Nov
5
Sleeping in St. Louis
November 5, 2007 |
I had a few minutes to kill one summer morning when I was in Downtown Cincinnati. I happen to be passing St. Louis Church and decided on a whim to step in for some quiet reflection.
No one else was in the assembly, except for this man in one of the pews, sitting in front of the sanctuary. He was asleep and had a suitcase next to him. It was obvious from his appearance that he wasn’t stopping in for a quick prayer before going to the airport. He was there to get some peace and quiet and some sleep - to escape his life on the street.
I’ll readily admit that I am relatively hardened when it comes to the men and women of the streets. My hardness really doesn’t come from a lack of Christian generosity (at least I hope not). It comes from stereotypes (right or wrong) that some, if not many, are con-artists (I once saw a guy to whom I gave money hop into a sportscar a short time later) - or my belief that they will only go and use the money to get drunk or high. Or maybe, it’s just that there seem to be so many in the downtown areas of the cities I have visited that I get confused as to the right thing to do. (Heck, even the website for St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Columbus instructs its faithful to refrain from giving money to those who solicit outside of the Cathedral.)
So, I often find myself telling them “no”. And I am conflicted. I know there are programs for them. I know I pay a lot in taxes so they can get what they need if they really need it. But, I wonder if Christ isn’t sometimes testing us - seeing how well we live the Second Great Commandment (”Love your neighbor as yourself”).
In any case, on this beautiful summer morning at St. Louis Church, I started to pray my rosary. And I found myself focusing the entire time on the man in the aisle over - still sleeping.
And I knew he was there for a reason. It may have been just to get cooled off and get some rest. It may have been because he felt an urge to just go and sit. But out of all of the places he could have sat in that church, he chose a place right in front of the santuary - right in front of the Presence of our Lord.
And I felt the urge to give him some help - and I went through the usual litany of excuses. But, this time they weren’t enough. He wasn’t on the street. He wasn’t in some alley. He was in front of our Lord. And I knew I wasn’t there by pure circumstance.
I finished my rosary - dedicating it to him. I then went over and tried to silently slip him some money - enough for a day’s food. He awoke at that moment. I unfolded my hand and asked him if he could use some help.
And when I looked into his eyes, and saw his expression back to me. I knew I was looking in the eyes of our Lord and I remembered the verse from Matthew 40 - “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
I left the church with a light heart and a feeling of knowing that I did the Lord’s will. And for once, I didn’t tell a soul about it. It was between me, that man, and Christ.
And then I read today’s gospel from Luke 14: 12-14 in which Christ is invited to dine at the home of a Pharisee. He instructed the Pharisee -
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Now, no one would know about my experience in St. Louis Church if I wasn’t writing this blog and trying to make a point. But, I do know that often when I do something generous or charitable - well, I want people to know about it. I want them to think how great I am. I’m the darn Pharisee who does things expecting something in return - even if it’s just admiration and recognition.
But, how many times have I done something known only to Christ and the person I helped? Instead of the exception, I need to make it the rule. We all need to do the right things even if no one knows about it.
I know of good, decent men who will only give money if they can get some type of benefit for it. I know good, decent men who will not give of their time without deriving something in return. Too often, I am one of these men.
But, Christ calls us to something different. We should do what is right without any expectation that we will get anything in return here on earth. Our reward will come later - and it will be worth more than anything we may have given in the first place.
I still don’t know how I feel about the men and women of the streets. Heck, I don’t even know what that man did with the money I shared with him. But I do know Christ will call us and tell us when we are to do something. And we need to listen to him and do it, without worrying about whether anyone knows about it.
He will repay us in the end.
And now that I’ve told you about my good deed in St. Louis Church, I guess I need to do another and not write about it this time.
