Classroom Activities

Shelter The Homeless

For each Christian and for the Church, as the People of God, the stark reality of homeless persons and families is at one and the same time an appeal to conscience and an exigency to do something to remedy the situation. In each person or family lacking a basic good, and above all housing, the Christian must recognize Christ himself, as the well known words of Matthew's Gospel state: "I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me." (Mt 25:42ff) In the last two categories of persons, is truly reflected, to a certain degree, the situation of the homeless, and it is necessary to recognize the Lord himself in them. Actually, when he came into the world, "there was no place for them in the inn." (Lk 2:7).... The commitment of the Church to the homeless is a humanitarian and evangelical commitment; it is also an expression of a preferential love for the poor.

What Have You Done to Your Homeless Brother? The Church and the Housing Problem Document of the Pontifical Commission "Justitia et Pax", 1987 During the U.N. Proclaimed International Year of Shelter for the Homeless

As believers, we find our reason and direction for action I the life of Jesus and the teaching of his Church. We are reminded by the gospel that the first human problem Jesus faced on earth was lack of shelter. There was "no room in the inn" for the Holy Family in Bethlehem. Today, we see in the faces of homeless men, women and children, the face of Christ. We know that in reaching out to them, standing with them in defending their rights in working with them and their families for decent housing, we serve the Lord.

Homelessness and Housing: A Human Tragedy, A Moral Challenge, 1988 US Conference of Catholic Bishops

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.

Preface Gaudium et Spes/On the Church in the Modern World, 1965 Vatican Council II Documents

What are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the women, men and children who are homeless? Our faith tells us that they are the joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties of all of us. We are inextricably connected. We cannot ignore one another.

Many face homelessness in our world due to war, poverty, hunger, natural disasters, and a variety of economic, societal, political and personal issues. Whatever the reasons that a person or family is homeless, the responsibility for the Christian is to assist in locating shelter and in advocating for a transformation of the root causes of the homelessness.

Utilize the following activities and links to explore further this corporal work of mercy - the call to shelter the homeless. For the first three activities listed below, weave in concrete information on homelessness that can be found in the fourth section below. The fourth section also provides additional activities that could be "next steps" after doing some of what is provided in the first three.

What is Home? Who are our Homeless Brothers & Sisters?
Feeding the Hungry is a mark of a true disciple of Jesus.

When Home Disappears
Feeding the hungry is about giving out of who we are and what we need - not out of our surplus.

Being With (Solidarity) as a Lifestyle
This activity includes a time of actual feeding of those who are hungry.

What, How, What Else?
Information on hunger and poverty, How to be involved in feeding the hungry, and supplemental activities or resources that can support practicing this work of mercy found on the web