The Freedom of Slavery

Slavery to Christ is paradoxically, the way the oppressed are set free. Whatever chains bind us - addictions, poverty and emptiness – Christ breaks our bonds by his own poverty, death and resurrection.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6-7

Jesus Christ is the true liberator. To him we pray:

R Free your people, Lord.

For those who are trapped in homelessness, hunger, cold, thirst and nakedness, we pray: R

For those who are hated, marginalized and oppressed because of their own brokenness, we pray:

For those who are unjustly treated because of their race and color, we pray: R

For those liberators who bring release to the captive, lost and the lonely, we pray: R

“So if the Son has set your free, you are free indeed.” John 8:36

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Church: Majority say, “We actively serve the poor.”

About nine months ago, a poll was launched here at HIA to inquire about peoples’ perception of how the poor are being served within the context of their local church. The following question was surveyed: “On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your home church and the people's ability to directly reach out and serve the poor and homeless.” Here is how our bloggers responded . . .

* Some of our people are out there doing works of mercy. (34%)

* We're doing works of mercy and write some checks to help the poor. (13%)

* We actively serve the poor, launch fundraisers and donate lots of money. (53%)

Thank you for participating in the poll. Please scroll down to near the bottom of this main page and participate in all the survey questions.
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A Message from Famous Amos

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
"When will the new moon be over," you ask,
"that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
We will diminish the ephah,
add to the shekel,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Never will I forget a thing they have done! Amos 8:4-7
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He Freed them from Worthlessness and Abandonment

Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. 1 Corinthians 9:19

Peter Claver, who’s memorial we celebrated yesterday was born in Spain in 1580. With the guidance of Saint Alphonsus, Peter answered God’s call upon his life, received ordination and went to the mission field of Columbia, South America. There, until his death on September 8, 1634, Peter gave relentless compassion, kindness and mercy to the African slaves.

God sent Peter Claver as a light of hope in the midst of dark despair in order to address the wordless pleas of slaves in horrible distress. Although he could not free them from captivity, he freed them from a sense of worthlessness and abandonment through his tireless love and healing presence of Christ.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:1-2

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Who Does Jesus Call to Preach Today?

Please take a moment a participate in a new poll. Scroll down to near the bottom of this main page and share your opinion . . .

In the "old days," when Jesus first walked the hot, dusty roads of ancient Israel, he chose prostitutes, a midget, fishermen, homeless disciples, tax collectors and an accomplice in murder to preach the Gospel. Today’s preachers are selected for intelligence, degrees, a balanced MMPI psychological profile and demonstrated success. In your opinion, why is this so?

* Jesus’ selection method is obsolete today.
* Liability insurance companies will not support the old strategy.
* Over the centuries, the church may have lost sight of who Jesus calls.
* All the above.
* None of the above.

Your opinion counts! Thank you for participating in all the HIA polls.
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The Only Safe Rule . . . Give More Than We Can Spare!

By C.S. Lewis

Some people nowadays say that charity ought to be unnecessary and that instead of giving to the poor we ought to be producing a society in which there were no poor to give to. They may be quite right in saying that we ought to produce this kind of society. But if anyone thinks that, as a consequence, you can stop giving in the meantime, then he has parted company with all Christian morality.

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words,' if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.

For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money, but in our fear--fear of insecurity. This must often be recognized as a temptation.

Sometimes our pride also hinders our charity; we are tempted to spend more than we ought on the showy forms of generosity (tipping, hospitality) and less than we ought on those who really need our help. [Excerpt from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis]
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Donate! at http://www.ServantsoftheFather.org/donation_homeless or post checks to - Servants of the Father of Mercy, Inc., P.O. Box 42001, Los Angeles, CA 90042. All Donations are Tax Deductible

Homeless Feet

A Poem By Patricia Montesano

I’ve walked through trash and dirt and sorrow
Wandered through nowhere towards tomorrow
My feet are hurting, cracked and sore
My home is the street, the pavement my floor
I don’t recall how homeless began
I don’t remember from what I ran
But I do recall the constant pain
of cold and hunger, rejection and rain

I remember my mother tickling my toes
singing me songs and wiping my nose
smiling at me in her warm embrace
and cheering me on in the first-grade race

Those same feet now slowly shuffle along
from days of endurance through nights that are long
to mornings of hope glimmering through
as I wander again in old worn-out shoes
My socks get embedded into my feet
from weeks of walking on hard city streets
encouraged by warmth of soup kitchen meals
unable to talk of the pain that I feel

I remember the smile on my mother’s face
in the time I was loved in my childhood place
when I was secure in the arms of love
my feet gently washed and lovingly rubbed

Today, how I long simply for socks
to give me some comfort walking long blocks
Today I pray that my feet will not bleed
as I struggle to cross the wide busy streets
I pray for some water, kind words to be said
for compassion and care for my feet that have bled
A cup of hot coffee to warm my chapped hands
that once held tightly ...bright coloring crayons

I remember happiness in my heart
in the childhood home of my first-step start
Where I was anointed by love so complete
Before I began my life on the streets

I haven’t lost hope; I still live in prayer
I believe in God’s presence everywhere
I believe in Jesus, and I know we will meet
In recognition of homeless feet

By Patricia C. Montesano, March 24, 2005
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25.9 Million Tons of Trash and Counting

Some Americans find it difficult to reach out to the homeless poor living on our city streets with food and water. One of the reasons for this hesitancy to help has been the fact that some feel they have “limited resources” and cannot afford it. However, at the same time, food waste is a huge issue in America, especially in light of this growing divide between the rich and the poor.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Loss Project, U.S. citizens throw away more than 25 percent - some 25.9 million tons - of all the food produced for domestic sale and consumption. A 2004 University of Arizona study pegs the figure at closer to 50 percent, finding that Americans squander some $43 billion annually on wasted food.

Timothy Jones, a lead researcher for the AZ study reported that on average, U.S. households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. He estimates that a family of four tosses out $590 per year in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products. Is this a possible indication of the high cost of “not giving?”
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What’s the Possible Downside to being Wealthy? It can Empower One to Walk Away from Truth!

Does today's headline seem unbelievable? Admittedly, some headlines can be deceiving from time to time, but not this one. Read on . . .

. . . Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired.

Jesus replied, "'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"

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." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:16-22
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The Diabolical Self is Worse than the Animal Self

By C.S. Lewis

Finally, though I have had to speak at some length about sex, I want to make it as clear as I possibly can that the center of Christian morality is not here. If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither. (Mere Christianity, Chapter 15)
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