Filling the Hungry with Good Things

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” – James 2:14-16

One of the most reoccurring themes in the Bible is caring for the poor and welcoming the stranger. God tells us to show compassion to those most in need, to offer physical substance and shelter.

As the country faces cutting off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program next month, million face food insecurity. The almost-month-long government shutdown has also led to many going without paychecks and unable to make ends meet.

On one hand, it has been good to see so many step up, trying to fill the gap—extra donations to food banks, free meals at restaurants, information lists, etc. But on the other, there are so many that will fall through the gaps. There are those who blame the people on SNAP as lazy or scammers. There are those who are willing to turn a blind eye to a massive need because they personally are not affected.

But it is our Christian duty to feed the hungry. The right to food is one of the most basic human rights; what kind of society lets any of its people starve, especially when there is food to spare?

Monday Motivation: The Bread in Your Cupboard

 “When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.” ― St. Basil the Great

St. John Henry Newman

Pope Leo has announced that St. John Henry Newman will become a Doctor of the Church. This is a big honor, as there are only 38 Doctors of the Church. He will be the second Doctor of the Church from England, after St. Bede. Newman produced a large amount of theological works over his lifetime, tracing his personal religious journey as well as religious movements of the nineteenth century. Newman once defined theology as "the Science of God, or the truths we know about God, put into a system, just as we have a science of the stars and call it astronomy, or of the crust of the earth and call it geology." Pope Leo has found Newman’s works as a significant contribution to the Church. His most influential work is considered to be “An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,” which explored how the application of Christian doctrine may change over time, given time and place, even as the core truths of the faith stay the same. This was considered an influential document during the Second Vatican Council.

John Henry Newman was born in London in 1801. The son of a banker, he received a good education and was a big reader. When he was 15, a friend gave him books on the Calvinist tradition, and Newman converted to Calvinist evangelicalism. He later credited the conversion as important to his religious journey, although his views on Calvinism quickly shifted. After graduating from Oxford, he became a priest in the Church of England. He also continued to teach and research at Oriel College in Oxford.

In 1828 he became vicar of St. Mary’s University Church. He studied the Church Fathers deeply, and his views took a stronger, higher ecclesiastical tone. In 1830 he circulated an anonymous letter on how nonconformists should be removed from positions of power in society. This led to him being dismissed from his position.