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The Community at Prayer
Reflection by Father Paul M. Baca
October 18, 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time
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I believe that all of us assist a Mass weekly and many of us have been at Mass daily most of our lives. The very word 'eucharist' means thanksgiving, but I wonder if we think about that very often and forget to call to mind the many reasons we have for thanking God. This was brought to mind by an article by Paul Krugman entitled, "The Uneducated American." I wonder how many of us really realize what a great blessing our access to education has been and is. I always enjoyed school, so I don't stop very often to realize that I was in school for 20 years, grade school, college and graduate. Compared to my parents I had it relatively easy because in their day education was not that readily available.

In New Mexico we were blessed with the Sisters of Charity, the Loretto Sisters and the Christian Brothers and later on, other religious orders who sacrificed to make education more accessible for many more people. When I was ordained in 1949 we had many parochial schools, even in small and poor parishes, mostly financed by the religious orders themselves. Practically all of these parochial schools are gone, even in the bigger cities and bigger parishes, but still education is readily available; however, questions arise as to the quality of education throughout the country.

In contrast to the many opportunities we have had in our country, so many children throughout the world can only dream of having an education. This morning, BBC Radio was highlighting the situation in Mursaidabad, West Bengal. Most of the children cannot afford to attend school even when it is free. The distance to the school and the need for children to work to help support the families. There is a young man in that village by the name of Babar Ali who is 16 years of age who has to travel well over an hour to get to school, some of it on foot. He appreciates his opportunity to attend school on weekends and evenings. He invites the children of the village to his back yard where he shares what he has learned and provides that much education to the children. I could not help but contrast the yearning of those children for an education compared to the many school dropouts in our country.

In his article, Krugman says and I quote, "If you had to explain America's success with one word, that word would be education. In the 19th century America led the way in universal basic education. Then as other nations followed suit, the high school revolution of the early 20th century took us to a whole new level. And in the years after World War II, America established a commanding position in higher education. But that was then. The rise of American education was overwhelming, -- and the past 30 years our political scene has been dominated by the view that any and all government spending is a waste of taxpayers' dollars. Education as one of the largest components of public spending has inevitably suffered until now the results of educational neglect have been gradual, a slow motion erosion of America's relative position. But things are about to get much worse as the economic crisis, its effects exacerbated by the pennywise-pound foolish behavior that passes for fiscal responsibility in Washington, deals a severe blow to education across the line.

When we assist at Mass and thank God for our many blessings, let us remember to thank God that we have lived at a time when a good education was accessible to all and then think how our own lives have been enriched by the blessing of a good education.

Home

For the last quarter of 2009, The Community at Prayer Food Ministry has supplied $19,850 to purchase 16,836 cans or boxes of food for the hungry.

The total for the entire 2009 year is $54,116 provided by members to purchase 125,892 cans or boxes of food.

Recipients have been three city food banks: St. Felix Pantry, The Storehouse and San Juan Diego, which distribute to those in need of groceries.

Community at Prayer Food Ministry 4th Quarter Purchase--Ship 9-29 to 10-3-09 Submitted by Maurice Sanchez
Item/Size	Cases	Case Cost	Total Cost	Total Units
Corn 24-15.2oz.	510	$8.00	$4,080.00	3,060
Gr. Beans 24-14.5 oz	510	8.00	4,080.00	3,060
Mix Veg. 24-14.5 oz	510	8.00	4,080.00	3,060
Peas 24-15 oz	510	8.00	4,080.00	3,060
Tom. Sauce 48-8 oz	10	9.58	95.80	480
Mac/Cheese 24-7.25 oz	588	5.84	3,3433.92	4,116
Total 4th Qtr.	2,638		$19,849.72	16,836
Total Year to Date			$54,115.78	125,892
Shipped to Storehouse 339, San Juan Diego 110, St. Felix 2,189