I’m in the mood for some economic statistics.

Here’s the median household income for my zip code:  $136,406

The median home price? $490,800

Here’s the median household income for my childhood zip code  (10 minutes from my current location): $199,605

And the median home price: $741,400

If you go 20 miles north to Great Falls, VA:

Median household income: $229,200

Median home price: $1,067,000

In September, 2014, the US Census Bureau reported the US median income as $53,657 and the median home price as 188,900.

I’ll wait here while you recover.

Mary, Mother of the Poor

Looking at these statistics, you might assume poverty in the area nonexistent.  But that assumption is incorrect: my county has the second highest concentration of homeless people in the region, second only to Washington, D.C.

You don’t see it much, not unless you’re really looking.  They are the invisibles; the street corner hustlers; the strip mall fixtures.  They blend in while we look away, too busy – too embarrassed – to notice.

But there is more to it than homelessness.  There are the working poor, too, with a paycheck barely covering the rent and the monthly food bill.  Many of them are educated.  Most of them are skilled.

All of them are struggling.  And Mary is their mother, too.

Family Activities

• Volunteer at a local homeless shelter
• Designate a weekly, family amount to donate to the poor
• Offer free babysitting services to a family in need
• Purchase and deliver grocery and big box store cards to families in need

Family Prayer

Mary, you are our mother.  Pray for us, that we might recognize and serve those who need it most.  Amen.

This post is part of the 31 Days of Devotion to Our Blessed Mother.  You can see the rest of the series here.