Easy Essays

From time to time I am going to post some of Catholic Worker co-founder Peter Maurin's Easy Essays -- small bits of free verse that he used as teaching tools. Here is today's

Feeding the Poor – At a Sacrifice

In the first centuries
of Christianity
the hungry were fed
at a personal sacrifice,
the naked were clothed
at a personal sacrifice,
the homeless were sheltered
at a personal sacrifice.
And because the poor
were fed, clothed and sheltered
at a personal sacrifice,
the pagans used to say
about the Christians
“See how they love each other.”
In our own day
the poor are no longer
fed, clothed, and sheltered
at a personal sacrifice,but at the expense
of the taxpayers.
And because the poor
are no longer
fed, clothed and sheltered
at a personal sacrifice,
the pagans say about the
Christians
“See how they pass the buck.”