In this time and this place, because of the recession we all have an opportunity to repent of the isolation and insulation that comes with affluence. When things are going well, it is very easy and tempting to ignore the plight of the needy poor. If we are well off and our family and friends are well off, it seems to us that poverty and need are distant and not urgent.

Now, however, there are very, very few of us who can be unaffected by the numbers of our family members and neighbors who have lost jobs and/or lost their homes. Our hearts are pierced by this sorrow and our compassion grows. We see how great the needs are and even if we have less “disposable income” than we did two years ago, we realize that entertaining ourselves or buying the next “new thing” must take a back seat to ministering to those who do not have the basics. We hear with new ears the words of our Lord, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.”