Zone1 Are we obligated to help the homeless? A Catholic priest has this answer

[hadit]

You think?

That was one of the reasons for the Reformation. The Reformers saw how tightly church and state were entwined and the abuses that flowed from it.

 

[hadit]

Yes, there are solutions but America never elected a socially responsible government and now there's a long road back.
Impossible under the rule of a corporate psychopath!

Good thing we don't have one of those running things, that would be bad.

 

[forkintheroad7]

The nerve of this rich man (in the parable of Jesus) asking the one he totally ignored to relieve his sufferings in Hell!

Yep, that guy was hopeless... God thought so also

 

[Votto]

BS

Whoever wrote that is apparently very mentally ill

I have not seen statistics on this, but it does make sense.

Being mentally ill is taboo in society and people naturally want to isolate from them.

However, if you have a physical problem, like heart disease, they will treat you just fine.

It is a sad fact of the human condition, that mentally ill people are treated worse than people with physical ailments, but it is what it is.

 

[Eman623]

A Catholic priest (not sure of his name) wrote the following in regard to
Sunday's Mass Gospel reading, St Luke 16:19 (full Gospel passage follows)
Emphasis and bracketed words are mine (Forkintheroad7)



My sisters and brothers, in the Gospel of our Mass this weekend [St Luke 16:19 (following)] we have Jesus telling us the story of the rich man who feasted sumptuously every day and refused to share even the crumbs from his table with a starving beggar at his gate. Try to picture the scene… We are all tainted with selfishness. We do not find it easy to share our possessions with others. We find it even harder to share ourselves with them. But we are all beggars before God. We need [to beg for God’s] forgiveness especially for our refusal to share. We should pray for this forgiveness as we participate in our Sunday [Mass].

No human being, much less a follower of Jesus, can say that he is responsible only for himself, and that his neighbor’s plight is none of his business. Otherwise, he speaks like Cain who [denied being his] brother’s keeper, and acts like Dives—the rich man in [this] parable—who was so cushioned by his lavish lifestyle that he was… oblivious to the presence of a needy person at his gate and treated him as if he were less than nothing, or part of the scenery. The frightening thing about the parable of Jesus is this: Dives, the rich man, was obviously a believer. He had heard what the Scriptures had to say, but clearly its message had not penetrated beyond his ears. It had not converted him. His heart remained like a stone. And there is no place in the Kingdom of Heaven for a person like that…

It is not easy to convert the rich. It is like this: the more people have, the more they have to lose. The more people have to lose, the more fearful they become… the more defensive they get… The result is that they end up with a withered heart. And it is [virtually] impossible to breathe life into a withered heart. To close one’s heart is to begin to die, to open one’s heart is to begin to live. At the end of the day, it is not what we carry in our… wallets or bank accounts that matters. What matters is what we carry in our hearts. That is where the rich man was found wanting. Poverty of the heart is the worst form of poverty. May our generous Lord inspire us to be generous of heart like Him to those in need.





Gospel of Luke 16:19

The Rich Man and Lazarus​

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.


The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’


“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’


“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’


“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’


“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’


He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”



Me: Amazing--wouldn't believe even if one were to rise from the dead!

That's some serious obstinacy

How many formerly homeless people have you taken in and live in your house now?

 

[Votto]

That was one of the reasons for the Reformation. The Reformers saw how tightly church and state were entwined and the abuses that flowed from it.

All you have to do is look at how God set up the state of Israel to deal with poverty.

It is a far cry from how the Left deals with it.

 

[forkintheroad7]

Does it cause it or vice versa?

Its like drug and alcohol use. Look at the health history of any psych patient, and they are abusing something

So, does it help cause their mental condition, or do people with that mental condition just naturally seek those things to try and cope.

It's the chicken or the egg question.

Great point. Anyone who is forced to live like some of the homeless people we see on the streets would be driven to do...

you name it...

They may resist the temptation to abuse alcohol, for instance... but then who could blame them for thinking: What do I have to lose getting drunk (as long as I don't do it while driving)?

 

[forkintheroad7]

How many formerly homeless people have you taken in and live in your house now?

Ha ha... If you only knew my situation.

I help the homeless when I can.

 

[forkintheroad7]

All you have to do is look at how God set up the state of Israel to deal with poverty.

It is a far cry from how the Left deals with it.

Please let us know how Israel deals w/ the problem. I don't know. I'm busy enough studying what's going on in the USA, namely:

a horror story

becoming less so thanks to Trump and Co.

 

[forkintheroad7]

I have not seen statistics on this, but it does make sense.

Being mentally ill is taboo in society and people naturally want to isolate from them.

However, if you have a physical problem, like heart disease, they will treat you just fine.

It is a sad fact of the human condition, that mentally ill people are treated worse than people with physical ailments, but it is what it is.

profoundly true, thanks for this commentary.

Isolating from people (who are all evil... ask God)

is NOT a mental illness.

Being around people all the time, on the other hand, will definitely make you mentally ill... and not just subjectively speaking!

 

[Votto]

Please let us know how Israel deals w/ the problem. I don't know. I'm busy enough studying what's going on in the USA, namely:

a horror story

becoming less so thanks to Trump and Co.

Maybe if you spent more time studying how God operates you would have more wisdom on how to do the same in your own life.

That is, if you are a Christian.

Naturally, if you are not, I understand you ignoring it altogether.

 

[Votto]

profoundly true, thanks for this commentary.

Isolating from people (who are all evil... ask God)

is NOT a mental illness.

Being around people all the time, on the other hand, will definitely make you mentally ill... and not just subjectively speaking!

I think the feeling is mutual, that is the mentally ill wanting to isolate and people wanting to isolate from the mentally ill.

It is just sad is all.

 

[forkintheroad7]

Maybe if you spent more time studying how God operates you would have more wisdom on how to do the same in your own life.

That is, if you are a Christian.

Naturally, if you are not, I understand you ignoring it altogether.

Goodbye

 

[Votto]

Goodbye

Goodbye?

I guess that means you are done talking to me?

 

[Dekster]

Much like Voltaire, I have learned to tend to my own garden.

 

[leftwinger]

They could all sleep on them empty Chuch pews at night. Turn up the heat starting NOV15.

The problem is drugs, dogs, no shower, no teeth brushing, stuff, smell, flossing, booze and fighting. Need armed security.

Biggest problem is the bathroom. Too much, too many, too dirty instantly with used needles. What to do?

 

[forkintheroad7]

Much like Voltaire, I have learned to tend to my own garden.

The liberals could learn a few things from you



Oh, yeh, aren't you one of those?

hmmmmmm

 

[forkintheroad7]

They could all sleep on them empty Chuch pews at night. Turn up the heat starting NOV15.

The problem is drugs, dogs, no shower, no teeth brushing, stuff, smell, flossing, booze and fighting. Need armed security.

Biggest problem is the bathroom. Too much, too many, too dirty instantly with used needles. What to do?

You will be homeless in the next life

True story...

 

[Eman623]

Ha ha... If you only knew my situation.

I help the homeless when I can.

Yeah me too.

When I can.

 

[Dekster]

The liberals could learn a few things from you



Oh, yeh, aren't you one of those?

hmmmmmm

Well, Biblically you are supposed to leave your gleanings for the poor, not pick it, grind it up, turn it into bread, make a sammich, and then go out and find someone who will eat it.