She was sitting under the porch of the parish office, and asked if she could sleep there overnight. She was in her thirties, seemed to be in very poor health and said if we didn't let her stay there she would sell her body to get a room for the night.
Our parish is actually in a poor part of town. Across the street are old hotels and the stories of what goes on there are real bad. We're right on the interstate. People travel in and stop here to feed their addictions.
How are we to help the poor? In our country it is so complicated. Each individual has hugely complex problems. They have health problems, relationship problems, addiction problems, mental health problems, family problems. Where does an ordinary parish begin? So we tie in with Catholic charities and the other groups who offer professional help, but even then it is a drop in the ocean.
In a simpler society the help would also be simpler. Do we offer a homeless man a job raking leaves to earn his lunch? Then we come up against health and safety issues, insurance liabilities, infringement on his government entitlements. Do we open up a house for homeless people? In come the health and safety people. In come the government aid agencies with their regulations. In come the hangers on, the drug addicts, the drunks and the prostitutes--all looking for a free handout with no intention of life change.
Do we just keep on handing out money to pay bills, food for the hungry and shelter for the homeless or does that simply fuel the dependency culture?
We're trying to do our best. We have a weekly food pantry that distributes on Saturday mornings, but the poor need more than food, and I feel helpless. I am, after all, a parish priest--not the head of a soup kitchen or a homeless hostel or a gospel mission. We work with the other caring agencies, but there is simply too much to do and too few resources.
You're right Father, there's no easy answer. I do think the problem is not the one we are addressing.
ReplyDeleteLike yourself, I have been involved in trying to care for the poor. With very few exceptions, however, the people we care for should (at least on paper) be properly cared for. Most of our clients have adequate housing (usually govt provided), food (govt provided food stamps and private donations) medical care (govt provided) and education (govt provided). Yet many seem to be in constant turmoil being unable to pay debts, mired in addictions, and constantly involved in "bad" decisions. Some claim in need due to the inability to pay the cable bill or buy a new air conditioner. (I don't have an air conditioner.) Then there are the truely destitute, both here and overseas, that literally have nothing and there seems to be no way to improve their lot.
We as a people, I believe, are generally generous with both our public and private resources. This has allowed us to provide a lot of "stuff" to people for 50+ years. I think the problem is not with "stuff" but with spirit. Many people, both poor and rich, are wounded spiritually (with the rich more capable of covering it up). This has lead to a general degradation in society.
Until we of faith can understand how to provide that spirit to people, we will always have the poor.
Dear Father,
ReplyDeleteJesus didn't come to end suffering so I don't know why you feel that you can. Please don't despair.
Peace be with you.
Love,
Suzan
Father, do you love them? The poor. I don't need to know the answer, by the way.
ReplyDeleteDear Father, your prayers go a long way, thank you.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, Father, I listened to one of your podcasts that had to do with reaching out to the poor, not turning our gaze away from them. There's much I do not agree with on your blog, but I have come to respect the fact that you really do give a darn about the poor.
ReplyDeleteI guess I would, however, take issue with the idea that your role as a parish priest isn't that of a "gospel mission." If you mean a storefront church with a soup kitchen in the back--okay, I agree, that isn't your situation. But what is the gospel largely about? It's about God's limitless, redeeming love for all of us poor sinners (we're all poor in relation to God's vastness and greatness) as well as genuine, practical service to the poor. (Holy Thursday, the washing of the feet: Jesus shows us that being His follower is indeed about serving others' needs, including the most mundane and unpretty needs, symbolized by the soiled feet of men alongside Jesus who walked bad roads.) Reaching out to the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned, as you DO -- that is indeed an essential part of your mission as a priest and one who tries to live (like the rest of us) the gospel.
May God bless you and the people who live in and around your parish.
"In a simpler society..."
ReplyDeleteAnd if the simpler society were more local, charitable givers would be more likely to be able to distinguish between those whom charity helps vs. those "looking for a free handout with no intention of life change."
This is why Jesus said "the poor you will always have with you".
ReplyDeleteWe can't fix our society's problems, but we still have to respond as Christians. Although it may look like nothing, it is all we can do and it is what God asks us to do.