Point/Counterpoint

Harbor the Harborless: in which we continue our look at the corporal works of mercy.

On the other hand, as you read it, recall this letter from a good friend and fellow Blessed Sacrament parishioner, which considerably de-romanticizes the homeless:

Hey Mark and Jan,

Sorry to hear that Cow is plague-ridden. I will keep him in my prayers.

Do I have a story for you!

My wallet was stolen at church yesterday after the noon Mass, so be sure to keep an close eye your belongings at all times. I was a reader at Mass yesterday and was chatting and putting things away afterwards and had not noticed that someone had gone into my purse, which I left in a pew while I attended to things. I know, not so bright, but rest assured that I am kicking myself over it now because I thought I was safe since friends were around.

I didn’t discover the wallet missing until last night at Luke and Tasha’s. By this morning, someone had gone on a shopping spree with my credit card at Safeway and Whole Foods in the U-District. I had a sneaking suspicion it may have been the junkie who chatted me up in church yesterday afternoon. He must have been trying to buy sustainable, fair-trade coffee at Whole Foods with his new found jackpot.

Well, lo and behold! After canceling all of my credit cards today, I get a call from a Lynnwood police officer who arrested a belligerent heroin addict at Alderwood Mall this afternoon who was trying to buy stuff with my Macy’s card. An alert Macy’s salesperson noticed that this cracked out shambles of a person did not resemble anyone named ANGELA R FERNANDES and thus called a police officer over to contact me for authorization. They had my phone number listed in my online account, so the officer called me on his cell with the junkie in tow, along with his groceries.

So that’s the story. They also found cash and checks the junkie had stolen from the collection basket at Blessed Sacrament. I gave them a description of the guy and it’s the same man who shook my hand, told me he was on the mend at a methadone clinic, used to be a Lutheran who liked spending time in our church, and asked if he could get some food at the Sunday Supper next door.

I’m very very lucky they found my stuff. Well, more than lucky, because St. Anthony was really looking out for me. What a miracle!

God insists on us extending mercy to the poor, pretty much indiscriminately. Our parish has hosted a soup kitchen for 40 years. Do that, and your chances of such incidents sharply rise. That’s not to say works of mercy are a waste of time. It’s to say works of mercy are works of mercy. “Whereto serves mercy but to confront the visage of offense?” Very often, those who receive the mercy of God are those who do not deserve it.

Like you and me, f’rinstance.