Christ Comes for the Poor
- realpresencemissio6
- Dec 24, 2025
- 8 min read
SHARING THE REAL PRESENCE
Some of the men from our weekly Men’s Discipleship Night evangelizing at the mall on Black Friday.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
"Christ Comes for the Poor" by Griffin Rain
Upcoming Events
Volunteers Needed
CHRIST COMES FOR THE POOR
By Griffin Rain
The Gospels share that Christ came to preach the good news to the poor. Can you see yourself as the poor? Maybe you have many things. St. Paul encourages us to live as if we have nothing in order to be ready for the Lord’s coming. This disposition opens us to receive from God and others.
I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)
When we are full, we close ourselves to Christ.
In the time leading up to Christmas, we are invited to reflect more on Mary’s role in bringing the Savior of the world into the world. The Canticle of Mary (The Magnificat / Luke 1:46-56) is prayed every day at Evening Prayer, as well as on December 22nd as the Gospel reading. Several of the verses talk about the rich and proud, which I would like to reflect on as a way to help us prepare for Christmas.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
(Luke 1:46-56)
The reason the rich and the prideful are scattered and cast down is so that they too may realize that they are poor and in need of God. When we fail to see that we are the poor, we fail to see our need for the coming of Christ. All of us need to be identified with the poor. What riches do we have that could merit us eternal happiness besides Christ? Nothing. We are poor and unable to save ourselves. If we think we are rich, we fool ourselves and see ourselves as not needing saving.
The Church is for rich and poor alike, but the rich will be expected to give of their riches to help the poor. Let us not hold too tightly.
We must be careful not to develop the mentality that it is just us helping them, and that the poor have nothing to help. Then we do the poor a great disservice. It is a two-way street. We too are the poor and if we can’t see that, we will struggle to see Christ. The poor have much to offer the Church and we need to welcome them in from the margins back to the center, Jesus Christ. Today we find many churches in the US with many who are rich and middle class, but many of the poor are left out. The poor are not “others” who are lower than us. We all are in need of Christ to save us!
St. Lawrence, before his martyrdom, was asked to bring the treasure of the Church to the Roman emperor. He brought with him many poor people, saying that the poor are the treasure of the Church. The emperor did not like this response and had St. Lawrence killed. Would we say the poor are the treasure of the Church today? The poor and humble are in a state where they know they need help to be raised up, and thus Christ can raise them up.
Do we see ourselves as different from the poor? I will often go to a local meal program and eat with the poor there, and sometimes when others go with me, they may reject to eat, saying that others need it more. This may be true, but this is what we do spiritually to God when we live richly and pridefully. We say to God that we can do this on our own. But why would Jesus come if we could do this on our own?
Over my years of mission work in parishes, I have seen how seeing ourselves as the ones who have things together, while others are a mess, can make us into modern Pharisees: “at least I am not like them.” We must be careful when comparing ourselves with others or thinking we have it figured out. We all have areas that we need to work on.
In the Rosary, we are invited to reflect on poverty while meditating on the mystery of the Nativity. This Christmas, let us reflect on our own poverty and where we need Christ to come into our own lives. Where are you rich, and where must you give that away to receive Christ in? Jesus is coming!
The Missionaries of the Real Presence are a very low-budget mission and identify with the poor. We need your help to keep us going. Would you consider helping us fund the mission? We currently have 6 men living in the Street Disciple House with different levels of commitment, and 3 more men will be joining in the next 2 months. The incoming missionaries will need to fundraise so that they can be fully dedicated to the mission. Would you consider regular donations for the formation and support of these missionaries?
UPCOMING EVENTS
Text Updates - We have a new program for sending text updates. If you would like to be added to our text blasts about upcoming events, please text “start” to 414-667-6777 or fill out this form to indicate what you would like to receive texts about: https://forms.gle/iDBdyox6vGePCzmz9
Missionary Associates Dinner - We are rescheduling the Missionary Associates Dinner from Monday evenings to Sunday evenings once a month. Join us for our next Missionary Associates Dinner on Sunday, December 28th. Going forward the dinner will take place at the St. Brigid Center (2133 W Wisconsin Ave) (formerly the Irish Cultural Heritage Center), and will include Sunday Mass. See map below for where to park and enter (you'll notice that the St. Brigid Center is located directly behind the Street Disciple House).
The schedule is as follows:
5pm - Sunday Mass
After Mass - Short talk from Griffin with discussion
~6:45 - Dinner and socializing
We look forward to gathering in a larger space at the St. Brigid Center! This event is for people who volunteer with the Missionaries or are interested in volunteering / supporting our work. We hope that this continues to build up the community around the Missionaries, allow everyone to get to know each other, and energize more people to start working for the salvation of souls here in Milwaukee.
Please reach out if you would like to help with anything related to the Mass, hospitality, set up/takedown, or food prep. God bless you!
Lunch in the Park - We will be serving food at King Park (1531 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI 53205) on Saturday, January 17th from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Volunteers are needed on two teams - Kitchen team and Evangelization team. Please contact us if you can make it at (414) 235-7307. We begin at the Street disciple house at 11am.
Summer Mission - We have a new program for college students and others who will be off for the summer. Why spend your summer flipping patties for minimum wage when you could be turning souls toward God for heavenly wage? What to expect:
Life in Community - You will live alongside fellow Catholic men, committing to a rhythm of shared life, recreation, and deep accountability.
Developing Prayer Life - Pray together with housemates daily and receive formation in the spiritual life.
Growth in Freedom - True freedom comes not from doing what you want, but wanting what God wants. Receive formation in conquering the spiritual vices that hold you back and growing in the capacity to hear and obey God’s will.
Direct Evangelization - Share the Catholic faith with those outside of the Church in direct apostolic work, both through street evangelization and other direct forms of evangelism.
For more information or to apply, visit streetdisciple.org/summer.
Men's Open House Discipleship Nights - Join us for the Men's Open House Discipleship Nights on Friday's at the Street Disciple House. This takes place every week unless otherwise noted. See the schedule & speakers for upcoming nights here. It is an open house, so come when you can. You do not need to be there for the whole night. Feel free to invite friends! The schedule is as follows:
5pm - Doors open
5:30-6:30pm - Dinner
6:40pm - Evening Prayer
7pm - Formation talk by guest speaker
8:15-10pm - Social/games/etc.
10pm - We will conclude with Night Prayer
If you would like to help with organizing the night, communication, cooking, finding speakers, etc., please let us know!
Discernment Group - We are hosting a Discernment Group that meets every other week on Saturday evenings. We are currently finishing the book A Living Sacrifice: Guidance for Men Discerning Religious Life, and we will be starting a new book next month. Please contact Griffin at (414) 235-7307 if you would like to be a part of this group.
Volunteers Needed
(Call or text 414-235-7307 to help)
Catechism Nights - We are hoping to start Catechism Nights for current Catholics to grow deeper in faith (this is not OCIA), but we can only start them if we have help. It could take place either on Tuesday, Saturday, or Sunday evenings. If you are interested in helping out, please reach out to the number above.
Recurring times for evangelization:
Fridays - Evangelization after 12:05pm Mass in front of Gesu Church @ 12th and Wisconsin Ave.
Saturdays - Big group evangelization in a high foot traffic area
needed items
(Click the underlines for link to donate)
Help support us going to SEEK2026 to promote our new Summer Mission program to college students! (see details above under "Upcoming Events")
Street Disciple House Items
Twin-sized bunk bed frames
Tall ladder
Street Evangelization/Preaching Items
Amazon List (pamphlet racks, camera battery, note taker bible)
2x4 or 2x6 wood pieces for the Weekly Way of the Cross (we are currently in need of many wood pieces!)
Join the Street Evangelist Group Chat
This group is on the GroupMe app and is primarily for posting events or days/times for evangelization. If you have days that you would like to go out and evangelize, please post in the chat and hopefully someone else will be available to accompany you for evangelization.
about the missionaries of the real presence
The Missionaries of the Real Presence aims to assist in the apostolic renewal of the Church by intentionally discipling men living in community and encouraging missionary vocations in the Church. We participate in Christ’s evangelizing work for the salvation of souls, especially seeking out those who have been spiritually neglected. We introduce people to Jesus through intentional conversation, preaching, teaching, and prayer. We engage in direct evangelization in the public forum on city streets, public transit, and in homes, and share the good news of Christ with those we meet. All of this flows from a life of prayer and union with Jesus as our source.
Support the Mission, Join the mission
Please keep us in your prayers!
If you appreciate the work we are doing, consider supporting our mission financially here.
Volunteer with us in street ministry and house visits by clicking here.
If reading about some of our stories inspires you, come and see what life as a Missionary is like and visit us for a day or longer for prayer and ministry as you discern here.
If you want to learn how we evangelize, consider watching videos on our YouTube Channel, Missionaries of the Real Presence.
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