Feeding the Homeless and Works of Mercy - Can We Earn Heaven?

Kristin Taylor is the founder of Thorn Ministry. For over twenty years her team has fed the homeless every week in the Tampa Bay Area.

At the time she was starting the ministry, a neighbor introduced her to Anita DeBiase, a recent widow who wanted to help.

The Early Beginnings

Kristin had traveled to Samoa, an island in the Pacific, to minister to the people through her ministry of song. She saw poverty and need, and began a mission to help the people.

Doors began to close, and yet she wanted to teach her children of the plight of others, and began feeding the homeless. It began to grow, and she has continued the work for over 20 years.

She meets Anita

A neighbor introduced her to Anita; whose husband had recently died. She was an excellent cook, and Kristin needed help.

Anita had a burning to help the hungry as she knew hunger as a child; as a young German child during World War II, she roamed the streets and begged for food.

She knows the feeling of an empty stomach and not having food for days.

Works of Mercy

Their love of the poor and needy did not grow out of a desire to try to “earn heaven,” but rather a desire to live the gospel message and be the heart, hands, and feet of Jesus to those in need. (James 2:18-25).

What Did our Lord tell Saint Faustina about deeds of mercy?

The Lord told her, “I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for me” (Diary, 742).

Kristin and Anita both understand that it is in giving that we receive.