Christmas poverty: A contradiction or challenge

Poverty at Christmas is the central focus of Archbishop Murphy’s weekly Catholic Northwest Progress “In Joy and Hope” column. “I wonder if Christmas might not be a time to reflect on a far more radical understanding of poverty,” he said. “For me, at least, I have never felt poorer than when I thought I had control of the situation, and suddenly I found myself powerless.” The archbishop likens the radical call to poverty to recognizing that each of us is a person in need. He calls on all of us to embrace the poverty that is the radical call of the Gospel message – the call to willingly accept our need for God.