The Homeless Are Part of Our Family, too

Written on: July 1, 2015

The media hype around Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia reminds one of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the day we now celebrate as Palm Sunday. The excitement of the crowds was at fever pitch for different reasons. That type of welcome wasn’t exactly what Jesus was looking for, but when told to quiet the crowds he said that even if they were to keep silence, the very stones would cry out! The celebration of goodness necessarily brings about more goodness.

The World Meeting of Families has formed a special Hunger and Homelessness Committee, with the goal of raising awareness of these issues and urging the local community to greater action on behalf of our struggling sisters and brothers.

Project HOME, a nationally recognized organization in Philadelphia co-founded by Sister Mary Scullion, RSM and Joan Dawson McConnon which provides supportive services to enable chronically homeless and low-income persons to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, sees this as a powerful opportunity to promote Pope Francis’ vision of mercy and justice and deepen our response to poverty in our society.

In support of the WMOF, Project HOME is sponsoring four initiatives which are hosted on this new website, www.mercyandjustice.org. Dawn’s Place is featured in the “Stories of Mercy and Justice” box. The Grey Nuns signed on as an endorser of the “Mercy and Justice Statement.” We encourage everyone to solicit support for this project from organizations you may belong to by sending a similar message to Congress. The Statement can be accessed at the above new website. An initiative named “The Francis Fund” will provide financial support to organizations and ministries that represent the care and compassion in our region. Every dollar raised by the Francis Fund will go directly to designated projects which address these critical needs.  Donations to the fund will be distributed on October 4, 2015, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the deeper meaning of the Pope’s visit.

A final initiative will remain a surprise until you go to the website and see for yourselves! You will most certainly enjoy reading about and seeing examples of these unique initiatives that enflesh the real purpose of Pope Francis’ visit.  Then let the celebration begin!

This entry was posted in With a Heart for Justice and tagged: homeless, Hunger, Mercy and Justice, Pope Francis, Project Home, The Francis Fund, World Meeting of Families