It's a beautiful morning here in Northern Illinois. We opened the windows to the fresh breezes early today. We usually go to Mass on Sat. evening, but we were both so tired yesterday...that we waited until this morning. Father Nnaso was back from Peru and it was nice to have him with us again. The homily was a good one. After reading from the Gospel, he started talking about how children around the world are starving. Moms and Dads not able to put food on the table. Some right here in our country, because of parents losing jobs. He spoke of the hunger problem and then went on to say that most of us, in our Parish, have more that we need. Basements, attics, garages, sheds, storage units full of stuff. Things we haven't used for five years or more. We hoard things, store for relatives, never even looking at what we have collected. We continue on buying and buying....just to satisfy a need for more. He said that, individually, we can't change the world. Some of us have money to give to charities. If we don't ....we should try to help just one person. Hunger in America isn't what you might think. A child may technically be eating something but can still be hungry - and thus damaging their IQ and impairing cognitive growth. Perhaps a child's last meal was a bowl or cereal or box of inexpensive noodles. While technically they may have eaten something, it wasn't nutritious enough to help them develop. There are already 12.5 million children at risk for hunger in the U.S. And the recession is expected to plunge 3 million more children into poverty. When you look at the issues surrounding "Children of the Recession" hunger and malnutrition is a huge one … which can have lifelong consequences.So, I came away with the thought of trying to help just one person. Shouldn't be hard to do.Balisha
