How should we as Christians handle the issue of the poor, of individuals living in physical poverty? In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells the rich young man, "`If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me'" (19:21). Through the Border Issues seminar over Christmas break, our group reflected on the meaning of this passage and sought answers to many challenging questions and ideas.

For a week in January we experienced life along the El Paso-Juarez border. We slept through the freezing nights in houses of single-cinder block walls, lived without running water and shared in the joy of the families, children and community. One of the greatest challenges was understanding the happiness of the people who lived in what seemed to be such desolate and impoverished conditions.

Families of six lived on less than one hundred dollars a week, making 60 cents an hour working in an American company located in Mexico. Yet the community seen at Sunday Mass and the solidarity of children running through the dusty roads kicking a deflating soccer ball showed an alternative life of happiness not centered around money and material possessions. Many people in the colonias had simple desires and lived a happy life.

To help us understand the people's happiness in poverty, we learned from Father Peter and Sister Betty, two holy individuals committed to a life of assisting the poor in Juarez not physically but emotionally, spiritually and unconditionally.

They spoke of the aura of beauty that they witnessed everyday in the eyes of their friends and their neighbors. They also expressed their disappointment with the growing commercialism, competition and materialism that continues to infect contemporary American culture, which in turn affects border culture.

To depict this problem Sister Betty provided an example of how a certain neighborhood boy took over $50 of his parent's hard-earned yet scant savings to cross into El Paso to purchase a pair of the latest urban-styled jeans. "He thought he just had to have them," commented Sister Betty. "He chose to put his family's hunger on the line for a material desire."

After hearing from them, we were confronted with some challenging notions. At one of end of the spectrum a majority of the American public is educated on tithing, on contributing to the poor in the hope that they will rise out of their present condition to eventually `ganar la vida.' At the other end of the spectrum people praise the physically poor and see them as the archetype of what it means to live simply. They believe that the poor have a well-developed community emphasizing family values and cooperation.

What are we to conclude? Should the poor stay poor? Should they rise out of their physical poverty? And in doing so, do they risk living more like typical materialistic Americans? Does a balance exist between the two extremes of poverty with happiness or empty consumerism? What kind of change do we want to see? Do we want the physically poor to attain the same basic amenities Americans possess? What constitutes a truly happy and fulfilling life? Do we want the poor on the border to eventually live as Americans do? Even though we feel that many individuals tend to favor such changes, they tend to overlook how ethnocentric these perspectives are. Why should Americans decide what is the best remedy for the Mexican poor?

Perhaps the best ideas for change should come from the poor themselves. Berta, a resident of Anapra, a Juarez colonia, told our group that too many `wants' clutter one's life. Such a development can eventually lead to a form of `internal poverty,' a state of lacking, a state where the soul is distant from the serenity of God. So is it best to do all we can to improve their physical state? Or is it better to not try so hard to `change them' but instead to let the example of the poor `change us,' relieving us (as Americans) from our internal poverty?

In truth we found this issue very confusing and frustrating to solve. But as we struggle on a daily basis we must strive to create a system that allows people the freedom to choose their happiness. Part of this challenge includes focusing on our own lifestyles. Our consumerism and materialism helps to perpetuate the restrictive poverty and economic injustice found in Mexico and in many other parts of the world. Thus, as people who seek to follow Christ's example, we must actively strive to live simply and be socially conscious.

Today's article was co-written by several participants of this year's Border Issues Seminar. The Winter Break Social Concerns Seminar examines immigration and related issues that surface between the United States and Mexico through travel to El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. Participants meet with refugees, work with parish organizations and discuss policy issues. The Center for Social Concerns' column appears every other Wednesday.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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