Tag Archives: poverty

LifeTeen.com Blog

Can I Have Your Movie Money?

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“Hold on,” you’re asking me, “Are you telling me I shouldn’t own anything fun?” Of course not. Music and movies help us relax, clothes help us express beauty, and smartphones keep us connected and informed (and yes, entertained). These are all good things.

My challenge is this: to look at the things that we’re spending money on and ask ourselves, “Do I really need this thing?” Do I need a new pair of shoes, or are the ones I have okay? Do I have to buy these songs or can I just listen to the radio?

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Embracing Poverty

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As the new year began, I was still jobless and doubting that it was God’s plan for me to make such a big move in just a few months. However, I went to daily Mass one day and found myself begging God to help me understand what He had planned for me. I remember praying over and over, “Lord, give me the grace to follow you, even unto death.”

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Tithing: Are You Brave Enough to Trust God With Your Money?

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Read that verse again. It doesn’t say lay down part of our lives. It says lay down our lives, and that means everything, including our money. For us this hasn’t been easy. As we currently seek to purchase our first home, it would be nice to have that extra money to put toward our down payment. But God doesn’t promise this life to be easy. He asks us to trust, and that’s what we do.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

What Does Poverty Mean for Me?

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St. Paul says in Ephesians 4:4, “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” The reality is that for a lot of us the calling we have received requires us to have “things” in order to carry out what God wants us to do and be who God has made us to be. It’s different for everyone, because everyone has a different calling.

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Blessed the Beggar: Who Are the “Poor in Spirit”?

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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

This is one of those Scripture passages that many people “know” (meaning, they’ve heard it before) but countless people fail to understand. My own parochial school teacher taught us that it simply meant God loves poor people “more.”

Ummm, to put it as charitably and bluntly as possible . . . no, that’s not what it means . . .

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LifeTeen.com Blog

What Are Your #FirstWorldProblems?

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We observed workers moving rocks barefoot because they only had one pair of shoes and needed them to last. Families who lived in a landfill without electricity or running water, hoping to make a dollar a day sorting trash. As the mission director, Julia, told us, “I know that you think that you have problems in the U.S., but compared to what we have here, you live in heaven.” While we had grown up hearing about those in need, our first hand encounter was sobering.

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Video

Saintly Minute: Saint Francis of Assisi [Video]

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most well known and beloved Catholic saints. His life of poverty and humility has captivated millions of people throughout the centuries and led to establishing an order devoted to a life of poverty for the love of God. He also well known for his love of nature and for creating the Nativity Creche seen at Christmas. His feast day is October 4.

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