FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL

NO ONE IN NEED
(Part 18)

HOLISTIC WORK WITH THE POOR

November 11, 2015
Today’s psalm: Psalm 82:3-7

“Defend the lowly and fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and needy.
Rescue the lowly and poor;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
(Ps 82:3-4)

The above is not just about work to provide the poor with material help, but it also touches on our two other thrusts--evangelization and family renewal. Indeed, all three go together to make up a holistic approach to bringing the peace of Christ into society and to the world.

Evangelization engages us in spiritual warfare, as we seek to bring people from out of the dominion of darkness into the Lord’s marvelous light. The evil one has engaged many humans and human institutions to do its wicked work, such as the US government under Obama, the European Union, the United Nations and billionaire depopulationists. All are promoting the culture of death, which mainly targets the poor. Only Christ, using his disciples as his instruments, can “rescue the lowly and poor; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (v.4).

The culture of death has also devastated marriages and families. Many children grow up without both their parents, often the father. Either they are born outside marriage or are abandoned by their fathers. Studies have shown that those children who do not have fathers raising them in their home are more prone to crime and/or to living dissolute lives, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Our work of family renewal engages us to “defend the lowly and fatherless” (v.3a).

And so we do work with the poor. This is a work of justice, that is, rendering to the poor what is due to them--an equitable share of the world’s goods, a life of dignity, and a life lived in the Spirit. We are to “render justice to the afflicted and needy.” (v.3b).

Thus our work with the poor in CFC-FFL cannot just be about no one being in need of material well-being. Aside from this, they need Christ, and they need to belong to united and supportive families. Such is the totality of our work.

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