October 3, 2005
Today’s Gospel reading of the Good Samaritan and the approaching feast of our holy father, Saint Francis, turn my thoughts to the story of Saint Francis’ embrace of the leper. He tells us in his Testament that when he overcame his repulsion and embraced Christ in disguise “what was formerly bitter was changed to sweetness.” This was a major step in his conversion.
Most of us may not be so repulsed by the poor or outcasts in society, but there are times when we fail to see Christ in them. I was on duty at our St. Padre Pio Shelter for homeless men recently, and awoke in a grumpy mood after a night of very little sleep because of a series of wake-ups by some of our guests. As I stepped out of the friars’ office where we sleep I was immediately greeted cheerfully by one of our guests named Solomon, who gave me a great bear hug and said “I love you brother!” I was not at all happy to be greeted that way at 5 AM before my eyes or mind had begun to focus.... However, after a cup of tea I thought about what had happened and realized that was indeed Jesus who had taken the initiative to embrace me (like Saint Francis’ leper, vice-a-versa!). With that in mind it really made my day, and even changed my grumpiness to gratitude, my “bitterness to sweetness.”
I often ask Solomon, who spends a lot of time in our chapel at the shelter, for a good word for the day. Here are a few that I remember: “Jesus is worth it!”; “I just want to trust Him”; and “God is so much better to me than I am to myself!” Solomon spends much of his time in the evenings working on his reading and writing skills, but he certainly lives up to his name with a wisdom that often escapes the clever and influential people of this world.
We trust that you will be in solidarity with us as we celebrate the life of our seraphic father, Saint Francis and pray that he will intercede for you as for us to embrace Christ and to be embraced by Him, our Divine Good Samaritan, when we least expect it!
Fr. Richard Roemer, CFR
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