By Fr. Christopher Kubat
Pope St. Leo the Great became the Supreme Pontiff in the year 440. In his 21 years as Holy Father, he battled heretics inside and outside the Church and confronted barbarians (including Attila the Hun) who wanted to destroy Rome.
In one of his famous sermons, he reminds us that from our baptisms, we all have royal and priestly characters in our souls which, although different from the ordained priesthood, share some common characteristics.
He said, “For what is more king-like than to find yourself ruler over your body after having surrendered your soul to God? And what is more priestly than to promise the Lord a pure conscience and to offer in love unblemished victims on the altar of one’s heart?”
Only those who, in love and humility, have surrendered their souls to God are able to offer the sacrifices necessary to support us in our mission of loving Jesus Who lives in the poor and needy (as outlined in the gospels). And for many we help, it is a process. We see them more than once.
You might recall the homeless man I wrote about in a previous column who in response to his question, “What do you see when you look at me?” I replied, “Jesus.” He came to our office a few days ago. I vividly remember his story. He was unemployed and sleeping under the bridges of Lincoln and in his homelessness, we helped him a number of ways.
Just days ago, after I greeted him while walking through our lobby, he happily informed me he has a new construction job. It is to homeless individuals like him we give sleeping bags. He was also happy to inform us that he still sleeps in his sleeping bag, but on the couch of a friend who is graciously allowing him to sleep in his living room. He came in for a clothing voucher. Obtaining clothes from our thrift store will allow him to save money in order to find an apartment.
In addition to your prayers for our Christ-given mission, and your financial support, your clothing donations are very important. Even clothes that are worn and torn have value, for they can be recycled and turned into cash to help people with rent, utilities, grants for counseling and more.
As we start scraping the windshields of our vehicles and wishing it was warm, consider going through your closets and donating any unneeded clothing items we can sell in our thrift stores, give away to people in need like the man mentioned above, or recycled and turned to cash so we can help more poor people financially and materially. St. Leo the Great, pray for us!
