Truth & Mercy Series - March 29th 2026

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27). 

When we think of the place the poor and downtrodden have in the Heart of God, we can’t imagine His special love and concern for them. And this is nothing about being a leftist or rightist. It is being on the side of God, doing exactly what He intends and what He proposes to us. This was what gave Mother Teresa her acclaim throughout the world. This is what set St. Vincent de Paul apart in the scheme and vision he lived and left with his orders and followers in setting up the St. Vincent de Paul societies to assist in the collection of funds and raising awareness to the plight of the vulnerable among us. 

In my reflection and prayers, I see that we are all poor in one area or the other in our lives. Some are spiritually poor while others it is a material poverty that plagues them. While material poverty is easier to figure out, spiritual poverty can be veiled for a long time. Spiritual poverty shows itself in many defiant behaviors like hopelessness, despair, discouragement, sadness, drug abuse, and suicide. There are other characteristics like confusion and chaos, a life without purpose and focus, a doublemindedness or indecisiveness. While spiritual poverty seems veiled, it is more devious and destructive. A society plagued by it is fractured and can be very violent, filled with immodesty and filth (impurity) and pride too. 

We can observe these tendencies in families, among the youth and adults as well. The foundation of truth is lacking and this gives birth to styles and lifestyles that do not honor God. God is not even in the equation, He is treated as an option. When God is not the center of one’s life then, gluttony and other forms of pleasure take His place, but they can never fill that void. God alone can satisfy the hunger of the soul, because He has made us for Him and we are restless until we rest in Him. (St. Augustine). 

Our “resurrected treasure” sales are intended to help set up a St. Vincent de Paul society in our parish. It is difficult to see the “poor” for who they are when we, ourselves are plagued by spiritual poverty. This is because these forms of poverty actually separates people into camps. It does not allow us to “belong together” as a team as children of God, who pray the “Our Father” to the same Father: God, the Creator of Heaven and earth. 

Without a clarity of vision, we fall into a situation of pointing fingers and wondering if the poor should take care of themselves, and it is not our responsibility to do that for them. It is a veiled spiritual poverty not to give to the poor out of our abundance or even “lack of”. God never planned us to live in camps separate from each other. 

He desires a community of unity working to pull resources together to advance assistance to each other whether we are temporally or spiritually poor. The season of Lent is a time to pray to be delivered from the veil that keeps us separated from each other. It is a time to fast and pray for this veil to be lifted, so we can truly see ourselves as belonging to the same Father and Mother. We are family and whatever happens to our brother or sister, affects us ultimately.