JOURNAL OF AN ALIEN STREET PRIEST
Recently at Sacred Heart Prep I was asked what my definition of success was and how I found time for people. My New Year’s prayer is that we all find success and that we all find time for people.
The phrase I hear most often is: “I am busy.” I know ministers who have to book a month in advance to see parishioners for pastoral care. “I am busy” is the mantra of the Twenty-first century. I sometimes have to make appointments for lunch a month in advance with my adult friends. Busyness is the great thief - it steals time from people. How often are we too busy to sit down and give someone a few minutes of our time? A friend recently commented to me that the hour a month he spends with his spiritual director is the only time he feels really listened to. This man is a counselor, whose job is to listen to others.
Ninety-eight per cent of what I do is listen. I listen to stories that are as old as the beginning of time - of romance and betrayal, of joy and pain, of life, and of death. Over the years I have been given ideas of ways to “grow” this ministry. My choice remains that relationships are central - that I must have time for others. Relationships are where we meet God - it in through our human to human interaction that God’s presence can be felt.
Success is related to how we view people and time. For me, success can be defined as living my life with dignity and being in relationship with another. Time is a sacred gift. I have been told I am hell on wheels when it comes to punctuality, and it is because I see time as a gift, and when we waste another’s time we are wasting moments of their life.
So for me, success involves using my time to strive to live a life that has dignity and that provides time for relationships. Relationships are where I meet God, be it in the 15 year old or the 80 year old. Success for me is the phone call I receive from a 22 year old I met nearly ten years ago, telling me he was thinking of me, and wanted someone to talk to, or from the 23 year old who is in prison in Texas and has decided to reconnect with people who he considers “good friends.”
The story of Christmas is God not being “too busy” to come into relationship with us. The story of Christmas is that Jesus is not too busy to listen to us at any time.
And so my wish for you this New Year is that you find success in relationships and in living your life with dignity. Amen.
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SPECIAL THANKS
* To Bob Ringo for the sleeping bags he brings each month.
* To Bena Burda of “Maggies” who donates tons of socks during the year.
* To Joel Spring who has created and continues to maintain our beautiful web site.
* To Patti and Roy Guptill who edit and mail this newsletter.
And to all who have been faithful in their prayers, gifts, and presence with us on the streets
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IN MEMORIUM
“Cross”
1980-2003
May he find the joy in God
he did not find on earth.
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We Are Beggars
As we come down to the close of the year I would like to remind you that we are beggars. We live on what you give and we earn. As you consider your taxes we would like you to remember that you will get the “bigger bang” from your buck with Temenos. 98% of all donations go for direct service. Fr. River’s rent and personal expenses are paid from money he brings in. All donations go directly to the work. We also will take your old cars if you would like to donate. If anyone would like to have a final year end report please email or call Fr. River.
Our mailing address is on page one. To be eligible to receive a tax deduction, please make your check out to Temenos Catholic Worker - we are a 501(c)3 charity.
Please note that beginning in January 2004, the IRS will no longer accept your cancelled check as a receipt for donations over $100. Fr. River will provide the necessary information in your thank you. You must retain this for your records for tax purposes.
Be sure to make a note of our new e-mail address:
temenos@sbcglobal.net
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A Foot Note . . . by Patti G
This little piggie went to market, this little piggie stayed home; this little piggie had roast beef, this little piggie had none; and this little piggie cried “we we we we” all the way home. I was just playing with my foster baby’s feet today and realized that most people grew up having someone to care for and even play with their feet. Then we grow older and no one even wants to be in the same room with someone who just took off their socks. No one wants to think about their own feet, let alone someone else’s. Street people are on their feet all day. They are standing and walking all day and sometimes all night long. They may be wearing ill-fitting, second hand shoes, or worn out and holey shoes. So their socks get wet and dirty. Their socks stay wet and dirty. Their socks stiffen and smell and sprout holes. Homeless people tend to have lots of problems with their feet. New socks are an amazing gift to this person, not just one more pair to stuff in the sock drawer. That’s just one small part of the care and concern that your contributions make to the daily walk of those living on the streets. May God bless your thoughtfulness!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!