St. Benedict wisely counseled, “Pray and work.” ORA ET LABORE. I would humbly suggest that the suggested civil unrest and so on is self-indulgent. Let’s get on our knees; and then get to work. I would counsel starting non-profits: 501 (c)(3) organizations to do charitable work and 501 (c)(4) political lobbying groups–the status of Move On, a liberal group that is using the internet to glean countless contacts and resources and boy howdy they do not let go easily when you want to get off their email contact list. Let’s be that tenacious. Start a non-profit without the paperwork! I believe this is only a necessary formality when assets top $10,000. That leaves a lot of leeway in getting big oaks started from little acorns, so to speak. Any lawyer will give 1/2 hour of free counsel to a prospective client so get on the horn and ask about the details.
Let us be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We need to shelter resources from government taxation and clear a path for those who are not weary of well-doing and are ready to roll up their sleeves. The sleeping giant of the Catholic community must awaken to constructive, not destructive, action. The hammer is poised to quash civil disobedience. Let’s be like ants, and bees, and work together. They will know we are Christians by our love. Love is patience. Let us patiently consolidate our resources.
I would hope Catholics would unleash their economic power to help each other and the community at large. That would entail such things as food clubs run out of garages as start-ups. Link that to community food banks so donations of foodstuffs are not made with retail dollars but with wholesale dollars. Parishes in marginal areas are not served by banks but by predatory check-cashing outlets that exact high fees. It’s easy enough to start a credit union by purchasing turn-key computer programs. There’s plenty of talent out there to run them. My mom was on the board of her credit union and granting loans on a reasonable basis and it was much easier than some of the church-related volunteer work she did. B.Y.O.B. Be Your Own Bank. Community micro-gardens would entail getting a core group to rent a tiller for a day and solicit Craig’s List or parish contacts who wanted their land tilled for gardens. Let “Master Gardeners” guide newbies in planting. Timing is perfect for this as May 7 is a good time to till and plant. When those vine-ripened tomatoes start pouring in, distribute the excess to the poor, and sell them at “honor” tomato stands where toms are put in sacks with a donation box nailed to a tree to accept cash. Let’s raise money to buy cheap homes under a non-profit umbrella; rehab them; and put the needy into them. St. Louis has become a “market maker” by rehab and resettlement around their cathedral to stabilize the neighborhood.
Tender souls, you don’t realize how rich you are, pecking away on a keyboard in a process you take for granted. There are communities who are riven with illiteracy. I would weep to think that that such a brainy resource was cooking away in the slammer when a less dramatic sacrifice could have unchained minds locked in ignorance. Be that person who helps with convoluted paperwork from Medicare/Medicaid or some other government agency. Dear Sister Donna Loretto Gunn in her Mississippi Delta mission volunteered to take IRS training to fill out tax returns and got her illiterate working poor people plenty of cash so they could feed themselves. That’s wily.
Turn your eyes downward, I beg you, and lift up the weak and lowly instead of trying to cast down the high and mighty. Visiting nursing homes would pay greater political dividends when it’s time to vote and you can register these folks and bus them to the polls. Get pepper spray wholesale and distribute to neighborhoods where crime is high and women and children and old people are particularly at risk. Evangelize immigrant Hispanics who are coming from cult-ridden countries. Get a truck line to donate shipping to a poor Native American reservation and collect clothing, books, cloth diapers, soap and toys.
Be angry and sin not. K-Mart has $10 fruit trees. Plant one and year after year free nutritious fruit will be available. Plant parish grounds with fruit trees. Start now! If you have more money than time, donate to Sister Donna at: SACRED HEART PARISH & FAMILY CENTER, 1439 HIGHWAY 17, CAMDEN, MISSISSIPPI 39045-9524 and give her an encouraging call at: 662-468-2354 or an encouraging word at:
donnalorettogunn@yahoo.com Sister Donna’s parish is made up of the descendants of slaves who are having a rougher time than you or I. Be merciful.
