Think of poor during Advent and take action

This season of Advent is filled with readings from the prophets. They call our attention to the need for repentance and reform, and point to the coming of the Messiah, who will usher in a new age of peace and justice when "the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them" (Isaiah 11:6).

There are two comings of the Messiah that we must look forward to:

* His first coming at Bethlehem's stable, which we celebrate at Christmas, wherein Jesus, the Son of God, took on human form and began His redemptive work, culminating in His passion, death and resurrection; and

* His second coming at the end of time when we must render an accounting of our stewardship, and when Jesus will judge the living and the dead.

Self-assessment

During Advent, we must ask ourselves how well we are responding to the Good News Jesus came upon earth to proclaim and how much we are doing to prepare for His final coming, when He will bring to completion the reign of God.

In all the Scriptural passages, it is obvious that there is one special category of persons about whom we, as followers of Jesus, must be concerned: the poor.

That the Good News is proclaimed to the poor, and that the needs of the orphan, the widow and the stranger must be met have always been presented in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament as infallible signs of the presence of God's kingdom among us.

Katrina's wake

The plight of the poor in our midst was brought home very dramatically a few months ago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That natural disaster put a glaring spotlight on those left behind in New Orleans: the aged, sick, infirm and children, mostly poor and black. (It should be noted, however, that there are nearly twice as many poor white people in the U.S. and the recent increase in poverty has been most pronounced among Hispanics.)

They were left behind because they did not have the transportation or the fiscal or psychological resources to evacuate. As the images of their distress flashed across our nation and world, many observed, "It looks like a Third World country."

Unfortunately, the lamentable sight of those left behind in New Orleans is merely a visible reminder of the enduring problems of poverty, class and race that continue to plague our nation.

As Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) stated on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the wake of this tragedy, "I hope we realize that the people of New Orleans weren't just abandoned during the hurricane. They were abandoned long ago -- to murder and mayhem in the streets, to substandard schools, to dilapidated housing, to inadequate health care, and to a pervasive sense of hopelessness."

Falling short

While we have been making strides to address these problems, it must be acknowledged that our efforts are falling short. For the first time in half-a-century, we are seeing an increase in poverty.

In a nation of nearly 300 million people, the number living below the poverty line ($14,680 for a family of three) recently hit 37 million, up more than a million in a year.

That's a nation of poor people the size of Canada or Morocco living inside the United States. As Jonathan Alter of Newsweek magazine has pointed out, our poverty rate of 12.7 percent is the highest in the developed world and more than twice as high as most other industrialized societies.

Least among us

That is why, last March, the bishops of New York State issued a pastoral statement, "Rebuilding the Covenant with the Poor." We recalled that the quality of our relationship with God is reflected by how we treat "the least among us."

Currently, "the least among us" in New York are not faring well: 2.5 million of our fellow New Yorkers are living below the federal poverty level...7.5 percent of working families earn wages below the federal poverty level...three million New Yorkers have no health insurance.

Alternatives

Those grim statistics demand a response on our part. Advent is a perfect opportunity to reflect upon what that response should be.

For several years, our diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice has been promoting an alternative Christmas program. In part, it is designed to combat the unbridled consumerism that has increasingly become the hallmark of the way in which we Americans celebrate Christmas.

In many instances, gift-giving, parties, and home and office decorations have become inordinate. The material dimension of the holiday frequently far outstrips the spiritual. At times, weary shoppers are so exhausted that they cannot really enjoy the Christmas gathering with loved ones.

The alternative Christmas program encourages individuals and families to give gifts of time and skills. It also seeks to remind us of the real meaning of the Christmas feast. We celebrate the birth of a homeless child, living in a refugee family. We celebrate God's becoming one with us and, hence, our becoming one with every member of the human family. Because of the Incarnation, we are no longer "Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female but one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

How to help

An awareness of the fundamental meaning of Christmas can lead us to celebrate the feast in ways that are in accord with what Christ came to teach us, and in ways that respond to our solidarity with the poor and needy in our midst.

Let me offer a few suggestions:

* We could forego buying gifts that are neither needed nor wanted, and honor the intended recipients by making a contribution in their names to a fund for the poor so that the needy don't have to choose between food and heat, or between medicine and rent;

* we can give our time volunteering at a local food pantry or shelter for the homeless;

* we could visit people in a local nursing home who have no relatives;

* we could offer to tutor a disadvantaged student or serve as a Big Brother or Sister;

* we could sign up to be a member of the New York State Public Policy Advocacy Network in order to learn about ways to help the poor -- for example, by supporting tuition tax credit legislation designed to give children and parents more choice in education, or by supporting an earned income tax credit which eases the fiscal burden on poor families (visit www.nyscatholic.org for more information);

* we could forego the usual wreaths and poinsettia plants in our homes or worksites, and use the money for an energy assistance fund to help those who can't pay their heating bills this winter;

* we could cut down on the food and drink we buy over the holidays, and use the savings to contribute to agencies that offer retreat and healing opportunities for victims of clergy sexual abuse;

* we can discontinue lights to decorate outdoors and make a donation to the electric bill of a poor family;

* we could turn down the thermostat so that the money saved could be sent to an elderly person to pay for more heat;

* we could turn off lights, the TV and the computer when they are not needed;

* we can support the campaign initiated last month by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to end the death penalty, which impacts disproportionately on the poor and minorities (visit www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/deathpenalty);

* we can contribute to the funds overseen by Catholic Charities in our Diocese to assist the tsunami and hurricane victims whose long-term needs are still far from being met (send checks to 40 N. Main Ave., Albany 12203); or

* we could organize a parish group to study "Rebuilding the Covenant with the Poor," or participate in the Journey to Justice program sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (www.usccb.org/cchd/education.shtml).

You get the idea! For further suggestions, follow the Peace and Justice column on alternative Christmas appearing in The Evangelist during Advent (see page 15).

May these days of Advent be for each of us a time to prepare spiritually for Christ's coming, especially by the way we meet Him disguised in the vulnerable and poor among us.

(12/1/05) [[In-content Ad]]