One of the most striking characteristics of St. Brigid was her unending desire to feed the hungry. She just couldn’t stand to see someone suffer in that way. When she was only 10 years old, she started giving away her father’s possessions to the needy people in the area.
Her emotional response to seeing a hungry person actually reminds me of my son. Once, while getting in line to get our car from a downtown garage after a Broadway Series performance, my husband and sister and I noticed a seemingly homeless man sitting next to the adjoining building, with a sign to beg for money. The line for the garage went right past him. As we were getting to the line, I remember the three of us sharing a glance. Without the need to speak, we knew we were all on the same page. We were worried about Zac.
I’m not really sure, but I think he must have been about 11 or 12 years old at the time. We all knew in an instant how upset he would be at the sight of this poor man. Even when he was very young, Zac was always that kind of person. Still today, he feels real empathy for people around him, and seeing such poverty face to face was going to be very difficult for him.
I think at first, we thought we would be able to just block his view of the man and keep him distracted. Obviously, that was not to be. I will never forget the look on his face when he saw the poor man sitting there so close to us. As tears began to well up in his eyes, my sister, God bless her, pulled a 5-dollar bill out of her wallet. “Here buddy. Do you want to give him some money?”
Zac took the money from her and took it over to the poor man, who smiled a little to receive it. That seemed to ease Zac’s mind a little bit, but he clearly continued to worry about the man. I suppose he shared that reaction in common with St. Brigid.
Honestly, I know we all have a little of that in our hearts. It is difficult to walk through any urban center of town and face the reality of poverty around us. Of course, some people struggle about what to do in that setting. One of my concerns is a fear of catching a stranger on a bad day and getting a violent reaction, so I avoid people like that when I am alone.
I also understand another concern that people have about giving money to someone begging. They worry that the person will spend the money on drugs or alcohol. No one wants to enable such destructive habits. In that same catechism class that I mentioned yesterday, we discussed this very issue. Father shared a perspective that I find very useful. He said, “whether or not you give them money is between you and God; what they do with the money is between them and God.” I’m not sure if that entirely absolves me from being an enabler, but it makes me feel a little better.
Still, the idea of poverty in our world can be overwhelming. I assume none of us is so wealthy as to be able to solve the entire problem alone, but we each have our own way of heeding the words of Jesus: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink… whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25: 35 and 40)
We could all learn from the example of St. Brigid, who had a heart that ached for the poor and suffering. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to take things that belong to others in our families and start giving them away like she did, but maybe we have a few things of our own that we really don’t need. It’s getting close to winter. Maybe it’s time to clean out those coat closets. As we get into the holiday season, maybe we can all find little ways to ease the burden on our needy brothers and sisters. Dear St. Brigid, please help us follow your example.
Lord Jesus, we pray for all those who need a safe place to live or food to eat today. Please show us the ways that we can help these people in our communities and show them Your unconditional love.