The Feed the Homeless Committee of the Society of St. Vincent of Philadelphia, led by Patrick Green, has partnered with Caring for Friends (CFF) https://caringforfriends.org/ in outreach to area homeless, since mid-June. Each Saturday, the volunteers prepare approximately 300 sandwiches and then distribute the sandwiches and water throughout the streets of Philadelphia.  When the weather turns colder, the group will switch to serve hot meals. Here are Patrick’s words on the experience. “When looking eye-to-eye, sometimes we received nothing more than an empty stare, but there were also an abundance of thank-you’s. Yet, it was we who were thanking them for allowing us to serve them. St. Vincent even suggested that, in our hearts, we could ask them for forgiveness for the need to serve them food.  When looking at a problem, St. Vincent simply said, ‘What must be done?’. As I see it, we must show the homeless that they are valuable in the eyes of God, and as a consequence, in our eyes too (remember Lazarus). For the weakest of them, we don’t have much time to remind them of how precious they are to our Lord. This simple gesture of offering them some water and something to eat shatters their sense of isolation and the feeling that they are completely forgotten about by the world. Jesus indicated that this type of work is very pleasing to God. We are literally feeding our Lord and Savior. What greater privilege is there?”

To join with other volunteers in this outreach, contact Patrick at Patrickgreen.svdp.phila@gmail.com.