Peter Maurin and Concrete Acts of Love

From Bishop Robert Barron's LENT REFLECTIONS:

Peter Maurin and Concrete

Acts of Love

Today I'd like to highlight one of the great Catholic figures of the twentieth century, Peter Maurin. He was born in May of 1877 in the south of France, one of 23 children—that's not a typo. He was educated by the Christian Brothers and, early on, became deeply inspired by the example of St. Francis. In 1909, Maurin sailed for North America and for about twenty years lived a sort of radical Franciscan life, performing manual labor during the day, sleeping in any bed he could find, dining in skid-row beaneries. Any money he made, he spent on books or gave to those less fortunate.  During these years, Maurin was trying to develop a coherent Catholic social philosophy. The main problem with society, he felt, was that sociology, economics, and politics had all been divorced from the Gospel. The Gospel was a private concern of “religious” people and had no discernable effect on the way the political, social, and economic realms were run. In a word, he thought that society had lost its transcendent purpose. Life had come to be organized around the drive for production and the search for profits, rather than around the real spiritual development of the person. Maurin knew that the Church had an answer to this, and it was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Maurin’s program was what he called “a personalist revolution,” which meant the building of a new world within the shell of the old, rather than waiting for social circumstances to change. The Christian should simply begin living according to a new set of values.        In 1932, Peter Maurin met a young woman in New York named Dorothy Day. For some years, Dorothy had been trying to find her path, a way of reconciling her new-found Catholic faith with her deep commitment to social action. With the arrival of Peter Maurin, she felt that her prayers had been answered. He told her to start a newspaper which would present Catholic social teaching and provide for greater clarity of thought, and then to open “houses of hospitality” where the works of mercy could be concretely practiced. And this is precisely what she did. Together Day and Maurin founded the Catholic Worker Movement. They operated soup kitchens and bread lines for the poor, and invited homeless people to stay with them. Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day remind us that we simply cannot love Christ without concretely loving those most in need. Love of Christ and love of neighbor coincide. Heaven and earth must come together.

THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, the truth;
Where there is doubt, the faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Christ calls upon us because

  He has no hands but your hands to do his work today.

   He has no feet but your feet to lead folks in his way.

   He has no lips but your lips to tell them how he died.

   He has no love but your love to brings them to his side.

                                                                          unknown

Jesus the Homeless

  "  At Christmas time several years ago, Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz noticed a homeless person a corner in downtown Toronto, so wrapped up in a sleeping bag to keep warm that he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. This is Jesus was Schmalz' first reaction.

   The Catholic artist decided to create a bronze sculpture of the tired Jesus, wrapped in a blanket except for his feet.  Despite the artist's hope to place a homeless Jesus in every major city, the statue had difficulty finding a home.  In Schmalz' home Diocese of Toronto, st. Michael's Cathedral declined to accept the statue.  St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York also turned it down.

   But when Pope Francis blessed the sculpture at one of his weekly general audiences and called it a "beautiful piece of art:, interest in the bronze sculpture increased.

   Today the Jesus the Homeless statue (which is based on Chapter 25 of Matthew) can be found in several locations, including Chicago, Rome, North Carolina and at the University of Toronto's Regis College."

This Lent - can we find Jesus the Homeless in our thoughts and what we do for those in need?

(1.)  from The Little Black Book, Six-minute meditations on the Passion according to Luke

PMC and the FoodBank

The Akron/Canton Regional FoodBank is somewhat a "silent partner" with PMC. While we are truly blessed with five parishes and one private organization providing meals, and contributions from various churches,  the provisions we draw from the FoodBank are critical to rounding out our meals and keeping our food costs low.

How low from the FoodBank  in year 2014? 

*  our average cost on all purchases was .10 per pound.

*  our total cost for all provisions was 6.7 cents on the dollar.

Our overall stats:

Meals served:  16,459  (year 2013 10,000). This includes our meals served in the Dinning Hall, meals to our tented citizens on Saturday and Thursday meals to the Miller Avenue Youth Program.

These statistics are important only because of the team of volunteers who prepare for and put the meals together.

Who are they:  Tom Smith, managing the kitchen; Don Roese, Mickey Mader and Dawn Hosick coordinating the selection of provisions needed, and placing and picking up the orders each week.

So .. praise God for the wonderful resource of the Akron/Canton Regional FoodBank. When you receive a plea in the mail asking for support of this non-profit organization, please consider a donation.

Joe May

Chairman

Help PMC Sleep-Over Program

When the wind-chill reaches 0 degrees our Center is open overnight to accommodate our unsheltered citizens. We have been open as needed through January, and the forecast indicates that we will be open through the balance of February.

The cost to operate overnight, beyond our scheduled day program, is not covered in our budget.

We invite you to sponsor one (or multiple) overnight guest(s), or an entire overnight so that we keep our shelter available for the duration.

Sponsor a guest for $20 per person per night.
Sponsor an entire overnight for $300.

You may write a check to PMC Overnight   P.O. Box 1105  Hudson Ohio 44236.

Your financial assistance is greatly appreciated  (We operate without government or foundation funding; all our costs are met through individual and organization contributions).

Interview with Joe May

  EXCERPT FROM akronlife magazine February, 2015

An interview by Abby Cymerman with Joe May [founder, The Peter Maurin Center of Akron].

I am sharing a portion of this article because Abby’s interview asked four pertinent questions that reflect the need for public understanding of the plight of the homeless in our community.

What is the true state of homelessness in Summit County?

JM:  The state of homelessness in Summit County is complex. Perhaps it can best be described in segments, which is consistent with most cities across the country.

Most noticeable are the homeless the public sees on the city streets: some with signage seeking assistance; some staying warm during the day in libraries and bus stations; some riding bikes or walking to and from food sources; and some standing outside a temporary-employment office.

Much less noticeable are the tented homeless who take up residence in vacant wooded areas. For the most part, they are marginal survivalist. Some become adept at caring for themselves; others are in desperate need of help to survive – particularly in the dead of winter.

Other among the noticeable are the squatters. These homeless move about finding shelter in vacant houses or commercial buildings.

Transient homeless (versus long-term or chronic) rent day-to-day or week-to-week. On any given day, they face eviction. Some are found sleeping in their car while seeking their next shelter.

If you want numbers, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development required a biannual point-in-time homeless count in order for Continuums of Care, located by county, to be eligible for Federal funding.

The “Point-in Time” survey conducted in 2010 indicated there were approximately 875 homeless.  From the experience of those working directly with homeless, the number in the Greater Akron area is estimated at more than 1,100 people and more than 100 tented citizens.  To our knowledge, this has not been conducted in the last two or three years in Summit County.

When it comes to our community’s homeless, what can we as Akronites do to help?

JM: The public in general see the homeless on the city streets but lack understanding of the stories behind what they see. As a result, they are referred to as beggar, bum, panhandler and “Why don’t they get a job!”

Those who share their God-given talents and their time to provide assistance see the face of Christ in all who are in need.  We live by the (paraphrased) Matthew 25 scripture in which Jesus instructs us:  What so ever you do unto the least … you do unto me”. The Greeks of old put it well, “People in need are the ambassadors of the gods.”

What the Akron public can do to help is to become involved, beginning with an understanding of who the homeless are.  What has caused them to become unsheltered, and what are their needs?

There are many ways to begin:  Get active in your church social concerns group, research online the plight of the homeless and discover the inhumane, as well as the compassionate, treatment by cities across the country.

The next step is to reach out to any number of well-established organizations that minister to the immediate needs of the homeless, and those organizations that seek long-term solutions.  Volunteer with organizations, such as the Peter Maurin Center, and go prepared to share your God-given talents rather than going to “serve”.  The distinction between the two terms is that of dignity.  Go prepared to share the most effective talent: listening.  I remember the saying:    “I never learn anything when I’m talking”.

Who is welcome at the center?

JM:  Anyone who walks through our doors is welcomed. If they don’t stay long, they most likely are not in need.  Our mission is to nurture the body, mind and soul.  On rare occasions, we must ask a guest to leave if he or she is causing a disturbance.  However, each is invited back to the entrance at any time for a meal

How can people volunteer their time?

JM:  Volunteers are welcome to drop in anytime we’re open:  Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Fridays and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m.  Simply introduce yourself and state your interest in volunteering.  Our many volunteers, each in his or her own right, will attest to the joy in each of their lives having been given the opportunity to share with others in need at PMC.

[Full article available on TWITTER or obtain the magazine]

Joe May