We had a guest priest at church today. He was from the poorest Diocese in Kentucky and was asked to be a missionary. He was very exuberant and it was easy to see why he was chosen for the job. Before he became a priest he was an actor and musician and was even in Broadway. He didn’t explain what turned him to the priesthood. He lived in the Vatican and took classes there for 3 years. On his last day, as he was leaving, he encountered Pope Francis who gave him the white beanie from his head (he actually showed it to us) and told him to remind people that God is always with them. He told a story of being approached by a homeless young man when he was in Washington DC after speaking to the Congress. The young man asked if he had any money, but the priest doesn’t carry money. He asked the young man if he was hungry and he replied that he was. The priest invited him to be his dinner guest and they proceeded to the nearest restaurant. The door was opened at the 5 star restaurant and the priest was welcomed. However, the door was shut on the homeless man. The priest explained that the man was his guest. After a few minutes, the restaurant ushered the priest and the young man into the janitor closet where they had set up a card table and were served on paper plates while sitting amongst the cleaning supplies. The priest said he was never more humiliated and embarrassed for his guest. He tried to make light of the situation and asked the young man his name and if he could take a selfie with him. The man lit up like he just won the lottery. The priest asked why he was so excited. The man replied that it meant that he was someone. He was being treated like a person. We were all encouraged to remember that the same God who made each of us also made that young man and others like him. The priest repeated: There is no one that you look at that God does not love. This story really hit home to me as my son just got a job working for a staffing company. Part of what they do is to help those who are down and out to find daily work. My son said that one of the workers commented the other day that they will show up because my son doesn’t dismiss them and treats them like people. My heart was moved all the way up to my teary eyes.

I Found God today in witnesses of those who treat others as children of God.