The poor in our midst - Do we care enough?

[englishredrose]

The church barrs the poor in that if anyone came into church all grubby and not well kept no one rushes up to them and warmly welcomes them and cluster around them with whatever as they do their best friend when they arrive in church.

the church barrs the poor in that one hasn’t to be in debt when considering enterring any Orders.

The church barrs the poor because to sit there in church through hymn singing and prayers and takes out the verse the poor man at the gates and the rich man at the castle in all things bright and beautiful because don’t want to accept that there will be differences.

Everything costs in church just like everywhere else. In England no one is really poor because we all have a welfare state system to protect hardship prior to 1944 whenever it was in place. But once in that welfare state system it is very hard to get out and get in the benefit trap.

By church I don’t just mean Catholics, I mean religion across the whole board if am being totally honest. Society barrs the poor because it all about money and if you not got it then…

A few weeks ago someone was saying the underclass no longer exists. He is very blind but couldn’t say so as one of these people who are always right in their opinion. Some of us are the underclass and not at the worst level. Jobless with no prospects. It better if you’re what the British term the Neeps. Post not in education or jobs. There are opportunities for them. When you reach 40’s no one wants to help with jobs especially if you’re educated because they don’t get funding.

What could the church do to help. Make church more accessible for all. Priests are often very good once got beyond the fact he’s a priest. Individual they will sit and listen and give comfort. It is each other that are very judgemental and point the finger. There will always be gaps in society where there are black holes. We can’t fix them but we can learn to listen and give comfort like priests do. Or in my experience, like priests do. Then the priests wouldn’t be so busy rushed of their feet comforting us if we can learn to comfort each other without thinking in terms of well they are that bad because mrs x is far worse and don’t say anything. Just simply give comfort when its search for as I say, like priests do but we rely on priests being there for us and we should all be there for us and if the church could teach us that then poverty will still exist but not be so judged:blush:

 

[cheezey]

Dear cheezey,

You must not be a burden upon people but must be self-reliant and think of the needs of others, even if you are having a complete mental breakdown.

Yes and no. Believe me I’d love to be self reliant. But surely you are not asking me to run a marathon just after having my legs cut off, are you?
If I had a nervous break down, someone would have to be there for me because my brain would be mush.
I’d like to avoid homelessness not just for the selfish desire for safety, not just to avoid “burdening” my family, but also to avoid burdening society at large, since that comes, in the long run, at a greater cost financially, socially, and humanly. Isn’t it okay for me to get help towards being self reliant again? Do I need to die just to avoid being a “burden” to someone? Anyone? I am thinking of the needs of others. I am actually trying like you-know-what to avoid being a greater burden. Which it sounds like I am.

As I said in a previous post, dear friend, some people who are financially secure and have never known what it is to want the basic necesseties, are strangely insensitive towards those who are struggling to survive in reduced circumstances. All the rhetoric about being self-reliant and not burdening others, is nothing more than a cloak to excuse being close-fisted and not getting involved. Moreover, when this is the response of those who supposedly profess the holy religion of Christ, it is just downright deplorable.

Agreed

 

[Portrait]

Dearly beloved friends,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. Again, may I thank you all for your (name removed by moderator)ut to the discussion thus far, it has been really greatly appreciated. This is, I believe, a topic that needs to be discussed much more in the contemporary Church as poverty is an issue that adversely affects the mental and physical well-being of so many.

Perhaps, dear friends, one of the biggest problems that we encounter today is the virtual denial of poverty in the Western world. Sometimes men, especially the comfortably well-off, are wont to draw odious comparisons between poverty in the West and poverty in the Third World. However, it is not only the absolute poverty of the undeveloped nations which should arouse our emotions, but also the relative (though very real) poverty of those who live in the West, including the UK and America. Many of our own fellow-citizens are suffering as a result of very real poverty and are extremely disadvantaged, and this in countries that have greatly prospered economically. Many affluent people seldom, if ever, visit the decayed and deprived inner city areas of the West and are probably not even cognizant of the sad lot endured by those who must live in such places. Comfortable Britain and America need to stand in the shoes of the other Britain and America and think for a while about the poor housing conditions, poor opportunities, the sense of alienation, the hard choices that have to made (e.g. between eating and heating) and the harsh and iniquitous cuts to welfare benefits (especially in the UK at present). All of this only serves to imprison the spirit and spawns many other social problems which then have to be dealt with, often at great expense to the tax-payer. Charity begins at home and we cannot show concern for Third World poverty, whilst neglecting the poverty that faces us each day within our own cities or neighbourhoods. Men and women within our own churches are suffering and their straitened circumstances urgently cry out for our sympathy and, most importantly, our relief. How many of our brethren are living on the breadline and are sometimes even “destitute of daily food” and we are effectively saying “unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding” that we shamefully “give them not those things which are needful to the body” (St. Jam. 2: 15,16)? Profession of Faith (even if its thoroughly orthodox) will not profit a man unless it is accompanied by good works and care for the poor and sick is an indispensable good work.

St. Luke, dear friends, writes of the early Christian community in Jerusalem that “they had all things common”, that “neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own”, that they shared everything and that “Neither was there any among them that lacked” and that consequently “distribution was made unto every man according as he had need” (see Acts 4: 32-35). It may be asked if St. Luke is setting before us the common life of the early Church as an example for churches to copy now. Insofar as the early Spirit-filled Christian brethren loved and cared deeply for one another and thereby eliminated poverty from their midst, certainly yes. The example of the early Christian community surely challenges us to renounce covetousness, materialism, luxury and harsh attitudes, and to care sacrificially for the poor and needy. We cannot rely upon our Governments to provide all the national assistance, especially in the UK where Government is ruthlessly curbing welfare spending as part of their so called ‘tough love’ approach.

Finally, dear friends, it is, I think, jolly important for us to avoid the usual polarized economic debate between those who blame povery on capitalism, on the ground that it is inherently covetous and therefore *ipso facto * exploits the poor, and those who blame socialism, on the ground that it perpetuates the dependency of the poor and undermines the enterprise of wealth creators. Neither posotion has a monoply of truth. As Christians it is incumbent upon us to oppose in both systems what we perceive to be incompatible with our most holy religion, which emphasizes creativity and compassion and refuses to foster either at the expense of the other. Contrary to popular assumption, there is no reason whatsoever why a political Conservative cannot be a caring and compassionate Conservative who is a fierce critic against, for example, unreasonable and unmerciful welfare reform that is actually hurting vulnerable people.

God bless and may we truly profit from our Lenten discipline by endeavouring to reach out to the poverty-stricken souls around us. In so doing, beloved friends, we will be men and women in whom Jesus Christ lives again.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax

 

[tbcrawford]

Today’s readings at Mass great food for thought! Jesus repeatedly has taught us about what we need to be doing.

Matthew 6:1-6

Giving to the Needy

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward

We are Ambassador’s for the Church…

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation

 

[OxygenMan]

Yes and no. Believe me I’d love to be self reliant. But surely you are not asking me to run a marathon just after having my legs cut off, are you?
If I had a nervous break down, someone would have to be there for me because my brain would be mush.
I’d like to avoid homelessness not just for the selfish desire for safety, not just to avoid “burdening” my family, but also to avoid burdening society at large, since that comes, in the long run, at a greater cost financially, socially, and humanly. Isn’t it okay for me to get help towards being self reliant again? Do I need to die just to avoid being a “burden” to someone? Anyone? I am thinking of the needs of others. I am actually trying like you-know-what to avoid being a greater burden. Which it sounds like I am.

Nobody is ever just a burden, cheezey. All of us are valuable, intrinsically, for the simple reason that we are children of God. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even if you need help, you’re still valuable.

 

[cheezey]

Nobody is ever just a burden, cheezey. All of us are valuable, intrinsically, for the simple reason that we are children of God. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even if you need help, you’re still valuable.

:thankyou:

 

[englishredrose]

Nobody is ever just a burden, cheezey. All of us are valuable, intrinsically, for the simple reason that we are children of God. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even if you need help, you’re still valuable.

Huh:shrug:

 

[Portrait]

Today’s readings at Mass great food for thought! Jesus repeatedly has taught us about what we need to be doing.

Matthew 6:1-6

Giving to the Needy

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward

We are Ambassador’s for the Church…

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation

Dear tbcrawford,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. Thankyou for the above which is so very relevant to our discussion. May we all read, mark. learn and inwardly digest.

God bless, dear sister.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax

 

[Portrait]

Dearly beloved friends,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. This will be my final post in this thread, but may I just thank everyone for their contributions to the discussion. However, I am bound to say that I find it deeply saddening that on a Catholic website Harry Potter or the latest computer game arouses more interest and generates more debate than the plight of the poor and afflicted. Have we, I wonder, got our priorities right?

Certainly, dear friends, we will never banish poverty completely from our midst and in this sense the poor will be always with us until the end of time. Having said that men must not be complacent and neither must they harden their hearts or close their hands against their poorer brethren. On the contrary, they must do all within their power, especially if they name the name of Christ, to practice personal philanthropy by giving generously out of their surplus. The Old Testament Wisdom Literature encourgaged generosity towards God’s poor and even said stern things like, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard”; “Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker” and “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will pay him again” (Proverbs 21: 13; 17: 5; 19: 17) - jolly good stuff that, but how often nowadays do we hear about pity for the poor, especially the poor in the Western world? Why, there seems to be a virtual denial that any real poverty exists in the West.

Jesus Christ Himself, dear friends, inherited the rich O.T. legacy of care for the poor and put it into practice. He made friends with the needy and fed the hungry. Moreover, He told his disciples to sell their possessions and give alms to the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, who would most probably be in no position to invite them back. He also promised that in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the homeless and visiting the sick, they would thereby be ministering to Him (see St. Lk. 12: 33 and St. Matt. 25: 35-40). Not only must the Church proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to the materially poor, but our parishes must warmly welcome them and share in their exceedingly difficult struggles to survive. Indeed, in view of their shameful neglect in the prosperous West, we surely ought to have a mission priority to the poor that not only succours them but also earnestly champions their cause.

It is high-time, dear friends, that the poor and disadvantaged should receive a ‘positive’ or, if you please, a reverse discrimination, since they have for far too long been the sinned against. The poor and vulnerable are being sinned against at this very moment here in the UK, where Mr. Cameron’s Coalition are mercilessly driving through their Welfare Reform programme as part of a so called ‘tough love’ approach. This is causing untold misery and suffering to multitudes of already poor and needy people. Certainly, welfare dependency has to be tackled and those that swing the lead must be brought to book, however, punitive policies that cause hardship to the genuinely sick and disabled, as well as the unemployed, cannot be tolerated in a civilised society. What I find so very distressing is that even some who profess Christ’s religion appear to be strangely insensitve to the plight of the poor and almost seem to be in denial about the extent to which people suffer poverty in the West. Poverty, as well as disability denial, appear to be becoming fashionable among the chattering middle-classes of England these days. How sad and disgraceful, especially among those who have an abundance of this world’s good and who want for nothing. Wealth can make some people despise their fellow men and cause them to harden their attitudes towards the poor, implying that their plight is all of their own making and that they are just plain indolent.

My prayer is that during this Lent, and beyond, the affluent (and not so affluent) will simplify their lifestyle and grow in generosity towards the poor in our midst. Let them repent of hard attitides or any harsh words that they may have uttered and see Christ in the poor brother or sister. St. John expresses it these terms: “If anyone has material possessions, and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (I Jhn. 3: 17). Beloved friends, our God is a generous God and if His love indwells us we shall relate what we ‘have’ (possessions) to what we ‘see’ (need) and take action accordingly.

God bless you all and may I just take this opportunity to wish you all a splendid and relaxing weekend.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax:tiphat:

 

[tbcrawford]

Dearly beloved friends,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. This will be my final post in this thread, but may I just thank everyone for their contributions to the discussion. However, I am bound to say that I find it deeply saddening that on a Catholic website Harry Potter or the latest computer game arouses more interest and generates more debate than the plight of the poor and afflicted. Have we, I wonder, got our priorities right?

Certainly, dear friends, we will never banish poverty completely from our midst and in this sense the poor will be always with us until the end of time. Having said that men must not be complacent and neither must they harden their hearts or close their hands against their poorer brethren. On the contrary, they must do all within their power, especially if they name the name of Christ, to practice personal philanthropy by giving generously out of their surplus. The Old Testament Wisdom Literature encourgaged generosity towards God’s poor and even said stern things like, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard”; “Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker” and “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will pay him again” (Proverbs 21: 13; 17: 5; 19: 17) - jolly good stuff that, but how often nowadays do we hear about pity for the poor, especially the poor in the Western world? Why, there seems to be a virtual denial that any real poverty exists in the West.

Jesus Christ Himself, dear friends, inherited the rich O.T. legacy of care for the poor and put it into practice. He made friends with the needy and fed the hungry. Moreover, He told his disciples to sell their possessions and give alms to the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, who would most probably be in no position to invite them back. He also promised that in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the homeless and visiting the sick, they would thereby be ministering to Him (see St. Lk. 12: 33 and St. Matt. 25: 35-40). Not only must the Church proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to the materially poor, but our parishes must warmly welcome them and share in their exceedingly difficult struggles to survive. Indeed, in view of their shameful neglect in the prosperous West, we surely ought to have a mission priority to the poor that not only succours them but also earnestly champions their cause.

It is high-time, dear friends, that the poor and disadvantaged should receive a ‘positive’ or, if you please, a reverse discrimination, since they have for far too long been the sinned against. The poor and vulnerable are being sinned against at this very moment here in the UK, where Mr. Cameron’s Coalition are mercilessly driving through their Welfare Reform programme as part of a so called ‘tough love’ approach. This is causing untold misery and suffering to multitudes of already poor and needy people. Certainly, welfare dependency has to be tackled and those that swing the lead must be brought to book, however, punitive policies that cause hardship to the genuinely sick and disabled, as well as the unemployed, cannot be tolerated in a civilised society. What I find so very distressing is that even some who profess Christ’s religion appear to be strangely insensitve to the plight of the poor and almost seem to be in denial about the extent to which people suffer poverty in the West. Poverty, as well as disability denial, appear to be becoming fashionable among the chattering middle-classes of England these days. How sad and disgraceful, especially among those who have an abundance of this world’s good and who want for nothing. Wealth can make some people despise their fellow men and cause them to harden their attitudes towards the poor, implying that their plight is all of their own making and that they are just plain indolent.

My prayer is that during this Lent, and beyond, the affluent (and not so affluent) will simplify their lifestyle and grow in generosity towards the poor in our midst. Let them repent of hard attitides or any harsh words that they may have uttered and see Christ in the poor brother or sister. St. John expresses it these terms: “If anyone has material possessions, and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (I Jhn. 3: 17). Beloved friends, our God is a generous God and if His love indwells us we shall relate what we ‘have’ (possessions) to what we ‘see’ (need) and take action accordingly.

God bless you all and may I just take this opportunity to wish you all a splendid and relaxing weekend.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax:tiphat:

AMEN!!
Thankyou for starting this thread Portrait and may God bless you.You are a wonderful example to us all.

"If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. "
Mother Teresa

Lord please guide us to love and help our brothers and sisters throughout the world who live in poverty and starvation.There are so many heart breaking situations in many countries where people are literally starving to death.Lord guide us to help them to encourage our governments to help them.May we never ignore our dear brothers and sisters in desperate need.Thankyou Lord for hearing our prayers Amen

Memorare (Prayer to Our Lady)
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen