The Church has many different ways for people to participate both within the Church and in the larger community. All of them are important!

You will see Catholics feeding the hungry, building homes for the homeless, caring for their children, protesting injustice and praying the rosary daily for the sick. Reach out -- recognize your talents and get involved.

Pursue Holiness
"Holiness is not a luxury reserved for a few", wrote Mother Teresa, "but a simple duty for each of us." All of us, by virtue of our baptism into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, have this simple duty to pursue the path of holiness in our daily life. But as you and I well know, this is easier said than done. We live in the midst of a society that continually places roadblocks on the path to Christian pleasure. The author of the Book of Proverbs offers us wisdom for daily life. He suggests that the path to holiness is in fact very ordinary. It is not to be found in extraordinary deeds and words that attract a great deal of attention. Instead, holiness is to be found when we strive for kindness, justice, compassion, and peace.

Making God's Reign A Reality
August 28, 2003

In a post-Vatican II Church, we Catholics have come to realize that the concept of vocation extends to all the baptized, not only to those called to ordination or religious life. All who are part of the body of Christ are equally called to holiness and service to make God's reign a reality in the world. -- William Spohn, "The Chosen Path," America, July 22-28, 2003

Recently the superior general of the Jesuits, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., urged the American Jesuit colleges and universities "to produce graduates of well-educated solidarity whose lives will be linked to the poor and oppressed who make up the majority of the human race." In other words, no matter what career option a Jesuit graduate pursues he/she is challenged to find a way in which they can alleviate the suffering of God's people. Is this a challenge only for Jesuit graduates? Or should all of us take note? Fr. Spohn spells out the meaning of this challenge.

This new emphasis on the virtue of solidarity has deep theological roots. The incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ means that all of human history and experience is open to redemptive transformation. His cross and resurrection locate that transformation at the heart of human suffering and oppression. Because this biblical concern for justice is rooted in love of neighbor and the realization of God's covenant with humanity, people of faith must pay special attention to the children of God who are suffering. 1

Faith and justice work together. The life of Jesus of Nazareth made it clear that disciples should take their cues from the people they serve. A deepening faith enables us to trust in God's help. Thus, the virtue of justice sharpens our perception of what is distorted in the structures of society. The practices of faith and justice locate our sense of calling in the real world, rich with possibilities and fraught with brokenness. Without the light of faith and honest awareness that we have been gifted by God, the world's needs can seem an overwhelming burden. Without knowledge of the actual conditions of the world, our talents and aspirations can be wasted, sadly, on mere success. 2

Whether we are a recent graduate or secure in our choice of vocation the relation of faith and justice can always be prayerfully discerned, deepened and acted upon.

1,2 William Spohn, "The Chosen Path," America, July 22-28, 2003

Study Shows Americans Spend More on Fast Food Than Fighting Hunger
10/24/03

A new survey shows that Americans spend nearly 50 times as much money on fast food as they do helping children in poverty.

The survey conducted by the Barna Research Group and sponsored by Compassion International found that typical respondents reported spending about $240 a year on fast food, while a typical household spends only $5 a year on assistance to poor children. Compassion International president Dr. Wesley Stafford says the survey's results are disappointing.

"I wish I could say, 'not me, not guilty,' but I suppose the other side of the equation, the part that is so sad, is that nearly 60% aren't sure that [addressing poverty] is really their responsibility," he says.

The survey also shows that half of the households polled said in the last year they had donated nothing to causes or organizations that assist the poor.

Stafford says the study indicates that Americans need more understanding of the nature of poverty. And he laments how attitudes toward caring for the poor have changed over the past few generations.

"For many years," he says, "we were all there for each other. We built each others' barns as we came across the prairie. And when the depression came, whenever somebody came to a farmhouse and offered to chop wood for supper, you know, we did that."

But Stafford says times have changed, and so have American attitudes toward charity. "After World War II, we basically turned that over to the government. We said, 'Government, you take care of the poor among us and take it out of my taxes,'" he says.

Compassion International is one of the nation's largest Christian child development organizations. Since the early 1950s, its child sponsorship-based ministry has grown to include a worldwide staff that provides Christ-centered aid to more than 500,000 children in more than 20 countries in Middle America, Asia, Africa, and South America.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)