Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor
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Cross Catholic Outreach
- July 8, 2010
Give a Fish or Teach to Fish?
There is an old saying that goes: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The second part of that saying is the goal of much of the work we do to help the poor here at Cross Catholic.
However, during staff devotions this morning we were reminded of how important the first part is, as well. Our newest projects officer recently returned from Belize. It was his first time visiting the projects we support there, and he was struck by the impact of the elderly feeding programs — those meeting an immediate need rather than supporting development.
“These programs provide palliative care to deal with the effects of poverty. As we minister to the more immediate needs of these people, we are expressing the love of Christ in a very real way,” he explained. “Yes, it is important to teach people how to fish, so to speak, but what about the people who are too old or sick or unable to learn how to fish? Should we just forget about them?”
Cross Catholic supports education and microenterprise programs that promote development.
It is clear from Matthew 18:14 — “Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” — that every person is important to God.
Giving an elderly woman a daily meal is just as meaningful in God’s eyes as supporting a scholarship or microenterprise program. Both are meeting important needs of the poor and, in the process, exposing them to Christ.
Click here to learn more about what Cross Catholic is doing to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of the poor in Latin America.
Cross Catholic also meets the poor’s more immediate needs through feeding programs for the sick, elderly, and vulnerable children.
