“God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."      (Genesis 1:27)

When I was in the seminary and living in Rome, Italy, I walked a mile and half each day from where I lived at the North American College to the Gregorian University where I attended theology classes. My daily walk took me through the streets of Rome where I encountered countless people begging for money. There were many of them and it was impossible to give each one money on any given day. It was something I struggled with. If I did not have money to give, it was so easy to avert my gaze and look away. This troubled me.

After bringing the issue up with my spiritual director, he gave me advice that I still try to live by today. He suggested I put a certain amount of money in my pocket each day and I was to give it away until it ran out. After that, I was not to look away, but acknowledge the person before me. I may not have had more  money to give that day, but I could give the person his or her dignity by acknowledging their presence. I would come to find out that many felt invisible because so many of us refused to even acknowledge them. It was a lesson well learned.

Despite its wealth, Orange County has its fair share of poor people who find it necessary to beg. It is impossible to give money or food to everyone we encounter, but it is important we acknowledge their presence. As Christians, we respect the inherit dignity and worth of every individual and we recognize each interaction with another person as an opportunity for a sacred encounter.

However, we just do not have the materially poor among us. St. Theresa of Calcutta said once, “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” It is so easy to avert our gaze and look away from the spiritually and emotionally poor among us, but they too deserve our acknowledgement and not averting our gaze away from them.

Each day we encounter the materially, emotionally, and spiritually poor and each day Jesus gives us an opportunity to have a sacred encounter by recognizing the inherit dignity of others who are created in the image and likeness of God.

God bless you all and have a great week!

Fr. Patrick