The Sixth Step Get to know the suffering people of the world, at least a small segment of them. Begin in prayer, using the resource to the right. |
| For group use when teaching this step to others Invite the members of your group to share the outcome of this exercise together. Let each one tell the story of discovery and how the people of the world began to enter into their lives. Challenge each other to action as a result of this step! |
| Prayer to assist you with this step Click here to print this or use it on your screen. Open your heart and prepare to take this step. |
| Tell us your story! What commitments have you made? What difficulties have you faced? What has worked for you as you chose to live more simply? How have you adjusted your lifestyle to one that is more sustainable? In what ways have you grown to be in solidarity with the poor of the world? Click here to send us a note and we'll share your story with others. To send us a video, song, pictures, poetry, or other media, simply attach it to an e-mail and send it to this address. |
| Take the other steps See a list of all 14 steps Step One: Step Two: Step Three: Step Four: Step Five: You're on Step Six! Step Seven: Step Eight: Step Nine: Step Ten: Step Eleven: Step Twelve: Step Thirteen: Step Fourteen: |
| Step Six: Be aware of the many people in today's world who live in suffering and poverty. Why are these people so important? Why not try to ignore the poor and suffering of the world? This step calls us to make a radical decision to "adopt" the Peoples of the World as our sisters and brothers. They are our fellow human beings. Try to imagine how you would feel if someone close to you - your child, spouse, or friend - suffered even a little of the pain and difficulty which people around the world experience every day! In this step, we ask you to read two or |
| three recent daily newspapers, to listen to the news on television, and to visit news sites on the Internet. Have a note pad handy. Write down each place you read about where people are suffering. Click here to download a handy worksheet to use for this exercise. In the left column, note the people you read or hear about. In the right column, describe your relationship to these people. Now use the Listening Prayer to allow the Spirit to lead you. |
| On the side... Being aware of poverty is a hard thing. We tend to ignore the plight of others even while we enjoy our own comforts, forgetting that the Gospels insist that how we care for "the least of our sisters and brothers" will determine our eternal happiness. For a reminder of this, click here to download a quick look at Scripture. |
| Two powerful resources Click on the cover to buy the book. A New Look at Prayer: Learning to Listen to Your Inner Guide by Bill Huebsch This carefully written e-book helps you recognize your own inner voice which leads to "right living." Driving the Speed Limit: Learning to Live Simply, Sustainably, and in Solidarity with the Poor by Bill Huebsch This e-book provides you with a road map (almost literally) to help you make choices which are both satisfying and in support of the common human good. |
| Key Links Just Faith A site which supports a parish program to teach in depth about just living. Catholic Relief Services A powerful agent of change in the world, also leading the US implementation of this movement. Common Hope A non-profit agency working to end poverty in the third world by establishing there a middle class. |
