By Fr. Christopher Kubat
Yesterday, before I typed these words, two men walked through our doors asking to speak to “the father.”
At Catholic Social Services, we have case workers that meet with clients who come in requesting help of some kind, whether it be emergency services, food, clothing, furniture or vehicles. Sometimes, people want to talk to me in order to ‘bypass’ the system.
The first man seemed to be in his mid-20s. As I walked into the lobby I noticed there were several people asking for help, or wanting to sign up for one of our Christmas programs, or getting day-old bread. From the midst of these people, this young man made a beeline to me and asked, “Do you have any holy water?”
After grabbing a bottle of water, I blessed it in his midst and put some on my right index finger and made the sign of the cross. I asked, “Would you like to say a prayer in the chapel?”
“Yes,” he replied. After entering the chapel, he went straight to the vigil lights and lit a candle. After saying a prayer, he happily left.
Not too many minutes later, the other man came in asking for me. He was a middle-aged, married man with an adult daughter with some mental difficulties. Her disabilities are such that she lives at home and cannot handle her own finances and relies on her parents to give her money. After receiving her money several weeks ago, she left home, angry with Mom and Dad. He has told the police but was informed that since she is an adult and not a harm to herself or to others, there is nothing they can do. He was told she has been spotted in the downtown area with a young man in tow. He came asking for my prayers and that if I ever saw her, to tell her to please call home.
Also just days ago, I had a conversation with a holy woman in a nursing home whose window looks out onto one of the doors that employees and family members walk through to work with or visit residents. She spends her day praying, watching EWTN, the news and an occasional old movie. She mentioned the old Hitchcock classic, “Rear Window,” and the parallel of her ‘people-watching’ out of her ‘rear window.’ I mentioned it would be a great exercise to say a little prayer for everyone who passes through that door as she looks through her window. After suggesting this, she related that she had the very same thought while pondering about the many problems each of them may have in their lives. The same can be said for everyone who walks through our doors seeking our help. We must remember that it is not always about money.
May God bless you this Advent season in which we prepare ourselves to receive spiritually the baby Jesus into our hearts at Christmas, which is a great way to prepare for the second coming of Jesus when we enter eternity. Please know that you are in our prayers!
