Sometimes, I look at the poverty in places like Swaziland, and I despair of ever seeing hope reborn.

Children are abused, teenagers are promiscuous, and the poverty is crushing for those who are weakest.

Orphans have to walk miles just to get a plate of corn mush. It all seems so unfair.

At times like that, I like to remember Jesus' heart for the poor.

I like what Henri Nouwen said on the subject:

"Jesus, the Blessed Son of God, hungers and thirsts for uprightness. He abhors injustice. He resists those who try to gather wealth and influence by oppression and exploitation.

His whole being yearns for people to treat one another as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same God."

With fervor he proclaims that the way to the Kingdom is not saying many prayers or offering many sacrifices but in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and the prisoners (see Matthew 25:31-46).

He longs for a just world. He wants us to live with the same hunger and thirst.