tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34533124.post8561109713070036113..comments2018-04-23T21:45:13.055-04:00Comments on Columbus Catholic Worker: PanhandlingFrank Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02703468758526562774noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34533124.post-45803966989733362822010-02-25T08:28:11.772-05:002010-02-25T08:28:11.772-05:00Hi, I can’t understand how to add your site in my ...Hi, I can’t understand how to add your site in my rss reader. Can you Help me, please :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34533124.post-18157256522122041212009-11-23T09:51:42.202-05:002009-11-23T09:51:42.202-05:00Thank you for posting this. As you wrote in your ...Thank you for posting this. As you wrote in your post, this certainly is a difficult and often divisive topic. My wife and I have discussed this on several occasions. Jesus tells us to give without reservation (Luke 6:30) or expectation of return (Luke 6:34). This is the heart of charity. We are to see Jesus in the other and so my giving money is between Jesus and me. How wisely someone spends the money is then between Jesus and them. I think of the Graces that God has given me in my life that I have foolishly squandered. It is only through God's infinite love and patience that He continues giving to me. <br /><br />I work downtown and there are always people panhandling. Some rattle a cup of change, some have a story of why they need fifty cents and still others are just huddled in a doorway. While it is true that one person cannot help everyone, we make decisions on who we will help. My concern is our basis for those decisions. The implications can be distressing. Does one seem more worthy of help than another? <br /><br />I was getting off the bus after work one day and saw a van on the side of the road. The driver had the hood up and was milling around looking distraught. As I walked passed I asked the obvious question about being out of gas. I could tell that he had just finished work and was on his way home. He asked if I had any spare change so he could get enough gas to get home. I reached in my pocket and handed him much more money than he expected. He was very grateful. That was such an easy thing for me to do because I knew the variables of the situation. The money would be going to help him get home to his family. While my giving was out of love for another, it is what I call “easy charity.” Things get really tough when we have to trust how the other person will spend the money Somehow I think Jesus gives more credence to those times when we do not know and just give out of love.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com