One of my fondest memories of going to church as a little boy was the visit to the poor box in the back of church. My grandma or aunt would give me and my sisters a few coins to place in the little box nestled into the wall of the church. For us, we were told the money in the box was for the poor people, but we just liked sliding the money in the slot.
Now, many years later, the poor box in the church I worship and assist at looks just like the poor box of my youth. Now, they get many more dollar bills and checks. Thank God for the generosity. At Mass this weekend, we heard from our local St. Vincent de Paul Society of what they can do from these poor box donations. I forget the exact number, but our local SVDP group has helped more homeless people than I actually thought existed in our fairly well off community. And he explained that more and more people are calling the office for help; the victims of job losses and the stagnating economy.
I never knew much about the St. Vincent de Paul Society until recent years. Of course this wonderful organization is a direct reflection of the life of the well known Saint. St. Vincent was a priest in Paris and founded the Congregation of the Mission to assist the poor. Here are some of his thoughts on the poor:
"if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. His mission was to preach to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ's actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause."
Today, September 27th is St. Vincent de Paul's feast day. May we honor his memory and his devotion to the poor by making frequent trips to the poor box in our local parish churches. Yes, give the kids some coins to place through the slot in the poor box. Then drop some bills or checks in there yourself.
Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.
St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
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