Chapters 7

1
Chapters 7 8

• Living the Good Life

2
Two Parts

• Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
• Sharing Gods Goodness

3
Poverty

• Poverty
• The experience of not having the basic things one
  needs to live a full and dignified life
• Denies people basic human rights
• Contrary to Gods desire for a love-centered
  world.
• Five characteristics

4
Five Characteristics

• Nearness of death
• Survival, an everyday concern difference in
  life-spans (70 yrs for wealthy / 40 yrs for
  poor)
• Marginalization
• Exclusion from the community
• Life on the edge
• Small inconveniences become major problems

5
Characteristics (cont)

• Cycle of poverty
• The lack of basic resources creates barriers that
  prevent the possibility of obtaining those
  resources
• Barriers to full development
• Developing a worldview in which a better life is
  impossible
• Denial of resources necessary for full
  development
• Maslows hierarchy

6
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

• Dr. Abraham Maslow proposed a theory of human
  motivation based on a hierarchy of human needs.
• Individuals seek to full the basic needs first
  before moving to higher needs.
• If lower needs go unmet, higher needs become more
  difficult to fulfill.

7
Hierarchy

• Physical Needs
• Food, drink, sleep, health
• Safety Needs
• Security, protection, comfort, peace, order
• Love Needs
• Acceptance, belonging, love and affection
• Self-esteem Needs
• Recognition, leadership, achievement
• Self-actualization Needs
• Fulfillment of potential, challenge, creativity,
  curiosity

8
Option for the Poor

• A necessary element of the common good of a
  society
• Gods calls us to a special love for the poor
  because of their need
• The measure of society as the strength of its
  weakest member

9
Preferential Option

• Preferential Option for the Poor
• The choice to put the needs of societys most
  poor and vulnerable first among social concerns
• Not just economic poor those deprived of basic
  rights
• Example ? Liberation Theologians
• 2 parts
• Freely choosing to become partners with the poor
• Commitment to take action in the face of injustice

10
Scripture

• 1 page due at the end of class / 1 quiz grade
• 3 maximum per group
• Read Dt 151-15 2 Cor. 81-15
• What is the purpose of canceling debts in
  Deuteronomy?
• What connection does St. Paul make concerning the
  example of Christ and our generosity?
• How should we implement both of these passages in
  our lives? Or, are these passages impractical
  for us to follow?

11
Poverty in the Worlds Wealthiest Nation

• United States consumes ¼ of the worlds goods and
  resources each year
• 20 of U.S. youth live below the poverty line
• 1 in 12 Caucasians are poor
• 1 in 4 Minorities are poor
• 60 of poor are employed

12
Consequences of Poverty

• Hunger
• Chronic vs. everyday
• Chronic is the lack of food to give the body the
  nutrients needed to grow and maintain itself
• Starvation
• Lack of adequate calories needed for energy
• Malnutrition
• Lack of vitamins and minerals needed for proper
  health
• 1 in 10 households exist in hunger conditions

13
Consequences (cont)

• Homelessness
• Not just those who are literally homeless or on
  the street
• Includes people living in inadequate conditions
  or forced to live with others due to finances
• When housing costs are more than 1/3 of total
  income ? lack of money for other needs

14
Consequences (cont)

• 3. Inadequate Education
• Is influenced by and influences the other two
  consequences
• All children should be offered an adequate
  educational experience
• Education as the best chance to break the cycle
  of poverty

15
Causes of Poverty

• Low wages / cost of living
• Lack of government aid
• Healthcare issues
• Hopelessness

16
Poverty in the Worlds Poorest Nations

• 50 of the worlds population lives on less than
  2 a day 20 live on less than 1 a day
• 1.3 billion people do not have access to clean
  drinking water
• 30,500 children die each day from preventable
  diseases

17
Consequences

• Hunger
• Homelessness
• Inadequate Education

18
Global Poverty is Not Inevitable

• Myths about hunger
• There is not enough food to feed the worlds
  population
• Distribution issues not quantity
• Hunger is caused by droughts and natural
  disasters
• Poor people only need to work harder to obtain
  the food they need

19
Global Poverty

• Legacy of colonialism
• Goal of colonies was to extract resources to
  enrich the colonizing nation
• Led to corruption as new leaders appointed who
  were sympathetic to colonists
• Barriers to development
• Government by the elite
• Foreign aid problems
• Conflict fueled by arms sales

20
Debt Crisis

• Debt Crisis
• http//www.shc.edu/theolibrary/resources/jp2debt1.
  htm

21
Sharing Gods Goodness

• In the face of poverty, we as Christians must
  find a way to build communities of truth and
  justice.
• Living simply
• Making choices that deepen our joy because they
  focus on the essentials of life, not on illusions
  of what brings happiness.\

22
A Poverty of Riches

• There are other, non-material, ways in which
  people experience poverty
• Wealth Gap
• The existence of such a large gap negatively
  impacts our society
• The haves fall victim to the idea that they
  need to keep acquiring things to be happy
• Become victims of their own greed. Never being
  satisfied with what they have.
• Living crazily or beyond means

23
Poverty of Being

• Living beyond our means or simply trying to
  acquire stuff causes people poverty in terms of
  human dignity
• Three dangerous aspects
• Forgetting true identity
• Defining ourselves by what we have not who we are
• Danger of consumerism

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Three Dangerous (cont)

• Forgetting call to community
• Focusing just on what we need/want causes us to
  forget about our role in community
• Danger of individualism loosing relationships
  with others and with God
• Forgetting the limits of creation
• We see creation as being there for us to use and
  abuse lack of conservation of resources for the
  future

25
Lazarus at the Gate

• Luke 1619-26 (pg. 232)
• What causes the rich man to suffer?
• How do we experience gaps between rich and poor
  in our society?
• What are three ways in which we can avoid the
  suffering of the rich man?

26
The Eucharist A Source of Life

• Eucharist as source of life
• Each time we gather, we celebrate Christ
  suffering, dying, and rising for us
• Receive Christ body, blood, soul, and divinity
• Feeds our spiritual hunger
• Eucharist strengthening solidarity
• We are changed by the Eucharist
• Become One Body in Christ YEAH!!!
• Christian commitment to do something in our world
• Go in peace

27
Jesus / Loaves and Fishes

• Miracle demonstrating Gods love and concern for
  the poor
• Foreshadowing of the Eucharist
• Bread of Life discourse
• Life is a banquet
• We may think, like the Apostles, that it isnt
  possible to feed the hungry
• Jesus instructs us to do something

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Dorothy Day

• The example of Dorothy Day speaks to us in facing
  the Poverty of Being crisis
• Key themes from her ministry
• Justice begins on our knees
• The most radical thing we can do is to try to
  find the face of Christ in others
• Beauty is not just for the affluent
• Taking the little way
• Follow Christ
• If we share, there will always be enough

29
Learning to Share

• As Christians, we need to share the worlds
  resources, so that everyone has access
• CST does not endorse a specific economic system,
  offers principles as guides

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3 Principles

• People, especially the poorest are more important
  than possessions
• Option for the poor
• Human rights and participation
• The earth is Gods gift for all people
• Universal destination of goods
• We are called to care for Gods creation

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Trusting in God, Not Possessions

• Luke 1222-31
• Trusting in God frees us to help those who are
  most in need of help
• Why worry about things that cannot be controlled,
  use time/energy effectively to make the world a
  better place

32
Laptop Activity

• 3 paragraphs one for each topic
• Due TODAY
• Go to www.catholicreliefservices.com
• Describe CRSs work in a foreign country and
  describe in a paragraph.
• Go to www.povertyusa.com
• Describe the CCHDs efforts to fight poverty in
  the United States.
• Go to www.dioceseofjoliet.org
• Describe two of the programs and services of
  Catholic Charities in the diocese

33
Living Simply

• The Simple Life is not poverty
• Despite what Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie may
  think
• Living simply frees us from the worries about
  acquiring more and more
• Increased importance of human dignity
• See people as more important than possessions
• More developed relationships and trust
• Solidarity with the poor
• Chart pg. 244

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Direct Action

• In addition to living simply, we can directly
  help those who live in poverty
• Corporal Works of Mercy
• Gospel story What you did for the least
• Promote self-sufficiency
• Catholic Relief Services
• Give a person a fish ? eat for a day
• Teach a person to fish ? eat for a lifetime

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Changing Social Structures

• Generous efforts are not enough to end poverty in
  our world
• As citizens, we must work to change society
  through legislation and economic activity
• Civic and Moral duty to help establish laws that
  serve the poor and vulnerable

36
Review Activity

• List three causes of poverty in our world
• Describe poverty as a cycle.
• Explain non-material poverty. Give two examples.
• Identify one practical step to eliminate poverty
  in our culture.