Charles Dickens was one of the most famous novelists of all time. If his plots and characters were believable, it was because they were drawn from life. His aim was not just to entertain, but to stir the conscience of Victorian England. Through storytelling, Dickens brought people’s personal struggles to the awareness of those who might never have known what it was to be poor or vulnerable. Certain scenes from Dickens’ novels still have power to move. Who could forget the words of Oliver Twist, the hungry orphan bullied into asking for a second bowl of gruel? “Please Sir, I want some more!” he pleads in his childish innocence, a request which Mr Bumble, the workhouse master, considers gross impertinence. Being labelled a rebel sets in motion a downhill spiral for poor little Oliver, and he sinks further and further towards destitution. After a grim period sleeping among the coffins as apprentice to an undertaker, Oliver meets the Artful Dodger and falls into the hands of a gang of pickpockets. Dickens’ message was this: that criminality is not inbred. It is the consequence of society’s neglect.
(Source: Living Word)
So too, must we strive not to neglect the vulnerable and needy in this day and age, and in this Community. One way would be to consider purchasing a couple of non-perishable items for both St. Vincent de Paul (baskets are in the church) and our Community Food Pantry (situated between the parish office and garages). (You can also make a donation to St Vincent de Paul via the envelopes in the church foyer.)
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 19:17
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