EDMONTON -- Zeny David will have warm clothing this winter and still be able to afford groceries.

Poverty isn’t always misfortune or bad luck. Sometimes it’s a vocation.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul plans to take its operations to the next level as it moves into the new decade.

VATICAN – As the rich get richer, the increasing misery and cries of the poor are ignored every day, Pope Francis said.

It is noble to mark the World Day of the Poor with gifts of charity, but Pope Francis has challenged Catholics to go much further than that. He asks us to observe Nov. 18 by making a serious examination of conscience “to see if we are truly capable of hearing the cry of the poor.”

VATICAN – How is it that God in heaven can hear the cries of the poor, but so many people watching or standing nearby either cannot or just do not care, Pope Francis asked.

VATICAN CITY – People have a basic choice in the way they live: either striving to build up treasures on earth or giving to others in order to gain heaven, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – People cannot sit back and be indifferent or unresponsive to growing poverty in the world as a privileged minority accumulates "ostentatious wealth," Pope Francis said.