Who is Our Neighbor: Works of Mercy and Eucharistic Power

We are called by God to love one another. Some ways through which we demonstrate love to our neighbor are the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Through these works we bear witness to the truth and share Jesus with the world.

The Corporal works of mercy are probably most familiar to us and are self-explanatory:

1.     Feed the hungry.

2.     Give drink to the thirsty.

3.     Shelter the homeless or welcome the stranger.

4.     Visit the sick.

5.     Visit the prisoner.

6.     Bury the dead.

7.     Give alms to the poor.

The Spiritual works of mercy are less familiar and more often overlooked:

1.     Admonish sinners.

2.     Instruct the uninformed.

3.     Counsel the doubtful.

4.     Comfort the sorrowful.

5.     Be patient with those in error.

6.     Forgive offenses.

7.     Pray for the living and the dead.

Everyday we have opportunities at our doorsteps to engage in corporal works of mercy such as: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, and sheltering the homeless/welcoming the stranger. Personal experiences with works of mercy include giving to and working at food banks and soup kitchens, working at St. Vincent de Paul, and overnight shelter stays in our church basement. Giving to charities that help the needy is another common practice by so many of us. Making or giving things for the homeless like hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, sleeping bags, and coats, or giving clothes to those who help the poor such as St. Vincent de Paul or other charities, or welcoming someone who needs a place to stay into our homes are other opportunities, as are praying for the sick or visiting people in hospitals or nursing homes. At my own church we have the Mobile Resource Response Team that provides showers and clothes washing to the homeless, and the food bank, school supply drive, Christmas basket program, kitting hats for the homeless, St. Vincent de Paul, parish prayer line, Blessed Little Ones program, and the parish garden as outreach ministries that all help those in need.

Last year, I visited homeless camps in the Hilltop neighborhood in downtown Tacoma. I had driven by these camps many times as I made trips to various medical facilities in that area while being diagnosed and treated for cancer. During my cancer, I told the Lord I wanted to give my life totally to Him and serve in whatever way to which He called me. One day, a certain Gospel reading inspired me to visit the camp. On this first trip, I brought donuts, rosaries, Divine Mercy medals, holy cards, and pamphlets about Jesus and the Good News and how to pray the rosary. Of course, the donuts were very popular, and I ran out before I made it all the way through the camp. Though the spiritual helps were less often accepted, I would like to share two memorable stories about those who took them.

The first was with the camp leader. I have unfortunately forgotten his name. He took a rosary, thanking me for it and giving me God’s blessing. When I offered him a pamphlet on how to pray it, he told me he already knew and started reciting the Hail Mary. He told me how he had grown up Catholic, had attended Catholic grade school and Bellarmine High School. He really didn’t share much about how he came to be at the camp, but he was a joyful, friendly man, a man of dignity and purpose, who cared for the other camp members as if they were his own family. I would imagine, as is the case of the person in my next story, a crisis that was beyond his control may have contributed to his current circumstances.

The second story was an outgoing, cheerful man a little older than me. George was his name. He gratefully accepted a medal and rosary and shared his story freely. He said that he and his wife had a home of their own until a few years ago when his wife became very ill with kidney disease. She had to be on dialysis 3-4 days a week, and he was caring for her. They eventually lost their home and ended up on the streets. His wife had died in the camp about 6 months earlier. Tears welled up in his eyes as he shared his story.

My second trip to this camp was during the heat wave in June. I knew it was going to be over 100 degrees for several days in a row. The Holy Spirit put on my heart that the people living in those tents would be sweltering in the heat and I should bring water up to them. Julie Conlon and I loaded up two shopping carts filled with bottled water and a box of black garbage backs to collect them in afterward. I had noticed a trash problem at the camps during my last visit and knew that bags to collect trash were in short supply I saw a van filling up with similar supplies and wondered if they were making a trip to one of the many homeless camps in the area. When we brought the water, we were greeted with cheers and gratitude. I also noticed many other people dropping off water and food throughout the camp. We visited for a few minutes with some of the residents and asked how they were surviving the heat and how they managed to get the water they needed and other supplies. They said they rely on people like us to bring them things. The camp leader also praised the churches that are adjacent to the camp for opening their facilities to them to cool off and use the restroom, etc. (there are Christian churches at each end of the main camp). Since this visit, the city has been through the Hilltop area clearing out the camps These efforts to “address” the issue by forcing camps to close are futile as the homeless continue to be homeless and shortly after the government clears one away, a new camp opens up in another area.

The third and fourth experiences were this summer, right in front of my own church’s parking lot. I had noticed for months that we had homeless neighbors living on the roadside right outside our gate. One trailer had been there for nearly a year. We also had a large homeless camp a couple blocks away, in a “vacant” lot just north of McDonald’s and the Dollar Tree. I have treated members of this camp to coffee and a breakfast sandwich on occasion and have passed out gift cards to McDonalds (they won’t even sell these anymore because they find the homeless an “annoyance”).  I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to bring donuts to the people living in front of our church (the camp by McDonald’s is far too large for a single person to minister to). I almost ignored the inspiration and dove home, telling myself:” What can I do about such a seemingly unsolvable problem. Just go home and do your work and pray.” But as I passed the donut store, the Spirit reminded me of the story of the rich man with Lazarus lying outside his door, and I did not want my fate to be that of the rich man’s. I couldn’t ignore this nudge any longer. I turned around and did what I felt the Spirit was calling me to do: I bought a dozen donuts and stopped at the Dollar Tree to purchase water, napkins, cups, and a journal, in case anyone wanted to share their stories. I glanced at the homeless camp across the street and felt the Spirit say, “Don’t worry about all that now. Just go to the ones outside your own door.” The first man I approached was kind and friendly. He’s been living there for many months, between the new townhomes and the pizza restaurant. I learned that he and a friend had been providing security services during the construction of the new townhomes. This job is over, and they have since moved to Lakewood to provide similar services to another site. He was waiting for his friend to return and pick him up to go to a construction site to work for the day. He offered to find me a wagon and leave it outside his trailer in case I decided to come back with more stuff.  I spoke with four others that morning. All of them were Christians, at least some were working, and some said they attended worship services elsewhere. I invited them to come to church at our church. They were polite, kind, openhearted, and grateful for the visit.

During a recent retreat titled, “Mystical Union with Mary” in Beaverton, Oregon, I heard additional stories about serving the homeless from Sister Teresa Harrell, a Society of Mary sister who serves the homeless and evangelizes young adults at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in downtown Portland, Oregon. St. Michael Catholic Church (stmichaelportland.org) Sr. Teresa said that when you really get to know the homeless and hear their stories, you cannot help but have compassion for them. The stories of child abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect, lifelong poverty, inadequate education (often caused by learning disabilities that never received the attention they deserved), alcoholism and drug abuse by the adults who were supposed to be caring for them, fractured unstable families, and a myriad of other problems that most of us have gratefully never had to experience, has shaped these people’s lives and choices. They have, in many cases, suffered more than any human being should ever have to endure. After hearing their stories, one can understand the reasons why they may have made choices that people who have had more stable upbringing are less tempted to make. After listening to Sr. Teresa, I felt much more grateful for my own life-the dedicated parents I had, and the blessings and opportunities that God put in my life. As the adage goes: “Never judge a book by its cover.” We are all wounded, and Jesus wants to heal us all, together, as a family. After reflection on what she shared, I wondered to myself if I had lived in the shoes of a typical homeless person, would I be as kind and accepting of others as those I had met, or would I be bitter and resentful of the ill treatment I had received? I am glad that God spared me those crosses and I am begging for the grace to bear my own trials more patiently, which are small compared to the injustices suffered by many of the homeless.

Homelessness will not be resolved through government interventions and impersonal social services alone because those making decisions about what to do and how to do it are not the people interacting directly with those in need and are rarely thinking with the mind of Christ: with love, mercy, restoration of human dignity and the common good, and care of souls as their goals. Government solutions constantly place band aids on festering wounds without ever getting to the source of what is caused the wounds: an absence of the love and nurturing necessary for development of a healthy understanding of God, self, and relationships with others. Only Jesus can solve these problems, and we are His hands and feet while on earth. How can we receive the strength we need? How.will this ultimately happen? When we as His followers put Him in first place and love Him above all things. Jesus told Venerable Consolata Betrone (1903-1946) that "Mankind's humble adoration of God in the Holy Eucharist will be the weight that crushes the head of satan."   Fr. Jim Blount, a 40-yr exorcist, and holy mystic priest who has experienced many Eucharistic miracles, said at the National Flame of Love Conference as I was in the middle of writing this reflection: “through the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the whole world will one day be Catholic and Eucharistic, the entire Bible points to the Eucharistic Lord.” Mother Teresa and her nuns spent 2 hours every morning before they did any work, adoring the Eucharistic Lord to draw strength for their difficult mission to the poor. If all Catholics spent an hour a week adoring the Lord, we would be transformed and so would our world. If we contemplate deeply that the Eucharist is the actual living Jesus, King of the Universe, spending an hour or two visiting Him and adoring Him each week would become our most cherished time of our busy weeks. When we adore Jesus in the Holy Eucharist as Lord placing Him first in our lives, Jesus told Consolata that “torrents of grace are released”, and everything falls into its proper place.

I hope these thoughts open hearts more widely to love and adore the Eucharistic Jesus so that He can fill us with the grace we need to love Him in others and be His hands to serve others, His feet to walk with others, and his arms to embrace others.  May Jesus be loved, worshipped, adored, and praised forever! Amen.vv

Who is Our Neighbor:

Works of Mercy and Eucharistic Power

We are called by God to love one another. Some ways through which we demonstrate love to our neighbor are the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Through these works we bear witness to the truth and share Jesus with the world.

The Corporal works of mercy are probably most familiar to us and are self-explanatory:

1.     Feed the hungry.

2.     Give drink to the thirsty.

3.     Shelter the homeless or welcome the stranger.

4.     Visit the sick.

5.     Visit the prisoner.

6.     Bury the dead.

7.     Give alms to the poor.

The Spiritual works of mercy are less familiar and more often overlooked:

1.     Admonish sinners.

2.     Instruct the uninformed.

3.     Counsel the doubtful.

4.     Comfort the sorrowful.

5.     Be patient with those in error.

6.     Forgive offenses.

7.     Pray for the living and the dead.

Everyday we have opportunities at our doorsteps to engage in corporal works of mercy such as: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, and sheltering the homeless/welcoming the stranger. Personal experiences with works of mercy include giving to and working at food banks and soup kitchens, working at St. Vincent de Paul, and overnight shelter stays in our church basement. Giving to charities that help the needy is another common practice by so many of us. Making or giving things for the homeless like hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, sleeping bags, and coats, or giving clothes to those who help the poor such as St. Vincent de Paul or other charities, or welcoming someone who needs a place to stay into our homes are other opportunities, as are praying for the sick or visiting people in hospitals or nursing homes. At my own church we have the Mobile Resource Response Team that provides showers and clothes washing to the homeless, and the food bank, school supply drive, Christmas basket program, kitting hats for the homeless, St. Vincent de Paul, parish prayer line, Blessed Little Ones program, and the parish garden as outreach ministries that all help those in need.

Last year, I visited homeless camps in the Hilltop neighborhood in downtown Tacoma. I had driven by these camps many times as I made trips to various medical facilities in that area while being diagnosed and treated for cancer. During my cancer, I told the Lord I wanted to give my life totally to Him and serve in whatever way to which He called me. One day, a certain Gospel reading inspired me to visit the camp. On this first trip, I brought donuts, rosaries, Divine Mercy medals, holy cards, and pamphlets about Jesus and the Good News and how to pray the rosary. Of course, the donuts were very popular, and I ran out before I made it all the way through the camp. Though the spiritual helps were less often accepted, I would like to share two memorable stories about those who took them.

The first was with the camp leader. I have unfortunately forgotten his name. He took a rosary, thanking me for it and giving me God’s blessing. When I offered him a pamphlet on how to pray it, he told me he already knew and started reciting the Hail Mary. He told me how he had grown up Catholic, had attended Catholic grade school and Bellarmine High School. He really didn’t share much about how he came to be at the camp, but he was a joyful, friendly man, a man of dignity and purpose, who cared for the other camp members as if they were his own family. I would imagine, as is the case of the person in my next story, a crisis that was beyond his control may have contributed to his current circumstances.

The second story was an outgoing, cheerful man a little older than me. George was his name. He gratefully accepted a medal and rosary and shared his story freely. He said that he and his wife had a home of their own until a few years ago when his wife became very ill with kidney disease. She had to be on dialysis 3-4 days a week, and he was caring for her. They eventually lost their home and ended up on the streets. His wife had died in the camp about 6 months earlier. Tears welled up in his eyes as he shared his story.

My second trip to this camp was during the heat wave in June. I knew it was going to be over 100 degrees for several days in a row. The Holy Spirit put on my heart that the people living in those tents would be sweltering in the heat and I should bring water up to them. Julie Conlon and I loaded up two shopping carts filled with bottled water and a box of black garbage backs to collect them in afterward. I had noticed a trash problem at the camps during my last visit and knew that bags to collect trash were in short supply I saw a van filling up with similar supplies and wondered if they were making a trip to one of the many homeless camps in the area. When we brought the water, we were greeted with cheers and gratitude. I also noticed many other people dropping off water and food throughout the camp. We visited for a few minutes with some of the residents and asked how they were surviving the heat and how they managed to get the water they needed and other supplies. They said they rely on people like us to bring them things. The camp leader also praised the churches that are adjacent to the camp for opening their facilities to them to cool off and use the restroom, etc. (there are Christian churches at each end of the main camp). Since this visit, the city has been through the Hilltop area clearing out the camps These efforts to “address” the issue by forcing camps to close are futile as the homeless continue to be homeless and shortly after the government clears one away, a new camp opens up in another area.

The third and fourth experiences were this summer, right in front of my own church’s parking lot. I had noticed for months that we had homeless neighbors living on the roadside right outside our gate. One trailer had been there for nearly a year. We also had a large homeless camp a couple blocks away, in a “vacant” lot just north of McDonald’s and the Dollar Tree. I have treated members of this camp to coffee and a breakfast sandwich on occasion and have passed out gift cards to McDonalds (they won’t even sell these anymore because they find the homeless an “annoyance”).  I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to bring donuts to the people living in front of our church (the camp by McDonald’s is far too large for a single person to minister to). I almost ignored the inspiration and dove home, telling myself:” What can I do about such a seemingly unsolvable problem. Just go home and do your work and pray.” But as I passed the donut store, the Spirit reminded me of the story of the rich man with Lazarus lying outside his door, and I did not want my fate to be that of the rich man’s. I couldn’t ignore this nudge any longer. I turned around and did what I felt the Spirit was calling me to do: I bought a dozen donuts and stopped at the Dollar Tree to purchase water, napkins, cups, and a journal, in case anyone wanted to share their stories. I glanced at the homeless camp across the street and felt the Spirit say, “Don’t worry about all that now. Just go to the ones outside your own door.” The first man I approached was kind and friendly. He’s been living there for many months, between the new townhomes and the pizza restaurant. I learned that he and a friend had been providing security services during the construction of the new townhomes. This job is over, and they have since moved to Lakewood to provide similar services to another site. He was waiting for his friend to return and pick him up to go to a construction site to work for the day. He offered to find me a wagon and leave it outside his trailer in case I decided to come back with more stuff.  I spoke with four others that morning. All of them were Christians, at least some were working, and some said they attended worship services elsewhere. I invited them to come to church at our church. They were polite, kind, openhearted, and grateful for the visit.

During a recent retreat titled, “Mystical Union with Mary” in Beaverton, Oregon, I heard additional stories about serving the homeless from Sister Teresa Harrell, a Society of Mary sister who serves the homeless and evangelizes young adults at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in downtown Portland, Oregon. St. Michael Catholic Church (stmichaelportland.org) Sr. Teresa said that when you really get to know the homeless and hear their stories, you cannot help but have compassion for them. The stories of child abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect, lifelong poverty, inadequate education (often caused by learning disabilities that never received the attention they deserved), alcoholism and drug abuse by the adults who were supposed to be caring for them, fractured unstable families, and a myriad of other problems that most of us have gratefully never had to experience, has shaped these people’s lives and choices. They have, in many cases, suffered more than any human being should ever have to endure. After hearing their stories, one can understand the reasons why they may have made choices that people who have had more stable upbringing are less tempted to make. After listening to Sr. Teresa, I felt much more grateful for my own life-the dedicated parents I had, and the blessings and opportunities that God put in my life. As the adage goes: “Never judge a book by its cover.” We are all wounded, and Jesus wants to heal us all, together, as a family. After reflection on what she shared, I wondered to myself if I had lived in the shoes of a typical homeless person, would I be as kind and accepting of others as those I had met, or would I be bitter and resentful of the ill treatment I had received? I am glad that God spared me those crosses and I am begging for the grace to bear my own trials more patiently, which are small compared to the injustices suffered by many of the homeless.

Homelessness will not be resolved through government interventions and impersonal social services alone because those making decisions about what to do and how to do it are not the people interacting directly with those in need and are rarely thinking with the mind of Christ: with love, mercy, restoration of human dignity and the common good, and care of souls as their goals. Government solutions constantly place band aids on festering wounds without ever getting to the source of what is caused the wounds: an absence of the love and nurturing necessary for development of a healthy understanding of God, self, and relationships with others. Only Jesus can solve these problems, and we are His hands and feet while on earth. How can we receive the strength we need? How.will this ultimately happen? When we as His followers put Him in first place and love Him above all things. Jesus told Venerable Consolata Betrone (1903-1946) that "Mankind's humble adoration of God in the Holy Eucharist will be the weight that crushes the head of satan."   Fr. Jim Blount, a 40-yr exorcist, and holy mystic priest who has experienced many Eucharistic miracles, said at the National Flame of Love Conference as I was in the middle of writing this reflection: “through the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the whole world will one day be Catholic and Eucharistic, the entire Bible points to the Eucharistic Lord.” Mother Teresa and her nuns spent 2 hours every morning before they did any work, adoring the Eucharistic Lord to draw strength for their difficult mission to the poor. If all Catholics spent an hour a week adoring the Lord, we would be transformed and so would our world. If we contemplate deeply that the Eucharist is the actual living Jesus, King of the Universe, spending an hour or two visiting Him and adoring Him each week would become our most cherished time of our busy weeks. When we adore Jesus in the Holy Eucharist as Lord placing Him first in our lives, Jesus told Consolata that “torrents of grace are released”, and everything falls into its proper place.

I hope these thoughts open hearts more widely to love and adore the Eucharistic Jesus so that He can fill us with the grace we need to love Him in others and be His hands to serve others, His feet to walk with others, and his arms to embrace others.  May Jesus be loved, worshipped, adored, and praised forever! Amen.