This morning I walked out of the house and saw a particular young homeless man straightening up our front porch. He's the same young man I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago. Here I'll again call him "Brendon."
As Brendon was organizing all of the free property that no one had yet claimed from the front porch, I greeted him, "Good morning, Brendon. How are you?"
He replied frankly, "I'm high." After pausing briefly, he continued, "I've been trying to stop. I only got high twice yesterday. Three weeks ago I was using eighteen times a day."
I said, "You're making progress. This is great news." I was so glad to have heard that he was taking steps toward taking care of himself, so I added, "Thanks for telling me."
Once we had finished speaking with each other, I crossed the street to go over to the van I use. As he left the Catholic Worker House, Brendon rode his bicycle over to me and we spoke a bit more. As we talked, he admitted, "I've got to stop taking drugs. It's going to kill me."
Brendon admitted the consequences of his own actions. He saw what he had been doing to himself through his own choices. He saw where he was heading if he continued making similar decisions.
He realizes he's got to change his behavior. He knows it will take time to change. He is changing his habits a little more with each passing day.
On the road to recovery, we take little steps. Through the little acts of love we perform for others and for ourselves, we follow "The Little Way" of Saint Therese of Lisieux, in the way she described as her way of getting to Heaven. We can choose to take care of ourselves and others with every little choice we make.
It truly made my day today when I heard Brendon express how he is trying to care for himself. I felt so encouraged in hearing about his gradual efforts to reform his life, little by little. In the last few days, I have felt as if a dark cloud has been pressing upon my soul. Whether I have felt this encroaching darkness due to unfortunate events taking place in the world, or because my particular soul is threatened by spiritual warfare, I do not know; I only know I have felt more keenly over the last few days a certain darkness.
With the choices Brendon has been making, he seems like a light shining in the darkness. A light has been shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not put it out.* The light has been shining, and the darkness has been receding. He is progressing toward recovery. As he emerges out of darkness, he is letting light shine out to others.
As he takes responsibility for himself, he is taking responsibility for making the world a better place. By caring for himself, he is making the world a better place. In improving his health, and thus improving the world, he doesn't realize it, but he is encouraging me. He is giving me more hope. He is making me feel better about the state of affairs in the world, because I see valuable, concrete, healthy change occurring right in front of me. I see him loving himself, and I see the love I want to see others displaying in the world.
When we love ourselves, we love others. We are reassuring others that we care about ourselves. We are setting their minds at ease, and thus we are caring for them as we care for ourselves.
In caring for himself by striving to overcome his addiction, this young homeless drug addict was consoling me, although he did not realize it. This young man, living on the fringes, is considered a derelict by society. Yet he was ministering to me.
By our society's standards, he would be seen as someone to ignore and push aside. Jesus has told us that whatever we do to the least of those among us, we do to Him.** And in what the least among us say to us, we find Jesus ministering unto us. We find the love we need from Jesus coming to us from those who are least among us.
If we look to those who are least among us, we will find the love we need. If we go to those who are least among us, we find Jesus. In the midst of the darkness, we find the light we seek.
* John 1:5
** Matthew 25:40
As Brendon was organizing all of the free property that no one had yet claimed from the front porch, I greeted him, "Good morning, Brendon. How are you?"
He replied frankly, "I'm high." After pausing briefly, he continued, "I've been trying to stop. I only got high twice yesterday. Three weeks ago I was using eighteen times a day."
I said, "You're making progress. This is great news." I was so glad to have heard that he was taking steps toward taking care of himself, so I added, "Thanks for telling me."
Once we had finished speaking with each other, I crossed the street to go over to the van I use. As he left the Catholic Worker House, Brendon rode his bicycle over to me and we spoke a bit more. As we talked, he admitted, "I've got to stop taking drugs. It's going to kill me."
Brendon admitted the consequences of his own actions. He saw what he had been doing to himself through his own choices. He saw where he was heading if he continued making similar decisions.
He realizes he's got to change his behavior. He knows it will take time to change. He is changing his habits a little more with each passing day.
On the road to recovery, we take little steps. Through the little acts of love we perform for others and for ourselves, we follow "The Little Way" of Saint Therese of Lisieux, in the way she described as her way of getting to Heaven. We can choose to take care of ourselves and others with every little choice we make.
It truly made my day today when I heard Brendon express how he is trying to care for himself. I felt so encouraged in hearing about his gradual efforts to reform his life, little by little. In the last few days, I have felt as if a dark cloud has been pressing upon my soul. Whether I have felt this encroaching darkness due to unfortunate events taking place in the world, or because my particular soul is threatened by spiritual warfare, I do not know; I only know I have felt more keenly over the last few days a certain darkness.
With the choices Brendon has been making, he seems like a light shining in the darkness. A light has been shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not put it out.* The light has been shining, and the darkness has been receding. He is progressing toward recovery. As he emerges out of darkness, he is letting light shine out to others.
As he takes responsibility for himself, he is taking responsibility for making the world a better place. By caring for himself, he is making the world a better place. In improving his health, and thus improving the world, he doesn't realize it, but he is encouraging me. He is giving me more hope. He is making me feel better about the state of affairs in the world, because I see valuable, concrete, healthy change occurring right in front of me. I see him loving himself, and I see the love I want to see others displaying in the world.
When we love ourselves, we love others. We are reassuring others that we care about ourselves. We are setting their minds at ease, and thus we are caring for them as we care for ourselves.
In caring for himself by striving to overcome his addiction, this young homeless drug addict was consoling me, although he did not realize it. This young man, living on the fringes, is considered a derelict by society. Yet he was ministering to me.
By our society's standards, he would be seen as someone to ignore and push aside. Jesus has told us that whatever we do to the least of those among us, we do to Him.** And in what the least among us say to us, we find Jesus ministering unto us. We find the love we need from Jesus coming to us from those who are least among us.
If we look to those who are least among us, we will find the love we need. If we go to those who are least among us, we find Jesus. In the midst of the darkness, we find the light we seek.
* John 1:5
** Matthew 25:40
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