Visit from the Vinnies

In Year 10 Religious Education, students are investigating the six Catholic social teachings and how Catholic organisations respond to these issues. During Homelessness Week, the Year 10 students heard from a lay Catholic organisation that aspires to live the gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope, and joy, and to bring about a more just and compassionate society. This organisation is the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The Society aims to be recognized as a caring Catholic charity offering "a hand up" to people in need. They do this by respecting every person's human dignity, sharing hope and encouraging them to take control of their own destiny. The Year 10 students learned first-hand about some of the factors leading to homelessness. They heard about practical ways in which St Vincent de Paul responds to homelessness. Students were invited to support the work of the organisation. We would like to thank Rob from Vinnies Schools for his presentation.

Lord our God, 

You who so mysteriously calls upon us  to share in the sufferings of Christ, fill our hearts with compassion  for those who lack the warmth of a home. 

We commend to you in prayer this day  all men, women and children who suffer because they have no shelter; those who sleep in our streets and public spaces,  who have nowhere safe to lay their heads,  and who wander from place to place as a way of life. 

We pray for broken families who cannot pay the rent, for those who are the lost and abandoned, for those on the streets whose minds  have been touched by illness or whose bodies are sorely affected by disabilities. 

We ask that your merciful Grace be poured out upon those with addictions, those who have given up  in the face of enormous tribulations, and those driven into a homeless life  by crushing poverty. 

God of Compassion, your love for us is revealed in your beloved son Jesus, who was born into homelessness,  lived with nowhere to lay his head, and died for us in agony on the cross. Inspire us to act in justice, by all means at our disposal, to right the wrongs of people who are suffering the deprivations of homelessness, 

Let us have the commitment,  as people of the Gospel, to be ever mindful of our obligations we have  to the poor and marginalised, to work in your name, O God,  to turn sorrow into joy  and to bring all those who live in darkness into your own wonderful light. Amen