving is Praying

There are few mourners left in the world. Two weeks ago, a young man, Danny, only twenty-one years old was found dead in an Anaheim hotel room nearly 100 miles from home. We grieve ... A few days ago, Anthony took his life at his home in Mexico. He was twenty-seven years old. We grieve ... Last week, a thirteen-year-old boy passed unexpectedly from what seem to have been successful open heart surgery. He died at home. We grieve ... A few days ago, an elderly doctor in South Carolina ended his life after spending the night at a friend's home who tried to console him. We grieve ... Two years ago, an elderly Los Angeles homeless man we call, "Mountain Man" slipped into eternity, exposed, on the side of a hill, by the train tracks. There was no closure, no Mass, no sending forth - just a date with the coroner. We grieve ...

Grieving is praying …

Look, my soul, at the way one human being tries to inflict as much pain on another as possible; look at these people plotting to bring harm to their fellows; look at these parents molesting their children; look at this landowner exploiting his workers; look at the violated women; the misused men; the abandoned children. Look my soul, at the world; see the concentration camps, the prisons, the nursing homes, the hospitals and hear the cries of the poor. H.N.

Grieving is praying …
_______

What will you do with your Homeless in America?

VOTE – Scroll down & vote in the polls.
COMMENT – Daily insights, prayers, thanksgiving & praise.
SUBSCRIBE! –Top right column.
LIST – Yourself as a blog “Follower” middle right column.
INVITE – Friends and family to Subscribe!
http://www.homelessinamerica.blogspot.com/

VISIT – http://www.servantsofthefather.org/

DONATE - http://www.servatsofthefather.org/donation

JOIN OUR TEAM – Vocations@ServantsoftheFather.org

Homeless In America is Rated by RSSMicro FeedRank in the top 8% of
Lifestyles/Religion Blog Feeds & Reads

We Hopelessly Hunger

The Son of man has come to seek and save what was lost.

Luke 19:10

All have sinned. All have wandered from any sense of a true spiritual home. Lost, we lack direction, we hopelessly hunger for we know not what. God however is a tireless seeker!

R Lead us home, Lord!

For those who live in alleyways, doorways, under bridges and in the shelter of moonlight and starlights: R

For those living homeless because of disaster or violence, by war and famine: R

For those who have been abandoned physically, emotionally and spiritually by mother, father, home and family: R

For those who have given up their spiritual home - church, community, friends and heritage: R

May the Lord, our Shepherd, lead us to our heavenly home! Amen.

_______

What will you do with your Homeless in America?

DONATE - at http://www.servatsofthefather.org/donation
JOIN OUR TEAM - email Vocations@ServantsoftheFather.org