Recently, a homeless man surprised my secretary Pat as she was exiting the building after closing time. They happened to be in the right place at the right time because they startled each other. Perhaps it was the sleeping bag the man had draped over his body which made him appear bigger than life. He looked tired and hungry. Knowing we were closed but never closed to helping those in need, she asked him to meet her at our main entrance at the front of the building.
Walking through the lobby I saw her let the man in as she headed straight for the food pantry. As I said goodbye to my last appointment, I followed her. Unfortunately, we had handed out all of the sandwiches we had for the day but had some leftover salad, lasagna and pizza from a noon meeting. We all know how hard leftover lasagna is, and even though many of us have eaten cold pizza for breakfast during our high school and college years, it is not as good as a piping hot piece dripping with melted cheese and tomato sauce.
I decided right then and there I would microwave the Italian fare, and along with salad and cookies, he would have a decent meal to warm his suffering heart. I pulled up a small table to one of the chairs in the lobby and before long I knew much of his life story, full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Since he was a homeless man in his 60s, his recent life was mostly full of lows. For some reason he related he could not stay at the homeless shelter. I kept thinking I was sitting next to someone created in the image and likeness of God.
As his eating slowed to a normal pace he turned and said, "Is it OK if I don’t finish the salad?" "Of course," I replied. "Can I get you something else?" He said, "How about a couple more pieces of pizza?" As he finished his meal he told me of his Catholic past. Little did he know he ate his meal about 30 feet from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in our St. Joseph Chapel. Before he left we prayed in the chapel, where he asked for the Lord’s protection. After blessing him and giving him two warm hats and a moment in the bathroom for a little freshening up, he hit the streets.
Since the places where homeless people can eat are quite a distance to walk from our office, we have been seeing more and more homeless individuals like this man asking for food. Please pray that we can expand our efforts to feed Jesus present in them. I would like to once again thank our donors who have helped us purchase our new refrigerator and freezer which we use for this purpose.
Please also pray for this man and the countless other individuals and families who come to us on a daily basis. Please remember that we remember all of you, your families and intentions in our daily prayers, for without you, we could not help those who come through our doors, our brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of God. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse, pray for us!
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