“My brothers and sisters, show no partiality … For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly … and a poor person with shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes … have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? … However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors”
(Jas 2:1-9).
Recently after closing, I spied a man walking across the parking lot with two duffle bags, toward our front door. Our lights were off, and I remember thinking, ‘surely he knows we are closed.’
I opened the door and greeted him. He was a homeless man looking for help finding a place to stay. It was a fairly chilling February evening. He immediately began explaining his plight.
He showed me a few $20 bills and said he only needed $15 for a week’s stay at a nearby long-term motel. “Where did you get the money?” I asked. “From my mother, who lives in another state,” he replied.
He further explained he could not stay with her because she is in a retirement facility. I invited him in and after packing three sacks of groceries, we were off to the motel. During the ride I discovered he had been released earlier in the day from the hospital because of ‘mental issues.’
“I just couldn’t stand it any longer at the homeless shelter!” He related. I remember wondering how long I would last at a homeless shelter. His plan will be finding a job. He went into detail how he would begin his search. He will have difficulty because of a prior felony conviction.
Within minutes, we were at the motel’s front desk. Instead of CSS contributing $15 along with all the cash he had to pay for one week, I gave the manager my CSS credit card and instructed him to give this man two weeks. Moved with tears, he gave me a bear hug and exclaimed this was an answer to his prayers, for he had been praying all day. In his room, he had a kitchen to prepare the food we had given him.
At Catholic Social Services, we must remember to take St. James’ words to heart. No matter what a client looks like, we must remember they all are created in God’s image and likeness and whatever we do for the least, we do to Jesus (Mt 25:31-46).
Please pray for this man that he is successful in finding employment so he will not have to live on the street. May the intercession of St. Joseph the Worker obtain for this man a job he so desperately wants and needs. May we all with the grace of God see Jesus Christ in each and every person we meet, regardless of their appearance.
“However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
(Jas 2:1-9)
