Those who are marginal in the world are central in the Church, and that is how it is supposed to be! Thus we are called as members of the Church to keep going to the margins of our society. The homeless, the starving, parentless children, people with AIDS, our emotionally disturbed brothers and sisters - they require our first attention.
We can trust that when we reach out with all our energy to the margins of our society we will discover that petty disagreements, fruitless debates, and paralysing rivalries will recede and gradually vanish. The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us.
(emphasis added)
~~Henri Nouwen Society
i don't know if i have ever directed anyone to this site, but cannot imagine i did not; that would have been a failure on my part. i believe i found the snowsuit effort through my good buddy rhymes with kerouac over at today at the mission - this photoblog chronicles the lives of the homeless in detroit (and other places, i believe) in such a way as it reaches into your depths and makes you sit and pause as you look at the honesty of the faces and read what little bits the photographer himself provides on his subjects.
it is startling, it is always humbling, and certainly worth the look.
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