Dressed Appropriately

December 12, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Dressed Appropriately, Zech 2:10-13, Luke 1:26-38

Twenty five years ago at about this time I was sitting in the Old Cathedral in L.A., I had finished a “date”, and was headed East to defend my Master’s thesis the next morning. I was tired, depressed, actually ready to throw the towel in. I had been a prostitute for three years, fought a church, and finished a degree and I was wondering who the hell I was. I sat down before a statue of our Lady of Guadalupe and I noticed her clothing was simple and her eyes were so kind.and in those moments I seemed to hear Christ speak through her, “I called you to ministry when you were in your mother’s womb–and in ministry you will do” And I felt a strange warmness of my heart once again and I felt so loved. From that moment my life was turned around and I also found out that our Lady was a patron saint of prostitutes–and thus she was mine. And has been mine since for she leads all who fight for injustice.

It has rained all day, and I have spent most of the day preparing food and then out on the streets. No one complained, and one young guy read me a poem he had written saying it described me, and the line that meant so much to me went like this, “you live your life however you choose, but if you choose to give it away for others you really live.” And for me that is what ministry is about “giving one’s life way for others.” Tonight I myself served over 200 people on Haight and Polk, others served far more, and as I walked by churches that were dark I thought of how they could be sheltering people from the rain, and the cold. In this City of so much wealth thousands are sleeping on the street in the rain—if we would but open our eyes and hearts and really see and feel. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

VegInspiration
Being willing to look, see, respond, and reconnect with all our neighbors and live this interconnectedness inspires us naturally to choose food, entertainment, clothing, and products that cause a minimum of unnecessary cruelty to vulnerable living beings.Dr. Will Tuttle

As we do this, we become more mindful of the ripples our actions cause in the world. Our spiritual transformation deepens, and as our sensitivity increases we yearn to bless others more and to be a voice for the voiceless