Well first of all I would like to
say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Paulist Fathers. It was on the 6th of
March, 1858 that the Vatican document was issued that officially separated Fr.
Isaac Hecker and his four companions from the Redemptorist Fathers to go off and
start a new congregation, namely the Paulist Fathers. The name of this founding
document of the Paulists is “Nuper Nonnulli”. It is Latin and doesn’t mean
really anything. The literal translation is “some certain”. There is a kind of
indefinite openness about that title that I find full of potential, of
possibilities, a lack of restriction and constriction, and open horizons that I
find quite attractive. But then I am a Paulist.
Some legalists in the Paulists
claim that the true birthday of the Paulists is the day the first Paulist
Constitution was adopted. This strikes me as insisting on the letter of the law
over the spirit of the movement, something our spiritual guide and patron, St.
Paul, strove mightily against. I am firmly in the Nuper Nonnulli camp.
You can find portraits of Fr.
Isaac Hecker and the other four first Paulists, along with short biographies,
on the walls of Hecker Hall. I encourage you to check them out. Thanks to the
Knights of Columbus for making them possible. You will also find a bust of Fr.
Hecker under the icon of St. Augustine of Canterbury (a/k/a St. Austin) on one
of the side altars of our church. Also there are brochures there on the effort
to have Fr. Hecker canonized.
So
allow me to wish you and yours a most Happy Nuper Nonnulli Day!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now back to business. Continuing
to look at the Corporal Works of Mercy in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, we come
to “Shelter the Homeless”. Homelessness is something we know about in our
neighborhood.
One very good example of
sheltering the homeless is the work of St. Louise House. This wonderful effort,
born out of one of the Small Christian Communities of St. Austin Parish, St.
Louise House was a direct response to the situation of homeless women with
dependent children. It now provides shelter for over thirty women and their
children. More importantly, it also trains these women and equips them with the
basic tools to remain in a home after they leave St. Louise House. It is a wonderful
work, and you can learn more about it on their website,
http://www.saintlouisehouse.org/
Another effort to shelter the
homeless is the great work of Habitat for Humanity Austin. This organization is the largest provider of homes that are affordable
for hardworking families in Central Texas and work hard to fill Austin’s affordable housing crisis. You
can learn about volunteering or helping at www.austinhabitat.org/volunteer.
They even have a “Catholic Build”, where members of various parishes supply
much of the labor and even the financing to build a home for a working family.
iACT, or
Interfaith Action of Central Texas, does great work here in Austin repairing
and upgrading homes of senior citizens who are not able to keep up their
houses. This group helps seniors to remain in their homes and to keep up the
value of their property. It also has the advantage of bringing together
volunteers from many different faith traditions in service to the community.
And Mobile
Loaves and Fishes, in addition to feeding the homeless, is also working to help
them escape life on the streets. They are working on Community First!, a 27
acre master-planned
community that will provide affordable, sustainable housing and a supportive
community for the disabled, chronically homeless in Central Texas. You can find
out about volunteering or donating at www.http://mlf.org/community-first/.
Finally, you can help get at the
root of homelessness, especially for the working poor, by how you vote. Support
candidates who favor increasing the minimum wage to a level that allows a
working family to rent or even buy housing. That would be an important step
towards a long-term solution. You can see the stand the US Catholic Bishops
have taken in support of raising the minimum wage at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/labor-employment/minimum-wage-backgrounder.cfm.
So there are many opportunities
in our city to shelter the homeless. This Lent, just pick one and assist in
this basic and important corporal work of mercy.
God
bless!
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