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

Gospel Reading for Sunday, September 12, 2010, Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 15:1-10

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

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.