Act on It

September 23, 2008

Memorial of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, priest

He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard. Proverb 21:13

He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” Luke 8:21

Piety

Beloved St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you have had the signs of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ on your body. You have carried the stigmata for everyone, enduring both the physical and mental sufferings that racked your soul and body in a continual sacrifice. We beg you to pray for us, so that we will be able to accept both the little and the larger crosses we too must bear during our life on earth and to offer these sufferings to God, assuring us a place with him in Eternal Life.

(http://www.padrepio.catholicwebservices.com/ENGLISH/Novena.htm)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/092308.shtml

Christianity is not a spectator sport. Neither is poker but don’t try to tell that to ESPN, Bravo, Turner and all the other cable stations which now try to get us to watch people play cards on TV. If you ever play poker yourself or watch people play poker, there is a desperation bet (or wily strategy) that you can sometimes use or see others use on these broadcasts. A player who thinks he has a good hand will push all their chips into the pot in hopes of winning (or getting the other players to fold).

The bet is called “All In.” It is not for the timid. Christianity is for people who want to go all in for the Lord, all the time. We can not just pray. We have to do more. We can not just attend Mass. We have to fully participate. We can not just leave at the end. We have to go in peace to serve the Word and the world. We can not just listen while others read the Word of God. We have to study sacred scriptures. The notes to the NAB today explain, “External rites or sacrifices do not please God unless accompanied by internal worship and right moral conduct.” That is why the Psalm today reminds us that we can not shut our ears to the cry of the poor.

We may have been born 2008 years too late to be part of Jesus’ actual, physical family. However, we can be adopted brothers and sisters if we are obedient to the Word of God. The first step in such obedience is to know what it is telling us (through study). The second is to know what it means (through prayer). The third is to know why it matters (through action).

If we want to truly experience kinship with Jesus, we have to hear the Word of God and act on it. Do we want our call to God to be answered? Of course we do. Then today’s scripture tells us that one way to assure God hears us is to make sure we are listening to hear the cry of the poor. When people call on us, we must answer as well.

Action

Finding affordable housing is part of the cry of the poor. Many people who live in Fairfax County can not afford the rents. This includes the working poor as well as seniors and people with disabilities.

“Advocates say Fairfax's recent count of the jurisdiction's homeless ranks, which at 1,800 is slightly up over last year, can be linked directly to the dearth of affordable housing.”(The Washington Post, May 31, 2007).

According to an analysis of census data Fairfax [County] lost about a quarter of their affordable units (The Washington Post, April 28, 2007). Fairfax County lost 7,804 affordable rental units (renting for $999 or less) between 2003 and 2005. (National Housing Trust data cited in The Washington Post, April 28, 2007). In addition, from 2000 to 2005, over 5000 Fairfax County apartments were converted to condominiums.

Through the efforts of the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the region was able to preserve 531 units in FY 2007, far in excess of its goal of preserving 300 units during the year. If not for these efforts, those units may have been lost to higher priced rental units or condominiums. (FCRHA Fiscal Year End Status Report on the FCRHA FY 2007Strategic Action Plan).

“The ironic and vexing part of living in a community where the economy is thriving is that as housing values rise, the working men and women who serve our community cannot afford to live where they work,” explained Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly in his State of the County 2007 address.

In April 2007, county supervisors approved a $3.3 billion spending plan for the year beginning July 1 that dedicates a penny of the real estate tax rate each year --the resulting sum would be $22.7 million --to affordable housing.”

There’s a huge demand for multifamily housing investments in the Washington metropolitan region. Fairfax County alone has about 650 mentally ill adults who need places to live,” according to an article in The Washington Post, April 19, 2007.

However, there has been no new Federal public housing units built in the County since 1997 nor are any anticipated in the future. In fact just the opposite is happening. Fairfax County lost 1,452 subsidized units (including unsubsidized units with rent restrictions) between 1997 and 2005. And to compound the problem, during the same period of time, average rents have increased 43%.

Read the County Strategic plan here for more information.

VOICE has included preservation of affordable housing in its priority issues in order to convince Fairfax County to continue to dedicate resources to preserving and expanding affordable housing. In order to achieve the goals for eliminating homelessness, there needs to be a suitable supply of affordable housing available in order to move people into home ownership or rental units. Consider joining VOICE in its advocacy to Fairfax and the other government bodies which make up the region and which can take action to insure the supply of affordable housing continues to meet demands of a growing and diverse population.