The refrain from today's responsorial psalm.
You can't turn on the news these days without seeing news about housing and the economy. We are blessed at St. Patrick's to be in a neighborhood that is experiencing a revitalization. While we celebrate, not just the psalm but the gospel today reminds us that we cannot loose sight of the poor in our midst.
All to often revitalization in reality means displacing the poor as the housing in the neighborhood is replaced with housing that they can no longer afford to live in. We confuse the criminal with the poor and we mistakenly believe that to rid the neighborhood of one we must rid the neighborhood of the other.
We pray for the poor, but our prayer is reminiscent of the rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof. When asked, "Rabbi, is there a blessing for the tsar?", he responds, "May the good Lord bless and keep the tsar (pause) far away from us."
We should never forget that St. Patrick's was founded by poor, unwelcome, Irish immigrants.
- Fr. Wayne
Location:N 25th St,Richmond,United States
