In Search of the Spirit A monthly letter from the Glenmary Vocation Office

April 2007

Just Because I Can, Should I?

It is has been almost two months since the last “In Search of the Spirit.” The delay is twofold: I have recently returned from a month-long trip to Nigeria and Kenya. And, soon after returning from Africa, I traveled to our Houston, Miss., mission, Immaculate Heart of Mary to celebrate Holy Week. In the midst of all this travel, I began to contrast the poverty of Nigeria and Kenya with that of Mississippi. It’s that contrast that has led me to this reflection.

How do I compare poverty of Nigeria and Kenya to that of Houston, Miss? Glenmary has recently produced a series of maps demonstrating mission need, including one on poverty in our mission counties. According to the Fast Facts for Chickasaw County (where Houston is located), 20 percent of the population lives in poverty and 40 percent do not have a high school education. This compares to the national average of 12.4 percent living in poverty and 20 percent without a high school education. So from the perspective of the United States—there are many people living in Chickasaw County in what we define as poverty.

Yet, in Kenya and Nigeria, I visited homes without electricity and with no indoor plumbing. And one village, the only way to get to the house was to walk three miles.

So how does one explain poverty in the United States to the poor of these nations?

From an academic viewpoint, Glenmary Father John Rausch, an economist and director of the Office of Peace and Justice for the Diocese of Lexington, would explain the difference between absolute poverty and relative poverty. Those living in absolute poverty live in the slums of Nairobi or are refugees living in tent cities. Those living in relative poverty have far less as compared to the norm of their country. And in many times, they do not have enough to make ends meet—again as compared to the national norm.

Yet many folks living in the so-called Third World or Fourth World nations dream of coming to America, the land of opportunity and wealth. How can a nation that produces some many billionaires and millionaires still have people living in poverty? For them, to speak of poverty or the poor in the United States makes no sense. How can we justify homeless people on the streets of our largest cities, or the poverty of those living on Native American reservations, in the Mississippi Delta or in the mountains of Appalachia? That poverty exists in the United States—even if not in the extreme form of the Third World nations—is true. Yet, it is difficult to explain why it exists to yourselves much less to citizens of other nations.

The reality is that greed, corruption and selfishness underline the causes of all poverty. The teachings of the Catholic Church have consistently pointed towards the common good. If Christians in business, in government, and in our private lives, thought more about others than ourselves, poverty would decrease. The question we do not ask ourselves enough is: Just because I can do this, should I do this?

For example, one may be a doctor and earn a just salary that compensates for the years of study, the importance of the work, and the long hours dedicated to healing others. So the doctor is able to buy a beautiful home with four bedrooms, even though there is only one child in the family. The question is just because the doctor can, should he/she? How many folks are without homes in this country and elsewhere? Should the doctor build a regular home for his/her family and donate regularly to a home building charity to help others attain suitable housing?

These are the difficult questions all of us have to ask about our spending habits. Just because we can, do we have the right to do so? The decisions we make about how we spend our income have direct consequences for others.

Glenmary missioners are called to live a life of simplicity. Yet, it is not easy to do. As an American working in the United States, I like my comforts of a nice bed, cable TV, a dependable car and good food. Yet, how do I give witness that my comforts are secondary to the necessities of others? What must I sacrifice in order to help others have more, especially more of what they need? What kind of witness am I to the gospel of Jesus?

Jesus says in Luke, “Blessed are you who are poor … woe to you who are rich” (See Luke 6:20-26) How, as a missionary, do I live my life to help both the rich and the poor come to God’s grace?

 

	Father Steve Pawelk Vocation Director  spawelk@glenmary.org

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