Marian Helper Spring 2014

THE POOR, OUR PRIORITY A new Marian ministry brings mercy to the neediest. Eric Mahl (right) applies holy oil to the injured knee of a homeless man. “My prayer,” says Eric, “is, ‘Lord, allow me to hear Your own thirst when I am with the poor, and allow me to hear their longing for You.’” P aper wrappers, plastic bags, empty ciga- rette packages — all manner of rubbish blown aimlessly from dumpsters and overturned trash bins — smack against the legs of a homeless man in Boston, Mass. It’s January. The thermometer on Centre Street registers a single, sinister digit: 6 degrees Fahrenheit. Factoring in wind chill, meteorolo- gists say it feels more like negative 12. On a stone bench outside a Back Bay sub- way station, the homeless man, who identifies himself with a name that sounds like E-loy , breathes into his gloveless hands creating vapors that promptly vanish like ghosts. What does the name Eloy mean? “Nothing,” he says. “My mom made it up.” One of the members of the Marians’ newly formed ministry for the poor sits down beside him, presents him with a pair of thick wool gloves, and explains to him that Eloy— the man — is far frommeaningless in the eyes of Jesus Christ. The gloves are appreciated. The need for warm clothing requires no discernment. But to believe that a Merciful Lord knows him by name will require more than warm hands. Indeed, fixing the gloves upon his fingers, Eloy gets distracted when a woman, upwind, lights up a marijuana cigarette. He sniffs at the air. At this moment, if a choice were to be made, temporal temptations probably would win out over notions of eternal salvation. The cold, hard truth of 6 degrees Fahrenheit can do that to you. Such can be the challenge of street ministry. A plight in plain sight Add up the factors — unemployment, ris- ing housing costs, broken families, and sub- stance abuse — and the results are staggering. Despite signs of an economic recovery from the 2008-2009 recession, an estimated 47 mil- lion Americans still live in poverty, 600,000 of whom are homeless at any given time. Responding to those needs, last summer the Marian Fathers expanded upon their many apostolic undertakings to include bringing consolation to the poor through the message of Divine Mercy. The efforts are twofold. Joined with a net- work of charities and religious communities that serve the poorest of the poor, the Marians have so far distributed free of charge more than by Felix Carroll 16 M arian H elper • S pring 2014 •  www.marian.org F elix C arroll