Forward Day by Day SATURDAY, January 10 Isaiah 65:1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. We left off serving the poor in Santa Rosa and returned to Rio de Janeiro to establish a Franciscan house of spirituality. Trouble is, there are poor here too, much more visible and in far greater numbers. In Santa Rosa, our guests politely stayed out of sight until actually approaching us for help; here in Rio the poor are literally all over the streets, sitting and lying in doorways and on sidewalks, in side alleys and park benches. They are not looking for us, but in forcing us to step over them, we realize we cannot ignore them, especially since our hearts are already attuned to their plight. We take small measures. We have rejoined the street church. We try to acknowledge the poor in random encounters with a smile, a touch, a few words. In time, we plan to work with community groups to solve the problem of shelter, especially for the women. The Gubbio project, a ministry of sacred sleep for the homeless in a San Francisco church, is a good model. Another thing Rio does not lack: churches.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 15:11:55 +0000
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