For the Daily Office visit the Mission of St Clare website: www.missionstclare. com

Gospel Reading for Sunday, July 25, 2010, Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

Food For The Poor is the largest international relief organization in the United States, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy; the organization serves the poorest of the poor in 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Founded in 1982, Food For The Poor is an interdenominational ministry that not only provides food for the starving, but also builds small houses for the destitute, digs water wells for parched villagers, provides medicine and medical equipment for the sick and elderly, supports orphanages and education for children, and much more.

Since its inception, Food For The Poor has distributed more than 43,900 tractor-trailer loads of aid and has built more than 50,000 homes for the destitute. Total support received in 2007 was more than $1 billion, with fundraising and administrative costs comprising only 3.22% of expenses — the organization’s lowest ratio ever. More than 96% of all donations received went directly to programs that benefit the poor.