- Dec 22, 2017
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"31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” --Matthew 25
"Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." --Matthew 10
I had a fantastic trip to Chicago yesterday; praise God for all that went well! And also praise Him for all that didn't go well, because we know He never screws up, so all that He made happen will work for the better!
The train I was on went through the south side of Chicago, famous for all the wrong reasons. I was trying to imagine just how much worse off everyone there was, when I was riding a nice train to downtown just for the fun of it. Please never stop praying for those who live in such a horrendous world as those who have never known life without the projects & crack dealing. (And for an incredible inside look at this culture, read the fantastic book Gang Leader for a Day. It details the adventures of a University of Chicago sociology student, who was so interested by the south side that he went into the projects with questionnaires, and after almost being killed & triggering a war, earns enough curious respect from the gang members that he actually is allowed to become the leader of the gang for a day. It's great for an English class; that's where I first read it!). There is always hope! Even the pagan Greeks understood this, why wouldn't we?
Also as I was going through Chicago, I passed by plenty of homeless people. I happened to have several $1 bills, so that made it easy to just give a buck to every one I passed, along with a simple "God bless you, man!". I realized it was especially important that I do this, because I had a Rosary tied to my sling bag, so I was more visibly an Ambassador of Christ; as such, I made our faith look bad every time I ignored the cry of the poor. Please pray for all the homeless, and for God's blessings to truly rain down upon the ones I met, so that they may glorify God in the ways that He has planned.
As I was going back to Union Station, I remembered the aforementioned verse: "..Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." I had a lot of ones in my wallet, but I also had a few twenties. I knew I had to do this, had to give as I have received (generously!). I have a good income, cheap housing, and support from my parents; parting with $20 wouldn't damage me in any realistic sense. Still, I know that there are some liars who beg to steal money, so I prayed for them, and I prayed for guidance to give to the right person; after feeling that I shouldn't give to the first person I noticed, I saw another, and knew that he was the one. Naturally, he was very grateful, and I pray that he noticed my blessing & Rosary & will give thanks to God; please join me in these prayers.
In Union Station (a train station with several trains going all over the nation), a man ran up to me, obviously desperate, asking something about a ticket to Aurora, and being $3 short. He kept talking, and I couldn't keep up with everything he was saying, but he ended up needing $20, then wanting to swap out a $10 roll of quarters for a $10 bill, when he almost handed my the roll of quarters, but said something about coming right back, and I needed to move from where he told me to stay, so that I could find a map I needed. I never saw him again, but I guarantee he was brought closer to Christ, and will be very generous to strangers in the future; I prayed ardently for him, and after waiting a bit for him, I was suddenly hit by a wave of peace & joy; I knew my prayers had been answered! I knew that he would someday repay, but not directly to me; he received the money from a stranger, and he will repay to a stranger, far more than he was given. Please continue to pray for an explosion of generosity between strangers!
And a final request: Please do read the passage below, from one of my favorite books, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Below that is a link where I got the quote, which includes more passages from the fantastic book. This is the passage that inspired me to do what I did for the stranger in Union Station:
V.P. Menon was a significant political figure in India during its struggles for independence from Britain.
Eldest son of twelve children, he quit school at thirteen and worked as a laborer, coal miner, factory hand, merchant, and schoolteacher. He talked his way into a job as a clerk in the Indian administration, and his rise was meteoric-- largely because of his integrity and brilliant skills in working with both Indian and British officials in a productive way. (...)
Two characteristics stood out as particularly memorable -- a kind of aloof, impersonal efficiency, and a reputation for personal charity. His daughter explained the background of this latter trait after he died. When Menon arrived in Delhi to seek a job in government, all his possessions, including his money and I.D., were stolen at the railroad station. He would have to return home on foot, defeated. In desperation he turned to an elderly Sikh, explained his troubles and asked for a temporary loan of fifteen rupees to tide him over until he could get a job. The Sikh gave him the money. When Menon asked for his address so that he could repay the man, the Sikh said that Menon owed the debt to any stranger who came to him in need, as long as he lived. The help came from a stranger and was to be repaid to a stranger.
Menon never forgot that debt, neither the gift of trust nor the fifteen rupees. His daughter said that the day before Menon died, a beggar came to the family home in Bangalore asking for help to buy new sandals, for his feet were covered with sores. Menon asked his daughter to take fifteen rupees out of his wallet to give to the man. It was Menon's last conscious act.
This story was told to me by a man whose name I do not know, he was standing beside me in the Bombay airport at the left-baggage counter, I had come to reclaim my bags and had no Indian currency left. The agent would not take a traveler's check, and I was uncertain about getting my luggage and making my plane. The man paid my claim-check fee -- about eighty cents -- and told me the story as a way of refusing my attempt to figure out how to repay him. His father had been Menon's assistant and had learned Menon's charitable ways and passed them on to his son, The son had continued the tradition of seeing himself in debt to strangers, whenever, however.
From a nameless Sikh to an Indian civil servant to his assistant to his son to me, a white foreigner in a moment of frustrating inconvenience. The gift was not large as money goes, and my need was not great, but the spirit of the gift is beyond price and leaves me blessed and in debt.
--From: " All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten " by Robert Fulghum
In Debt To Strangers | KindSpring.org
Thank you for reading my long post, thank you for prayers for all those who need it, and may God bless us all! Don't forget--you may be taken advantage of on Earth, but it all counts as treasure in heaven! Have peace & pray!
"Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." --Matthew 10
I had a fantastic trip to Chicago yesterday; praise God for all that went well! And also praise Him for all that didn't go well, because we know He never screws up, so all that He made happen will work for the better!
The train I was on went through the south side of Chicago, famous for all the wrong reasons. I was trying to imagine just how much worse off everyone there was, when I was riding a nice train to downtown just for the fun of it. Please never stop praying for those who live in such a horrendous world as those who have never known life without the projects & crack dealing. (And for an incredible inside look at this culture, read the fantastic book Gang Leader for a Day. It details the adventures of a University of Chicago sociology student, who was so interested by the south side that he went into the projects with questionnaires, and after almost being killed & triggering a war, earns enough curious respect from the gang members that he actually is allowed to become the leader of the gang for a day. It's great for an English class; that's where I first read it!). There is always hope! Even the pagan Greeks understood this, why wouldn't we?
Also as I was going through Chicago, I passed by plenty of homeless people. I happened to have several $1 bills, so that made it easy to just give a buck to every one I passed, along with a simple "God bless you, man!". I realized it was especially important that I do this, because I had a Rosary tied to my sling bag, so I was more visibly an Ambassador of Christ; as such, I made our faith look bad every time I ignored the cry of the poor. Please pray for all the homeless, and for God's blessings to truly rain down upon the ones I met, so that they may glorify God in the ways that He has planned.
As I was going back to Union Station, I remembered the aforementioned verse: "..Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." I had a lot of ones in my wallet, but I also had a few twenties. I knew I had to do this, had to give as I have received (generously!). I have a good income, cheap housing, and support from my parents; parting with $20 wouldn't damage me in any realistic sense. Still, I know that there are some liars who beg to steal money, so I prayed for them, and I prayed for guidance to give to the right person; after feeling that I shouldn't give to the first person I noticed, I saw another, and knew that he was the one. Naturally, he was very grateful, and I pray that he noticed my blessing & Rosary & will give thanks to God; please join me in these prayers.
In Union Station (a train station with several trains going all over the nation), a man ran up to me, obviously desperate, asking something about a ticket to Aurora, and being $3 short. He kept talking, and I couldn't keep up with everything he was saying, but he ended up needing $20, then wanting to swap out a $10 roll of quarters for a $10 bill, when he almost handed my the roll of quarters, but said something about coming right back, and I needed to move from where he told me to stay, so that I could find a map I needed. I never saw him again, but I guarantee he was brought closer to Christ, and will be very generous to strangers in the future; I prayed ardently for him, and after waiting a bit for him, I was suddenly hit by a wave of peace & joy; I knew my prayers had been answered! I knew that he would someday repay, but not directly to me; he received the money from a stranger, and he will repay to a stranger, far more than he was given. Please continue to pray for an explosion of generosity between strangers!
And a final request: Please do read the passage below, from one of my favorite books, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Below that is a link where I got the quote, which includes more passages from the fantastic book. This is the passage that inspired me to do what I did for the stranger in Union Station:
V.P. Menon was a significant political figure in India during its struggles for independence from Britain.
Eldest son of twelve children, he quit school at thirteen and worked as a laborer, coal miner, factory hand, merchant, and schoolteacher. He talked his way into a job as a clerk in the Indian administration, and his rise was meteoric-- largely because of his integrity and brilliant skills in working with both Indian and British officials in a productive way. (...)
Two characteristics stood out as particularly memorable -- a kind of aloof, impersonal efficiency, and a reputation for personal charity. His daughter explained the background of this latter trait after he died. When Menon arrived in Delhi to seek a job in government, all his possessions, including his money and I.D., were stolen at the railroad station. He would have to return home on foot, defeated. In desperation he turned to an elderly Sikh, explained his troubles and asked for a temporary loan of fifteen rupees to tide him over until he could get a job. The Sikh gave him the money. When Menon asked for his address so that he could repay the man, the Sikh said that Menon owed the debt to any stranger who came to him in need, as long as he lived. The help came from a stranger and was to be repaid to a stranger.
Menon never forgot that debt, neither the gift of trust nor the fifteen rupees. His daughter said that the day before Menon died, a beggar came to the family home in Bangalore asking for help to buy new sandals, for his feet were covered with sores. Menon asked his daughter to take fifteen rupees out of his wallet to give to the man. It was Menon's last conscious act.
This story was told to me by a man whose name I do not know, he was standing beside me in the Bombay airport at the left-baggage counter, I had come to reclaim my bags and had no Indian currency left. The agent would not take a traveler's check, and I was uncertain about getting my luggage and making my plane. The man paid my claim-check fee -- about eighty cents -- and told me the story as a way of refusing my attempt to figure out how to repay him. His father had been Menon's assistant and had learned Menon's charitable ways and passed them on to his son, The son had continued the tradition of seeing himself in debt to strangers, whenever, however.
From a nameless Sikh to an Indian civil servant to his assistant to his son to me, a white foreigner in a moment of frustrating inconvenience. The gift was not large as money goes, and my need was not great, but the spirit of the gift is beyond price and leaves me blessed and in debt.
--From: " All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten " by Robert Fulghum
In Debt To Strangers | KindSpring.org
Thank you for reading my long post, thank you for prayers for all those who need it, and may God bless us all! Don't forget--you may be taken advantage of on Earth, but it all counts as treasure in heaven! Have peace & pray!
