Poverty

[mannyefx]

My question is about poverty. I read a lot of catholics believing that God blesses us with poverty. Obviously, they live in western countries and dont understand what poverty really is. What you have in western countries in NOT poverty. When you visit Africa or Indian and you see real poverty in the faces of children broken with no drinking water, clothes or shoes then you’ll understand what happens to the human soul. I’m from Africa, i live here, i attended a St Vincent the paul meeting and i saw people cry for $2, just $2 to pay for health care. How could i tell them that its a blessing from God? they where broken and hungry and we think its a blessing? How could that be a blessing when we have to help them? I certainly believe that people say stuff to justify their laziness and are content with going through live passively. Help me make sense of this…If its a blessing, why is there a global fight against poverty? Why do we provide clothes, food, shelter, portable drinking water to people living in abject poverty ala Mother Teresa of calcutta?

Regards

 

[MaryT777]

You make a good point and I have no answers. My cousin was a missionary in Africa many many years ago in the Peace Corps and went from a devout Catholic to one who believed In no God at all.

It was very sad.

Mary.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Extreme poverty is a disgrace, but people everywhere just turn their heads and pretend not to notice. 9,500 children die everyday from an agonizing death due to starvation. Again, people refuse to notice. How are we supposed to find joy while living in such a world?

 

[marymary1975]

Once I read something from a catholic priest (father Jorge loring, great cathequist BTW) who explain this idea in a great way. I am also from a third world country originally so i know what you mean. Poverty in and of itself is not a “blessing”. It is poverty in the spirit what is ablessing, more specifically full detachment from material things. He mentioned that you can be a homeless person on the street and still have a heart full of greed. So it is not so Mich the lack of material things (as you can lack material things but still be greedy) but the detachment from material/early things.

The problem you tend to run is that a big majority of rich people have an attachment to material things, and that we shouldn’t give into excesses which most of rich people do. But we cannot assume that lack of money is going to prevent us from greed or that having money will make everybody greedy. He mentioned the case (I cannot remember his name) of a Spanish blessed man in the process of canonization who was born pretty wealthy and he used all his fortune to help the need and poor and despite making lots of money he just lived modestly and used almost everything to help the church. That is an example of being detached from material things. That is good and that is what we all should do.

 

[MaryT777]

Once I read something from a catholic priest (father Jorge loring, great cathequist BTW) who explain this idea in a great way. I am also from a third world country originally so i know what you mean. Poverty in and of itself is not a “blessing”. It is poverty in the spirit what is ablessing, more specifically full detachment from material things. He mentioned that you can be a homeless person on the street and still have a heart full of greed. So it is not so Mich the lack of material things (as you can lack material things but still be greedy) but the detachment from material/early things.

The problem you tend to run is that a big majority of rich people have an attachment to material things, and that we shouldn’t give into excesses which most of rich people do. But we cannot assume that lack of money is going to prevent us from greed or that having money will make everybody greedy. He mentioned the case (I cannot remember his name) of a Spanish blessed man in the process of canonization who was born pretty wealthy and he used all his fortune to help the need and poor and despite making lots of money he just lived modestly and used almost everything to help the church. That is an example of being detac

hed from material things. That is good and that is what we all should do.

Wonderful post!~ Thanks for sharing this

 

[Della]

Extreme poverty is a disgrace, but people everywhere just turn their heads and pretend not to notice. 9,500 children die everyday from an agonizing death due to starvation. Again, people refuse to notice. How are we supposed to find joy while living in such a world?

This is not quite accurate. Millions have been donated and many good people have volunteered or offered themselves in holy service to help the poor of the world. The problem isn’t a lack of caring, but of greedy people at the receiving end who rob charities meant for the poor, who take bribes along the way, make sure supplies and aid never get to those they want to keep suppressed, and who make no effort to help their own people, but live in wealth, stealing from their own countrymen. Unless and until we can stop such behavior little will change. My dh and I always give to charities we know can be trusted, who cannot be touched by such robbers, such as Catholic Charities. Americans give more than any other country in the world. The problem doesn’t lie with the good people of America but with those who rob the people of aid right where they live.

No one should have to live in poverty. There are many solutions, but the ones that actually work are very rarely put in place. Generational poverty is rampant in the USA because people are not encouraged to get an education and work, but to drop out and live on welfare. Marriages are broken up by the government, which does not encourage monogamy, resulting in millions of one parent families. And the list of reasons goes on and on.

As for poverty being a virtue, mannyefx–only when one gives up material things for love of God and neighbor. So no, povery in and of itself is not to be sought for its own sake but so that one can serve God and others more effectively. This is why religious orders take vows of poverty, not because it is more virtuous merely to be poor.

 

[jinglebelle]

And foodbanks have recently appeared in western european countries because people wont pay their taxes,mmm

 

[GEddie]

While many Catholics (mistakenly ITASM) glorify poverty or call it a ‘gift,’ (usually those not affected by it), that is not and never has been Church teaching.

Our LORD praised the “poor in spirit”, never the poor in body.

ICXC NIKA

 

[tabycat]

This is not quite accurate. Millions have been donated and many good people have volunteered or offered themselves in holy service to help the poor of the world. The problem isn’t a lack of caring, but of greedy people at the receiving end who rob charities meant for the poor, who take bribes along the way, make sure supplies and aid never get to those they want to keep suppressed, and who make no effort to help their own people, but live in wealth, stealing from their own countrymen. Unless and until we can stop such behavior little will change. My dh and I always give to charities we know can be trusted, who cannot be touched by such robbers, such as Catholic Charities. Americans give more than any other country in the world. The problem doesn’t lie with the good people of America but with those who rob the people of aid right where they live.

No one should have to live in poverty. There are many solutions, but the ones that actually work are very rarely put in place. Generational poverty is rampant in the USA because people are not encouraged to get an education and work, but to drop out and live on welfare. Marriages are broken up by the government, which does not encourage monogamy, resulting in millions of one parent families. And the list of reasons goes on and on.

As for poverty being a virtue, mannyefx–only when one gives up material things for love of God and neighbor. So no, povery in and of itself is not to be sought for its own sake but so that one can serve God and others more effectively. This is why religious orders take vows of poverty, not because it is more virtuous merely to be poor.

 

[tabycat]

Extreme poverty is a disgrace, but people everywhere just turn their heads and pretend not to notice. 9,500 children die everyday from an agonizing death due to starvation. Again, people refuse to notice. How are we supposed to find joy while living in such a world?

How about all the people that send goods and money to the poor? Do they not count? And how about the people that steal that money and goods for their own profit???

 

[Robert_Sock]

How about all the people that send goods and money to the poor? Do they not count? And how about the people that steal that money and goods for their own profit???

It’s obviously not enough, and more people need to be made aware of poverty.

 

[marymary1975]

Wonderful post!~ Thanks for sharing this

And sorry for the misspellings. I am on the phone with autocorrect and changes things (too late to edit when I noticed) but at least the idea came across. Is not about having material things but about being detached from earthly things.