Today in front of the Catholic Worker House arrived a homeless woman who here I'll call "Janice." She was moving slowly. She noted how her hair was so knotted that she couldn't run her fingers through it. Janice was wearing dirty clothes.
Janice told my fellow Catholic Worker Susan and me of how she has been mistreated. She has been beaten; she has been falsely accused of speaking with profanity; at times she has returned to the cart she uses only to find some of her items missing.
Janice began crying as she spoke to me, under the stress she feels over her plight. Yet she was quick to add that she knows that God loves her. Aware that God loves her, steadfastly affirming and proclaiming this truth even in the face of being abused, she is set to give thanks to God always for all things.* When we keep in mind that God loves us, we are joyful always,** no matter what happens.
If we realize that God's love is infinite and thus is immeasurably more immense than how we love, we begin to see reality. If we accurately perceive who we are, that we are nothing without the help of God, and who God is, that He always has been, is and ever shall be, we are humbled. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, we open our hearts to the grace of God, for God gives grace to the humble.***
By the grace of God, we become empowered to weather whatever storm befalls us. Aware that God loves us and works all to our good if we love Him,**** we rejoice that God is always seeking our good.
As we realize that God wishes the best for us since God is love,***** we can come to give thanks to God for all things. As we become more conscious of the vastness of God's love, we become more joyful, becoming joyful always.
With the love of God, being grateful and joyful always, we view all that happens in a new light. We come to view occasions of suffering not as misfortune, but as opportunities to draw closer to God if we capitalize on such gifts as chances to more deeply thank God.
So often we angrily discard such invitations from God to enter into deeper, more profound communion with Him. Yet today I was instructed in this challenging endeavor by Janice, who is homeless. Jesus told us that we find Him in those who are the least among us.****** Jesus comes to us in those who are poor and downtrodden. He still comes to us, trying to keep instructing us.
Often we find Jesus' teachings too much to bear. If we try alone to carry the load of what He asks of us, we will find it to be too heavy. For humans some things are impossible, but nothing is impossible for God.******* With the help of Jesus, the yoke becomes easy and the burden light.******** If we turn to Jesus, and remain in Him,********* through His presence we will be thankful for all things and will be always joyful.
If we pay attention to the poor person in front of us, we are paying heed to Jesus. We can find Jesus right in front of us, instructing us. We have opportunities to learn about suffering from the homeless person before us. From her we can learn how to give thanks to God when we encounter hardships and to be joyful in the midst of adversity.
From a homeless woman who has let herself be humbled, we can learn valuable lessons on how to become much more than we have been: those who become humble receive the grace of God, and with this transformative power they endure formidable storms, glorifying God through the strength they receive from Him. Thus it is to the glory of God that those who humble themselves are raised up.**********
Let us open our eyes to those before us, open our hearts to our neighbor, and thus open our hearts to the love of God. As we open our hearts to love, joy abounds in our souls. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:18
** 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Romans 8:28
***** 1 John 4:8,16
****** Matthew 25:40,45
******* Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37
******** Matthew 11:30
********* John 15:4,6,7,9,10
********** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
Janice told my fellow Catholic Worker Susan and me of how she has been mistreated. She has been beaten; she has been falsely accused of speaking with profanity; at times she has returned to the cart she uses only to find some of her items missing.
Janice began crying as she spoke to me, under the stress she feels over her plight. Yet she was quick to add that she knows that God loves her. Aware that God loves her, steadfastly affirming and proclaiming this truth even in the face of being abused, she is set to give thanks to God always for all things.* When we keep in mind that God loves us, we are joyful always,** no matter what happens.
If we realize that God's love is infinite and thus is immeasurably more immense than how we love, we begin to see reality. If we accurately perceive who we are, that we are nothing without the help of God, and who God is, that He always has been, is and ever shall be, we are humbled. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, we open our hearts to the grace of God, for God gives grace to the humble.***
By the grace of God, we become empowered to weather whatever storm befalls us. Aware that God loves us and works all to our good if we love Him,**** we rejoice that God is always seeking our good.
As we realize that God wishes the best for us since God is love,***** we can come to give thanks to God for all things. As we become more conscious of the vastness of God's love, we become more joyful, becoming joyful always.
With the love of God, being grateful and joyful always, we view all that happens in a new light. We come to view occasions of suffering not as misfortune, but as opportunities to draw closer to God if we capitalize on such gifts as chances to more deeply thank God.
So often we angrily discard such invitations from God to enter into deeper, more profound communion with Him. Yet today I was instructed in this challenging endeavor by Janice, who is homeless. Jesus told us that we find Him in those who are the least among us.****** Jesus comes to us in those who are poor and downtrodden. He still comes to us, trying to keep instructing us.
Often we find Jesus' teachings too much to bear. If we try alone to carry the load of what He asks of us, we will find it to be too heavy. For humans some things are impossible, but nothing is impossible for God.******* With the help of Jesus, the yoke becomes easy and the burden light.******** If we turn to Jesus, and remain in Him,********* through His presence we will be thankful for all things and will be always joyful.
If we pay attention to the poor person in front of us, we are paying heed to Jesus. We can find Jesus right in front of us, instructing us. We have opportunities to learn about suffering from the homeless person before us. From her we can learn how to give thanks to God when we encounter hardships and to be joyful in the midst of adversity.
From a homeless woman who has let herself be humbled, we can learn valuable lessons on how to become much more than we have been: those who become humble receive the grace of God, and with this transformative power they endure formidable storms, glorifying God through the strength they receive from Him. Thus it is to the glory of God that those who humble themselves are raised up.**********
Let us open our eyes to those before us, open our hearts to our neighbor, and thus open our hearts to the love of God. As we open our hearts to love, joy abounds in our souls. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:18
** 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Romans 8:28
***** 1 John 4:8,16
****** Matthew 25:40,45
******* Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37
******** Matthew 11:30
********* John 15:4,6,7,9,10
********** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
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