This morning, as the sun was rising, I was helping my fellow Catholic Worker, Susan, clean up our front porch. We walked out onto the porch this morning and saw that, as usual, there were some items there that no one took from the previous night.
Here at the Redwood City Catholic Worker House, our front porch is a free zone. Anyone can come and take anything that's sitting on the porch. Persons here in Redwood City have come to be familiar with this practice. People have become so accustomed to coming to the porch that some of them identify this ministry of giving free goods, which happens on the porch, as being synonymous with this particular Catholic Worker House. Many times I've heard homeless folks refer to this Catholic Worker House simply as "The Porch."
Since so many people know that they can drop off donations on our porch, people regularly show up to give clothes, toys, and household items and leave them on the porch. In the morning, Catholic Workers clean up the porch, and remove items no one took away the previous day.
After Susan and I had finished straightening up the porch this morning, I was walking to the van I use so I could put an empty box in it for usage sometime in the future. As I was walking down the sidewalk, a young woman came out of the apartment complex next door to us.
Before I moved in here at the Catholic Worker House, in that building next door lived low-income individuals. Then the building was renovated, rents in it were raised, and middle-income persons moved into it. As Larry, a Catholic Worker who co-founded this house dozens of years ago, has noted, due to rising rents and changing demographics, we have been witnessing changes in who we serve and where they live. We have seen impoverished people forced to move due to lack of funds. What part does compassion play in determining whether rents go up?
As rent prices rise, our neighbors change. Neighbors move, yet we gain new neighbors. Interpersonal dynamics shift in the neighborhood. While we used to have closer interactions with certain neighbors and feel more of a sense of community with some people who have moved on, now we cross paths with neighbors we hadn't met. Yet they are our neighbors and provide opportunities for exchanges between us.
And so I was conscious of this young woman this morning when she exited the apartment complex next door and greeted me. Often I notice that wherever I am, many people do not wish others a good morning. Frequently I notice that numerous people do not even acknowledge the presence of someone else when crossing paths.
We have opportunities in each and every interaction to display the qualities we wish were present in our society. What do we want to see in the world? As Gandhi has noted, we must be the change we want to see in the world. Do we wish to witness love being shown in the world, hospitality, warmth, and a welcoming friendliness? Do you like to see the warmth of such light which emerges when others let that light shine through them?
We should not underestimate the power of such little acts of love. Saint Therese of Lisieux wrote of how she followed a little way of getting to Heaven by performing little gestures of kindness for others.
We define ourselves by how we choose to act not only in grand matters but also in tiny ones. In how we respond in every instant, we articulate the approach we take to life. We call attention to the worth of every human choice by realizing the value of every action. And in every little gesture we make, we send little signals of hope, rays of hope which emanate outward from our souls, to the souls of those with whom we come into contact. Arising out of a consciousness of the value of every choice we make, we can proclaim with Saint Teresa of Calcutta that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
It may seem insignificant, but at many moments in our day we have the opportunity to welcome the stranger. Do we do so? We benefit when we examine our own practices. Are we friendly to others? Do we acknowledge others? To recognize the presence of someone else is to recognize the dignity of that person.
Are you concerned by how other people treat immigrants? Do you greet others who you hear speaking in broken English? Do you smile at them? Do you try to help them to feel welcome?
At other times, at first it may be less obvious when we are strongly affirming the dignity and self-esteem of someone by such warm and kind greetings. The woman walking down the street, whose presence you acknowledge, and thus encourage to realize her own self-worth, may have been slapped in the face earlier in the day by her husband who habitually abuses her. I am not speaking of a hypothetical scenario here. Here in Redwood City I have met a homeless woman who, I have been told by multiple people, is regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When others greet her respectfully, they are tending to her with a healing salve of gentle kindness applied lovingly to the emotional wounds which have been inflicted on her.
We do well to consider the wounds borne in our midst. When Catholics pray the rosary, Catholics meditate at times on Jesus being scourged, or whipped, at the pillar soon before He was crucified.* Jesus was beaten not only at the pillar. Jesus has told us that whatever we do to the least of those among us, we do to Him.** Jesus, present in our neighbor who has been abused, is in the person walking toward us on the street. When we acknowledge our neighbor, we value the presence of Jesus among us. When we tend to the wounds of our neighbor, we follow Jesus.
Jesus explained that we are to attend to others who are suffering along our path. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear that
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”***
In hearing the parable of the Good Samaritan, we think of this parable as conveying a duty to care for our neighbor, not necessarily involving someone literally who has been beaten and is lying by the side of the road. However, in our lives we come into contact with people who have been abused. We might pass them without acknowledging their presence, without affirming their dignity and worth, and thus unintentionally contribute to the mistreatment they have been suffering. Or we can greet them respectfully, giving them support which is much more valuable to them than we realize.
Do we want to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, especially when such small offers of warmth and kindness are easily within our power to share with others? Do you think that you love your neighbors by acknowledging their presence and thus showing them respect? If so, then go, and do likewise.
* John 19:1
** Matthew 25:40
*** Luke 10:25-37
Here at the Redwood City Catholic Worker House, our front porch is a free zone. Anyone can come and take anything that's sitting on the porch. Persons here in Redwood City have come to be familiar with this practice. People have become so accustomed to coming to the porch that some of them identify this ministry of giving free goods, which happens on the porch, as being synonymous with this particular Catholic Worker House. Many times I've heard homeless folks refer to this Catholic Worker House simply as "The Porch."
Since so many people know that they can drop off donations on our porch, people regularly show up to give clothes, toys, and household items and leave them on the porch. In the morning, Catholic Workers clean up the porch, and remove items no one took away the previous day.
After Susan and I had finished straightening up the porch this morning, I was walking to the van I use so I could put an empty box in it for usage sometime in the future. As I was walking down the sidewalk, a young woman came out of the apartment complex next door to us.
Before I moved in here at the Catholic Worker House, in that building next door lived low-income individuals. Then the building was renovated, rents in it were raised, and middle-income persons moved into it. As Larry, a Catholic Worker who co-founded this house dozens of years ago, has noted, due to rising rents and changing demographics, we have been witnessing changes in who we serve and where they live. We have seen impoverished people forced to move due to lack of funds. What part does compassion play in determining whether rents go up?
As rent prices rise, our neighbors change. Neighbors move, yet we gain new neighbors. Interpersonal dynamics shift in the neighborhood. While we used to have closer interactions with certain neighbors and feel more of a sense of community with some people who have moved on, now we cross paths with neighbors we hadn't met. Yet they are our neighbors and provide opportunities for exchanges between us.
And so I was conscious of this young woman this morning when she exited the apartment complex next door and greeted me. Often I notice that wherever I am, many people do not wish others a good morning. Frequently I notice that numerous people do not even acknowledge the presence of someone else when crossing paths.
We have opportunities in each and every interaction to display the qualities we wish were present in our society. What do we want to see in the world? As Gandhi has noted, we must be the change we want to see in the world. Do we wish to witness love being shown in the world, hospitality, warmth, and a welcoming friendliness? Do you like to see the warmth of such light which emerges when others let that light shine through them?
We should not underestimate the power of such little acts of love. Saint Therese of Lisieux wrote of how she followed a little way of getting to Heaven by performing little gestures of kindness for others.
We define ourselves by how we choose to act not only in grand matters but also in tiny ones. In how we respond in every instant, we articulate the approach we take to life. We call attention to the worth of every human choice by realizing the value of every action. And in every little gesture we make, we send little signals of hope, rays of hope which emanate outward from our souls, to the souls of those with whom we come into contact. Arising out of a consciousness of the value of every choice we make, we can proclaim with Saint Teresa of Calcutta that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
It may seem insignificant, but at many moments in our day we have the opportunity to welcome the stranger. Do we do so? We benefit when we examine our own practices. Are we friendly to others? Do we acknowledge others? To recognize the presence of someone else is to recognize the dignity of that person.
Are you concerned by how other people treat immigrants? Do you greet others who you hear speaking in broken English? Do you smile at them? Do you try to help them to feel welcome?
At other times, at first it may be less obvious when we are strongly affirming the dignity and self-esteem of someone by such warm and kind greetings. The woman walking down the street, whose presence you acknowledge, and thus encourage to realize her own self-worth, may have been slapped in the face earlier in the day by her husband who habitually abuses her. I am not speaking of a hypothetical scenario here. Here in Redwood City I have met a homeless woman who, I have been told by multiple people, is regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When others greet her respectfully, they are tending to her with a healing salve of gentle kindness applied lovingly to the emotional wounds which have been inflicted on her.
We do well to consider the wounds borne in our midst. When Catholics pray the rosary, Catholics meditate at times on Jesus being scourged, or whipped, at the pillar soon before He was crucified.* Jesus was beaten not only at the pillar. Jesus has told us that whatever we do to the least of those among us, we do to Him.** Jesus, present in our neighbor who has been abused, is in the person walking toward us on the street. When we acknowledge our neighbor, we value the presence of Jesus among us. When we tend to the wounds of our neighbor, we follow Jesus.
Jesus explained that we are to attend to others who are suffering along our path. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear that
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”***
In hearing the parable of the Good Samaritan, we think of this parable as conveying a duty to care for our neighbor, not necessarily involving someone literally who has been beaten and is lying by the side of the road. However, in our lives we come into contact with people who have been abused. We might pass them without acknowledging their presence, without affirming their dignity and worth, and thus unintentionally contribute to the mistreatment they have been suffering. Or we can greet them respectfully, giving them support which is much more valuable to them than we realize.
Do we want to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, especially when such small offers of warmth and kindness are easily within our power to share with others? Do you think that you love your neighbors by acknowledging their presence and thus showing them respect? If so, then go, and do likewise.
* John 19:1
** Matthew 25:40
*** Luke 10:25-37
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