Children of Haiti

As I get older I understand Jesus’ sayings of how hard it is for the rich to get to heaven and how blessed are the poor. As I quoted Saint Caesarius of Arles (470–543) in the posting the other day, “Where our money is, there too is our heart.”

Being in between, the dying Middle Class, I know people rich and poor, although many more are poor than rich. The few rich persons I know have been very generous in their giving of time and money to those in need. The poor I know are blessed when they are detached from the desire to be rich. We, in the in between class, need to decide if we desire to be rich or poor. The great majority of us desire to be rich but a few of us have experienced the joy and peace of the poor and look that way.

It is easier to be poor and feel blessed in other countries outside of the USA where the myth of we can be rich if only we desire and work for it, makes no sense. When you are seeking to survive anything you receive is deeply appreciated. The rich never seem to get enough of anything and want more and more.

My friends in need who are detached from unruly desires to be rich are truly blessed. And when I am with them as a friend their blessings overflow to me. When people make a lot of a simple work of mercy, giving a ride to someone to see a Doctor, I remind them the person doing the work of mercy is being blessed.

In this country where the ‘rich are getting richer’ and the ‘poor are getting poorer’ at a more and more rapid pace it is necessary to say money is good but where we put our money is where our heart is. Yes it is easier to be poor and blessed than rich and blessed. Now if I can only get my Catholic Church to understand this. Jesus, where are you with your message, “blessed are the poor”, when we need you?

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