Vatican City, Jun 4, 2017 / 04:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his message for World Mission Day, Pope Francis said that the Church needs to spread the Gospel, caring for the spiritual wounds of people who desperately need the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“The world vitally needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Pope Francis said June 4.
“Through the Church, Christ continues his mission as the Good Samaritan, caring for the bleeding wounds of humanity, and as Good Shepherd, constantly seeking out those who wander along winding paths that lead nowhere.”
The Pope’s message was published by the Vatican on June 4, the Solemnity of Pentecost; a few months ahead of the Church’s celebration of World Mission Day, which will take place October 22, 2017.
“Thank God, many significant experiences continue to testify to the transformative power of the Gospel,” the Pope continued, such as those of recent martyrs and those for whom it is difficult to even go to Mass or receive the Eucharist.
The Pope mentioned, for example, “the gesture of the Dinka student who, at the cost of his own life, protected a student from the enemy Nuer tribe who was about to be killed.”
“I think of that Eucharistic celebration in Kitgum, in northern Uganda,” he said also, “where, after brutal massacres by a rebel group, a missionary made the people repeat the words of Jesus on the cross: ‘My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?’ as an expression of the desperate cry of the brothers and sisters of the crucified Lord.”
“For the people, that celebration was an immense source of consolation and courage.”
In his message, Francis pointed out that the Church is missionary by nature, “otherwise, she would no longer be the Church of Christ, but one group among many others that soon end up serving their purpose and passing away.”
Because of this, we must ask ourselves certain questions about our responsibility as Christians and believers, especially in a world “marked by confusion, disappointment and frustration, and torn by numerous fratricidal wars that unjustly target the innocent.”
The questions the Pope proposed we ask ourselves are: “What is the basis of our mission? What is the heart of our mission? What are the essential approaches we need to take in carrying out our mission?”
One essential, Francis said, is that Church’s mission in the world be constantly invigorated by a spirituality of “exodus” and “pilgrimage;” that we are called to go forth into the world, past our own comfort zones, in order to reach people on the peripheries.
“The Church’s mission impels us to undertake a constant pilgrimage across the various deserts of life, through the different experiences of hunger and thirst for truth and justice,” he explained.
“The Church’s mission inspires a sense of constant exile, to make us aware, in our thirst for the infinite, that we are exiles journeying towards our final home, poised between the ‘already’ and ‘not yet’ of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Taking part in the missionary aspect of the Church reminds us that the Church isn’t our end goal in itself, he said, but an instrument for bringing about the Kingdom of Heaven.
And part of the Kingdom of Heaven is spreading the message of the Gospel of Christ, also called the “Good News,” he said, because it is filled with a contagious joy, the offer of a new life in Christ, who through the Holy Spirit becomes for us the Way, the Truth and the Life.
And it is this life that “sets us free from every kind of selfishness, and is a source of creativity in love.”
God desires our “existential transformation,” the Pope continued, guided by the Holy Spirit, which finds expression in worship and in an imitation of Jesus.
Francis went on to explain what this means for the mission of the Church, which he said is not about spreading a “religious ideology” or a “lofty ethical teaching.”
Instead, “through the mission of the Church, Jesus Christ himself continues to evangelize and act; her mission thus makes present in history the Kairos, the favorable time of salvation.”
“Through the proclamation of the Gospel, the risen Jesus becomes our contemporary, so that those who welcome him with faith and love can experience the transforming power of his Spirit, who makes humanity and creation fruitful, even as the rain does with the earth.”
Quoting from the words of Benedict XVI in “Deus Caritas Est,” Francis said that Christianity is an encounter with a Person, not an “ethical choice or lofty idea.”
And through the Sacraments of the Church, this Person “continually offers himself and constantly invites those who receive him with humble and religious faith to share his life by an effective participation in the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection.”
The Pope mentioned the important role of both young people and the Pontifical Mission Societies in serving humanity “with courage and enthusiasm.”
In the Pontifical Mission Societies, “thanks to a profound missionary spirituality, nurtured daily, and a constant commitment to raising missionary awareness and enthusiasm, young people, adults, families, priests, bishops and men and women religious work to develop a missionary heart in everyone,” he said.
The celebration of World Mission Day in October, promoted by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, “is a good opportunity for enabling the missionary heart of Christian communities to join in prayer, testimony of life and communion of goods, in responding to the vast and pressing needs of evangelization.”
Finally, Francis said, in carrying out her mission, the Church must draw inspiration from Mary, Mother of Evangelization.
“Moved by the Spirit, she welcomed the Word of life in the depths of her humble faith. May the Virgin Mother help us to say our own ‘yes,’ conscious of the urgent need to make the Good News of Jesus resound in our time,” he concluded.
“May she obtain for us renewed zeal in bringing to everyone the Good News of the life that is victorious over death. May she intercede for us so that we can acquire the holy audacity needed to discover new ways to bring the gift of salvation to every man and woman.”
[…]
By 
Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there is peace. “Let us strive always to embody this experience of a Church of justice, peace, and love” – His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.
[I have] a hunger for a Church that truly knows how to open its doors and receive everyone — where there is love for all and no one is an enemy, where we all know how to live out reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace,” the pope told the crowd at the lunch, hosted in the gardens of the Borgo Laudato Si’.
A wonderful image. Although we cannot justifiably achieve by forms of punitive policy like condemning American efforts at removal of illegal migrants, deifying the migrant, placing all one’s energy on climate control, criticizing governments for using fossil fuels. Pope Leo’s dream can only be achieved by the interior conversion of hearts. The Church must focus on the original Apostolic, as compared to new age sanctification.
Vapid platitudes.
Socialism is the cause of poverty.
Socialism is one cause, but not the only one. Moral degeneracy is another.
MrsHess: the two – socialism and moral degeneracy – go hand-in-hand.
The Pope’s and many Catyolics ignorance of economics is abysmal. They hate capitalism, for example. They could start by reading Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt:
https://www.amazon.com/Economics-One-Lesson-Shortest-Understand/dp/0517548232
Before capitalism, most of the global population were living in extreme poverty. From 90 percent in 1820, the rate has now fallen to 10 percent.
—IN THE FORMER SOCIALIST COUNTRIES THE INCREASE IN LIVING STANDARDS after the fall of communist Russia has been dramatic.
—In China, the abysmal conditions UNDER MAOIST SOCIALISM, WHERE MILLIONS DIED, have been replaced by much better standards of living since the pro-capitalist reforms of the system where NOW WE FIND MANY CHINESE MILLIONAIRES IN “COMUNIST” CHINA.
DENG XIAOPING WAS THE PRIMARY LEADER RESPONSIBLE FOR INITIATING AND DRIVING THE PRO-CAPITALIST ECONOMIC REFORMS IN CHINA. EMERGING AS THE “PARAMOUNT LEADER” IN 1978 FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF MAO ZEDONG, DENG DISMANTLED COLLECTIVE FARMING, LEGALIZED PRIVATE BUSINESSES, AND OPENED THE COUNTRY TO GLOBAL TRADE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT UNDER THE POLICY KNOWN AS “REFORM AND OPENING UP.”
Pragmatic Ideology: Deng famously stated that “it does not matter if a cat is black or white so long as it catches the mouse,” prioritizing economic growth over strict adherence to communist ideology. His approach, termed “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” introduced market mechanisms and supply-and-demand pricing while maintaining the political dominance of the Chinese Communist Party.
Implementation and Impact: The reforms began with decentralized local experiments, such as the household responsibility system in rural areas, before being adopted nationally. These changes transformed China from a stagnant, state-controlled economy into a rapidly growing market economy, lifting millions out of poverty and integrating China into the global economic system.
The central argument of Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt is that the art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy, and tracing those consequences not merely for one group but for all groups. Hazlitt argues that bad economic policies result from a common fallacy: focusing only on the visible, short-term benefits to a specific group while ignoring the invisible, long-term costs to society as a whole.
To illustrate this principle, Hazlitt dissects numerous economic fallacies, arguing that:
• Destruction does not create wealth: The “broken window” fallacy demonstrates that destroying property harms the economy by diverting funds from other potential uses, such as buying new goods, rather than creating net new value.
• Government spending is not free: Every dollar spent by the government must be raised through taxation, meaning public works projects destroy private sector jobs and production that would have otherwise occurred.
• Labor-saving technology creates jobs: Machinery and innovation increase productivity and lower prices, which boosts overall demand and creates more employment opportunities than they destroy, contrary to the belief that automation leads to mass unemployment.
• Taxes and price controls are harmful: High taxes discourage production and investment, while price controls and minimum wage laws distort market signals, leading to shortages, inefficiencies, and increased unemployment.
• Saving is beneficial: Saving is a form of spending on capital goods that increases production capacity, and policies that encourage consumption over saving ultimately reduce economic growth and living standards.
Hazlitt advocates for free markets, free trade, and sound money, opposing government interventions such as inflationary monetary policies, fiscal stimulus, and protective tariffs. He posits that the ultimate goal of economic policy should be to maximize production and efficiency, as full employment is a natural by-product of a healthy, productive economy rather than a goal to be achieved through artificial means.
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/is-capitalism-to-blame-for-hunger-and-poverty
See also the work of the great economist Ludwig von Mises:
https://mises.org/
Also worth reading is Bastiat, who described the “broken window fallacy”.
Bastiat was born in Bayonne in 1801 to a Catholic family, like the majority of French families of the time. He received all the sacraments required by the Catholic Catechism but, for most of his life, he was not religious. He returned to “the Catholic world in the last years of his life, in conjunction with the writing of his best-known works, but also in conjunction with the development of a serious respiratory disease due to which he struggled to speak. To treat this disease, doctors invited him to travel to Italy, hoping that the Mediterranean climate of the peninsula could help him. He made a first brief stop in Pisa and then moved permanently to Rome where he continued to write. Bastiat died on December 24, 1850 at the age of 49.”
“The Christian Faith in the Thought and Life of Frédéric Bastiat”
Mises Institute
Claudio Restani
October 8, 2024
Thank you for this about Bastiat, Pitchfork, which I did not know. Yes, Bastiat on The Candlemakers Petition is priceless.
https://mises.org/mises-daily/candlemakers-petition
China twists the arms of its residents in every facet ot their lives. You cannot believe the numbers the ccp quotes, either
“Here, we wish to remind everyone — through our lives rather than just our words — that no one is superfluous in the eyes of God and that every person is a gift to the entire community.”
Amen. Hopefully those that call themselves followers of Christ will be reminded to walk the walk not just talk the talk.
“Here, we wish to remind everyone — through our lives rather than just our words — that no one is superfluous in the eyes of God and that every person is a gift to the entire community.”
Excerpt the SSPX and seekers of the Vetus Ordo.
Except. Dang autocorrect.
Cheap sentimentality never puts food on the table.
Well since the Gerardo offered this quote “no one is superfluous in the eyes of God and that every person is a gift to the entire community.”
Does this seem cheaply sentimental given the treatment of the SSPX?
Who doesn’t want to eliminate the causes of poverty and injustice?
Not exactly riveting teaching.
At Deuteronomy 15:11 God says, “There will never cease to be poor in the land.”
At Matthew 26:11 Jesus says, “For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”
“This is the Church we want to be,” the pope said. As opposed to how the Church IS?
If the pope likes the Church at a picnic table, he could cause a tent to be placed over it and celebrate the sacraments from there, couldn’t he.
Jesus said we’ll always have the poor with us, but it’s heartening to see our Pope meeting with them. Technology displaces many in today’s economy.
And just like that Luddism rears its ugly head.
Lamenting new technology is useless. When horses ceased being the principal method of transportation, blacksmithing ceased to be a means of earning a living. Likewise no more need for stables. Of course wheel and tire technicians emerged and the streets are no longer are filled with horse manure and flies.
The purpose of a business is to provide goods or services to customers. If a new technology emerges that allows the business to be more effective or efficient, those that adopt it will prosper.
A few days ago, I was able to see the Union Pacific “Big Boy”. As fascinating as steam is, it required an army to keep it on the rails. It’s replacement began in the late 1940’s (postponed by the war) and was complete by 1960. It meant the loss of huge numbers of hostlers, mechanics, oilers, pipe fitters, welders. The change came just as the railroads were facing emergent competitive threats from airplanes and trucks. Some roads were resistant (the Norfolk and Western only started getting diesels in the mid 1950’s and had one of the best steam rosters, plus the capacity to build their own), but they threw in the towel as well.
Had they not, a lot more employees would have lost their jobs, engineers, firemen, conductors, dispatchers, yardmasters and stockholders (not all are “fat cats” bemoaned by poster William), ranging from insurance companies relying on dividends to pay claims or pensioners would have lost out.
Unless somebody is actually assisting people adapt to the ever changing labor market, their laments about those changes are useless.
It’s obvious that fewer employees are needed in today’s world to get more work done. What figure did Mitt Ronney get caught on that tape which helped him lose – “50 million pay no taxes at all?” That’s partly caused by these people not having adequate employment, for lack of ability, skills or iniative.
It’s tone deaf saying that employment difficulties don’t contribute towards poverty. In my small business I had to buy technology because the cost and availability of labor got too high. Plus, the labor laws always seem skewed in favor of the complainer, and it’s harder and harder for a small business person to be in compliance.
“It’s tone deaf saying that employment difficulties don’t contribute towards poverty.”
Another red herring. Never said that. It’s like a fish market here today. It is entirely possible to lose a job (and most are lost due to reasons other than technology) at precisely the wrong time.
“In my small business I had to buy technology because the cost and availability of labor got too high.”
So you operate exactly as the law of economics suggests you would, although I rarely hear about availability being too high. So if you terminated employees, what sort of transitional assistance did you offer? Did your former employees become impoverished or did they find new employment?
Let me restate: “Unless somebody is actually assisting people adapt to the ever changing labor market, their laments about those changes are useless.”
Now let’s talk about a specific technology, those annoying grocery scanners. They exist for a few reasons. A lack of people with enough honesty and numeracy to make change-and minimum wages that make the acquisition of those “each item must placed” nags and other human eliminating machinery a rational decision.
I bought the neighbor kid his own lawn mower, one of those push types without a motor and told him to go out make some money.
Contrary to popular belief, the Luddites were not fundamentally opposed to all machinery. Instead, they were protesting how the technology was utilized. Mill owners used machines as a way to lower wages, hire unskilled, underpaid labor, and produce lower-quality goods, effectively tearing up the established social contract of trade labor. The Luddites fought back through organized “collective bargaining by riot,” which involved sending threatening letters to employers and smashing the industrial machines. The British government aggressively suppressed the uprising, eventually making machine-breaking a capital offense punishable by death.
Somewhat related, when the great textile mills of the US closed and moved to other countries, that put a lot of 50 year olds in the unemployment line. I can tell you from experience having your employer shutter your place of employment at age 54 is not a pleasant experience. The HR computers now look at your year of graduation and kick you out from that filter alone when applying. I have read where older workers are making a comeback, because they can solve a problem when they arise, and they also work a full shift or day! There’s a lot of older workers at fast food too.
“Contrary to popular belief, the Luddites were not fundamentally opposed to all machinery.”
Red Herring. I made no such assertion and nobody I know, has made such an assertion. It also doesn’t matter.
“someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change.”
I understand to be a leftist once must have deficient knowledge of economics illiterate, but comments such the one quoted here that show the problem might not be a a mere lack of aptitude, education or experience, but a more profound cognitive disorder and a simple lack of effort to engage thing as they are, not how one imagines them.
And there is no “social contract”, Rousseau.
If you mis-understand the Luddites as anti technology rather than pro worker even when explained you have an ideological blind spot screaming for correction. I wish you luck.
In response to your comment about job fairs instead of complaints about the free world, below, you’re on the right track. I have helped people get jobs before, one is going to retire from it, and it’s a good feeling.
Our parenting and education system is not preparing the recently weaned for employment today. In the past, you could teach them now it’s harder to teach a newly hired employee in part because many never held an entry level position prior.
“send money when you can” is loosely from the depression (when they didn’t print money), like when John-boy would go work in the city on the Waltons so they could pay their property tax bill. In the one episode, he gets his first job, tells his new buddy how much his first check was even after having to pay his room and board, then two robbers who overhear him jump him when he’s on the street. He sends a letter back home and the family eagerly gathers around the envelope opening, like witnessing the signing of a peace agreement, only to be terribly disappointed in that he needs $5 to make it to the next paycheck. He does show up that weekend with the reward money for later catching the crooks!
The market is overpriced, so lock in your gains. Once the realities of the real economic situation are felt when the money supply is further tightened at the federal level, there could be some tough times ahead. AI is not going to save the economy.
If you’ve ever seen “How Green was my Valley,” the story centers around the relative prosperity of Welsh miners working in the dangerous coal mines, but then hard times hit when neighboring workers come in and will work for less, to avoid starvation. The head of the household tells his sons not to utter the word “socialism,” when they want to go on strike — the father finds it hard to believe the mine owners would not be loyal to them.
I’ve seen the movie, but better I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a grandfather and a great grandfather that were miners. What do you want to know about mining? The difference between pea and rice coal, or perhaps what a “Menzes cone” does?
My grandfather died of COPD in his early 50’s (smokes played a role) and my grandmother was forced got a job as a seamstress, leveraging skills she learned from her mother and Singer-until decaying vision forced her retire-and no help from the ILGWU that took her dues, either.
My father, at the age of 53, found his 20 year “career” (it was a job, its always a job, nobody should confuse what they do with what they are) as a production planner ended not by technology, but economic pressures of the employer that struggled on for a few more years before being no more. Of course, the product was unique and he like many men of his age, no college degree.
It was years before I realized that what that look on his face was (the fusion of defeat and desperation) until he got another job. Around there it is called “up the creek, without a paddle”. He did get another job, then another as a factory worker, and while he felt like he lost some status, the drive was shorter and the money was better, even though in his late 50’s, after a heart attack, he had to keep up with one of my gym buddies, half his age and sporting a 365 pound bench press.
The point is, damn few people can avoid a job loss over their working lives. There’ll always be something going on to cause somebody to get a “pink slip” and its never convenient, even if you’re good at reading the tea leaves.
And the biggest risk no one expects is disability. When have you ever heard a priest or bishop tell people to make sure they are adequately insured? To exercise prudence and have a “rainy day” fund?
The point is, when people lose a job, they need encouragement, leads and marketing services-not moral grandstanders complaining about an economy that they are insulated from and ignorant of. I’m waiting for the Bishop that runs a job fair, instead of his er, pen. I guess if you can’t even recognize a candle, you curse the darkness.
This fall will be forty years since “Economic Justice for All”. Because surely, we all needed to lectured on justice by the lead in that endeavor, Rembert Weakland, who conducted a war orthodoxy, while stealing money from the Diocese to keep his homosexuality a secret. Can somebody tell me why he wasn’t referred for criminal prosecution?
And of course now, flooding the country with illegals is “justice”.
Pitchfork: yes, not all shareholders are “fat cats.” My portfolio has done quite well over the years, recently earning about $50K per year, which is satisfactory for a Bolshevik. So yes, some of the shareholders are even oppressed proletariat.
“Sell all you have and give it to the poor”
“send money when you can”
That’s not what the Lord said.
If he can brag about his investment earnings, he can now.
Thank you knowall. 🙂
Couldn’t Pope Leo just have lunch with the poor and leave at that? Does everything come with “virtue signalling?” This harkens back to one of my gripes about the modern papacy- over exposure resulting in irrelevance.
“The Lord hears the cry of the poor, blessed be the Lord!”
Amen
The words you quote are from a popular refrain of a hymn written by Jesuit John Foley and the St. Louis Jesuits. The song was said to be based on Psalm 34. The ‘versified’ psalm hymn is included in hymnals such as Glory & Praise, Gather, Breaking Bread, and many others commonly used in diocesan parishes, typically sung or said as a refrain to selected verses of a psalm within the Sunday Lectionary.
If one reads both psalm and hymn side-by-side, the difference between the words of the psalm and the hymn becomes stark for those with eyes to see.
Psalm 34 contains more depth of meaning than the versified focus of the Jesuit hymn.
Psalm 34
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
*************************************************************
Hymn:
The Lord hears the cry of the poor
Blessed be the Lord
The Lord hears the cry of the poor
Blessed be the Lord
I will bless the Lord at all times
His praise ever in my mouth
Let my soul glory in the Lord
For He hears the cry of the poor
The Lord hears the cry of the poor
Blessed be the Lord
Let the lowly hear and be glad
The Lord listens to their pleas
And to hearts broken He is near
For He hears the cry of the poor
The Lord hears the cry of the poor
Blessed be the Lord
Every spirit crushed He will save
Will be ransomed for their lives
Will be safe, sheltered for their fears
For He hears the cry of the poor
The Lord hears the cry of the poor
Blessed be the Lord
We proclaim the greatness of God
His praise ever in our mouth
Every face brightened in His love
For He hears the cry of the poor
The Lord hears the cry of the poor
Blessed be the Lord
Is anyone able to look at anything now with new eyes?
Thanks for the summary; we sing it several times a year, (somewhat modified) as it’s in our permanent missal.
The plight of the poor is one of great mysteries of suffering. People don’t seem any happier if they “have money” and some poor people I know are more appreciative of what they do have. Too much money ruins many people, and our country’s manipulation of the money supply is making matters worse. When young people can’t afford to procreate there’s something amiss.
That was one of the hymns we sang way too many times in our choir.Definitely not one of my favorites. But to be fair, there are any number of scripture verses about God hearing the poor & needy.
Whether we heard & noticed them & did something about it will be what He asks us when we meet Him.
Leo should consider for just a moment that it is the poor who are ministering to the hardness in his heart rather than the other way around. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the poor who are feeding Leo!
My preference is that when I purport to help the poor I keep my mouth shut about it when I do.
Do you recall that Francis gave a washing machine to the homeless? It seemed to me a bald-faced sort of chutzpah to have the Vatican Press publicize that.
I couldn’t help but imagine God meeting Francis at his pearly gate reception, then mete out His justice. He’d give Francis a washing machine and ask him to consider how it could save him.
The Ole joke back when HMOs first were significant and causing shocks to inpatients and families: Guy dies suddenly and when his turn comes up with St. Pete, he gives his vitals then St. Pete asks him, what was your occupation? and the deceased replies. HMO CEO. He waves him in then yells after him, But you’re out on 3 days!
Good one!
I’m not sure about publishing our works of mercy but the poor and homeless need clean clothing as well as nutrition.
Our local Catholic Charities has several washers and dryers availble for that purpose.
We all hope we don’t wash out when we get vetted by St. Pete and Mother Theresa!
Me, too knowall.
🙂
Leo grew up in a tiny home, so he’s not from the elite crowd. He’s just bringing the need to light. A majority of the people in the US are one or two paycheck or wealth transfer payments away from daily living problems, and the personal debt is staggering.
I grew up poor, with five kids in the family. When dad lost his job during a recession, my parents determined to live on the $150 or so/month left over in the unemployment benefit, after paying the mortgage. Homelessness was just something they would not allow to happen to them.
We lived off peanut butter sandwiches made from home baked bread (It was cheaper than the store-bought sliced Wonder), and many was the summer day my brothers ate tomato sandwiches for lunch, picking tomatoes off the vines in the homegrown garden dad and the boys put in most years. Mom canned fruit from our trees (cherries, peach, pear) and preserved applesauce and vegetables. I could go on. We had Christmas gifts from the KOC or American Legion, and we had hand-me-downs from cousins. We couldn’t afford chocolate milk at school; white was a few cents cheaper, so that’s what we had, and it was delicious compared to the government surplus ‘powdered’ milk (skim) which was our usual fare at home. There were no free school lunches in those days, no community food bank, and the government surplus meat was something like spam. A neighbor who raised chickens gave us a couple/month, and that was Almost Heaven, Near West Virginia.
Speaking of the mortgage. If you’ve heard the story of Lindsey Graham’s family home, your vision of my childhood home wouldn’t be too far off. Dad built the small house we called home. It had a few closets but most of the rooms didn’t have doors until the kids went off to college.
One problem facing some of the poor today is that they are single parents with a low grade education, no prospects, no community of faith, and few friends who can help with moral support, teaching job skills, or more. Homelessness looms for many. Also, these poor folk don’t know how to stretch the money they do have. Home economics and budgeting are not part of their survival repertoire. One can actually live in the US on very little money if one has the know-how to do it, and not many have the resources to learn. Schools don’t teach many practical skills…in my day boys learned to make or repair common things in “Shop” class, and girls learned to sew and cook and clean and budget. Poverty is an overwhelming thing. And some people are poor because they are, let’s be honest, lazy. Some learn to con. Others check out on drugs. All around, it’s a big problem, and one lunch with a pope doesn’t really solve much, does it?
I also know quite a few well-to-do folk, and many of them live beyond their means, with large homes and new upscale appliances, renovations, vacations, summer camps and trips for the few kids, new clothes and cars and gardens. They are in serious debt, with large mortgages on very large homes. No one seems to have his head on straight these days. It is all a very sad farce.
I remember the government powdered milk too, meiron. We had a milk cow but the powdered milk came in handy when she was dry.
The cheese was very useful and the peanut butter was great, also. So was the recipe for peanut butter cookies that came with it. No flour needed. The USDA was non gluten before non gluten was cool.
🙂
How are you and your family today? I hope this finds your son doing well. 🙏
God bless!
There was a lot of that government cheese in the 80s. Stored in WISC caves even.
Panem et Circenses.
Do you understand how wasteful and stupid it was for the government to buy and store those things in order to manipulate commodity prices only to give them away for political favor?
The govt. cheese we had was basically Velveeta. I have a feeling you could probably store on the shelf indefinitely but I kept it in the icebox just in case. It made amazing macaroni & cheese.There’s a recipe using it to make fudge also.
Home economics and basic financial management should be required starting in middle school. Warren Buffett still lives in his starter home, or close to it.
People have no idea how to make food from scratch. like boil potatoes for dinner then the leftovers you fry for breakfast as hash browns (in bacon grease if you have some left over). The USDA or whomever is scaring people with these “expiration dates” is not helping. Who was it that ran on “a chicken in every pot?”
I knew a rural township supervisor who was going around updating the assessments on some of the new homes. He said one couple were arguing about whether they were going to pay the mortgage or car payments that month – that was 30 years ago.
One of the retirees at the coffee table remarked that they had brown bread and how come the families down the road had white bread. Turned out the ones on relief were given white bread, he found out later. They also used cardboard in their shoes if they were worn out.
Or maybe they bought white bread at the bakery outlet like we did.
🙂
The outlet we drove to sold entire shopping buggies full of stale bread & bakery items for $5.00 They had to label it “Hog Bread” because it was so out of date but most of it was perfectly ok to make dressing or bread pudding, etc. The rest went to the hog or chickens.
Turns out you are not the Pope!
If you want to put a HUGE dent in poverty then encourage young people to refrain from sexual intercourse until they are married….PERIOD!
And get rid of no-fault divorce.
The teen birth rate is currently lower than at any point in history. You can relax about that worry. Use your energy for hosting a lunch with poor families.
But it’s still fornication even if/if not artificial bc is used.
I think DR was thinking about out of wedlock births in general. Not just out of wedlock pregnancies for teens.
In my mother’s high school, graduating wearing an engagement ring wasn’t uncommon. People married earlier back then.
What makes you think that’s the only impoverishing aspect of teens engaging in sex without marriage?
Geard: You’ve missed the point so I’ll try to explain it to you. When a child is born out of wedlock and with no intention of the mother and father to marry and remain together, the child has a great likelihood of living in poverty for his/her childhood. Now, do you understand the reason to encourage young unmarrieds not to engage in sexual intercourse?