St. Paul's has always been very sensitive to issues surrounding the poor, the elderly and the homeless. Our thriving JNRC ministry and the growing ministry to Eastern European minors run by Fr. Peter Bones of the Padri Sacramentini are just two of the ways in which we act out our faith and witness in the busy city center. We also have a ministry of service run in conjunction with the Circolo S. Pietro, through Caritas, distributing meal vouchers to the homeless and elderly. Currently there are some eighty people who come to our door every month. They, like the refugees, all have a story to tell. Some have been made redundant and were forced onto the streets by the economic demands of the rising cost of living. Some are widows, left with meager pensions. Some are dirty, smelly, most are lonely. They call themselves the 'immarginati', the people living on the edges of a society that strives not to see them, to turn its face away. Each Easter and Christmas we at St. Paul's try to bring a little joy into their lives by giving a gift. Last Christmas we gave them panettone, and scarves or gloves. When they are in need we give them clothes.

One man wrote an article about the plight of the homeless and published it in the national daily papers. He was invited to speak on television, where he denounced the people who walk by on the other side. The homeless, he said, are not homeless by choice, but out of necessity. We try to remember that, and when they come to us we give them a smile, a welcome, a helping hand.

Please spare a thought for these people, especially when we are celebrating our holy feasts with our families. Remember those who have no home, no family, and for whom joy comes only through the charity of another.