Spirit of condemnation, spirit of mercy

[tadoflamb]

Years ago when I had more spare time on my hands, I volunteered with my parish's St. Vincent de Paul conference. We would take calls and make visits to people with in our parish boundaries and help them with food, bills, rent, etc. When I first started I thought I was a real Mary type, I thought I was pretty good at sitting and listening at the feet of Jesus. As it turns out I was a genuine Martha, fussing about why do we have to go visit this person again, and what not.

As the Gospel of Luke tells us, we went out in pairs, and I was paired up with a retired school nurse. I forget exactly when it was, but one day we had the simultaneous epiphany that we could either adopt a spirit of condemnation or we could adopt a spirit of mercy. From then one out, we vowed to adopt a spirit of mercy. That day we just didn't become liberal, we became radically liberal.

We ran into all sorts of problems with the conservatives in the group and my friend still has problems with them. In a way, this is to be expected as the Society of StVdeP was establish firstly to work towards the holiness of it's members and secondly establish a fellowship between it's members and finally, if we manage to help someone out, that's a good thing too. So, we were all working this out together.

At any rate, it seems to me once you embark on the Christian journey you have a choice on which spirit you want to embrace. I still fight the spirit of condemnation but I know that the spirit of mercy is the better choice.

 

[Tigger45]

There is always a percentage of recipients that just take advantage of charitable situations but we have to be careful not to allow that to still our joy for service or we will lose the passion and stop contributing to those that are truly in need.

 

[Martinius]

I love those epiphanies. Helping people without an attitude of mercy and love makes it too mechanical, like we do this because it is expected. It is difficult to not be judgmental at times, but it sounds like you found the way.

When my wife and I were combining households we had to get rid of stuff, like extra beds and other furniture. I got a friend with a pickup truck and we hauled it to an inter-faith organization in the basement of the local Catholic Church. Turns out that a newly arrived immigrant family was in need of some basic stuff for their new apartment. They gave us the address, contacted the family, and we didn't unload the truck but went right to the apartment with it all. If not for the serendipity of our donation, they would have had no beds and little else. It was very eye-opening to see what this immigrant family was going through, and it warmed my heart to see how something that we were discarding could be of such value to them.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

as the Society of StVdeP was establish firstly to work towards the holiness of it's members

Is that right? I need to work on my holiness and reverence. But more importantly my faith in action. My father was president of St V. De Paul for over 30 years. gave up a lot of his free time. He also visited hospitals every Sunday morning after Church. He never talked about his faith. Probably would've struggled to name more than 3 commandments. But the man was a charitable icon. A legend, even though I am obviously biased.

 

[tadoflamb]

There is always a percentage of recipients that just take advantage of charitable situations but we have to be careful not to allow that to still our joy for service or we will lose the passion and stop contributing to those that are truly in need.

We never worried about that. Looking back, the vast majority of the people we visited sincerely needed the help. Besides, the bible says 'give to anyone who asks' (somewhere in Luke). Even if we suspected that the charity wasn't being used in the spirit in which it was given, that was up to them and not up to us.

 

[tadoflamb]

Is that right? I need to work on my holiness and reverence. But more importantly my faith in action. My father was president of St V. De Paul for over 30 years. gave up a lot of his free time. He also visited hospitals every Sunday morning after Church. He never talked about his faith. Probably would've struggled to name more than 3 commandments. But the man was a charitable icon. A legend, even though I am obviously biased.

Wow, that's fantastic about your dad. Do you have any of his old manuals or copies of the Rule of StVdeP? They make fascinating reading. I was active for about 6 years back when I was under employed. I thought of it as kind of a 'spiritual hyper-drive'. One could sit in mass quietly, listen to the lovely homilies, do a little bible study or other type of groups and still get to the same place, but StVdeP gets you there much quicker. It's like your taking the abundant mercy we receive regularly from our altars and taking it out into the world.

Some one in another thread suggested I'd be a good deacon. While I've considered that, my intention is to get back into the mix with StVdeP as soon as my schedule opens up (ie: retirement). The society is a lay organization and I've seen just how empowered the laity can become in such a setting. If your parish has a conference, I would recommend you volunteer and follow in the footsteps of your dad. He sounds like he was a great guy.

 

[Martinius]

St. V. DePaul does a lot of great work in our area too. We also have other parish organizations and an ecumenical group that does some of the same. The Christmas before last, when we delivered food and gifts to a woman having medical issues, she hugged us and wept for joy.

 

[anjelica]

Was no one We could have done with someone like that when I had cbcer becaus i was. Helpless in bed, very sick, at home, my husband in a wheelchair, and all that I could eat was one slice of bread a day. That one slice kept me alive. One day there was no bread. We had no family to get us some. My husband rang both our local parishes and asked the oriests for help. Neither would give any - said there was mo ome they could merciful 9ask out of twoBIG congregations, to fetch us a loaf of bread. We would have welcomed any help at tha t tim but it was not forthcoming. I am glad to hear that there is good and merciful work going on elsewhere. Ours was a lufe and death situation.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

sorry to hear that story angelica, very sorry

 

[anjelica]

It's ok Paul. It was hard to take at the time but it actually did a lot of good, for it made me cling even more to Christ. I wrote a piece on Bread of Heaven, after it, once I was well enough. I try to turn. Ll my experiences to the good

 

[Martinius]

It's ok Paul. It was hard to take at the time but it actually did a lot of good, for it made me cling even more to Christ. I wrote a piece on Bread of Heaven, after it, once I was well enough. I try to turn. Ll my experiences to the good

That experience was unacceptable. Around here and at my former place of abode there is/was a group of people at the parish who respond to emergency needs. And there are non-religious and ecumenical groups that help out people in dire need. I am very sorry for some people's failure to be Christian and get you the assistance you needed. Hope things are better now for you.

 

[anjelica]

It's ok Martinus. It was two years ago and I am in remission now. But truly, it did make me know jyst Who I relied on. I could say more here but will eave it for another time.

 

[Martinius]

It's ok Martinus. It was two years ago and I am in remission now. But truly, it did make me know jyst Who I relied on. I could say more here but will eave it for another time.

Glad to hear it. I think there is a song that says "nobody loves you when you're down and out." That is the exact opposite of how it should be, but we have a long way to go to truly live the Gospel.

 

[tadoflamb]

Was no one We could have done with someone like that when I had cbcer becaus i was. Helpless in bed, very sick, at home, my husband in a wheelchair, and all that I could eat was one slice of bread a day. That one slice kept me alive. One day there was no bread. We had no family to get us some. My husband rang both our local parishes and asked the oriests for help. Neither would give any - said there was mo ome they could merciful 9ask out of twoBIG congregations, to fetch us a loaf of bread. We would have welcomed any help at tha t tim but it was not forthcoming. I am glad to hear that there is good and merciful work going on elsewhere. Ours was a lufe and death situation.

I'm really saddened by this, anjelica. There's no excuse for it.

This reminds me that charity isn't a gift but a payment for the debt of injustice to the poor. I'm really sorry you had to suffer through that.

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

It's ok Martinus. It was two years ago and I am in remission now. But truly, it did make me know jyst Who I relied on. I could say more here but will eave it for another time.

I'm glad to hear you are in remission. I'm learning to really appreciate your voice here!