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January 13, 2022This week when the weather (briefly!) turned warmer, I went to put on my medium-temperature-weight-coat, from among the coats we have hanging on our coat rack. It quickly occurred to me that I’d given it away at Christmas, during the beautiful Christmas Eve Mass at St. James.
I was surprised at my reflexive thoughts; what a bummer! I liked that coat! It’s the perfect weight for today’s balmy 40’s; my puffer coat will be too warm.
But pretty quickly I felt embarrassed by my reaction. Too warm? This is my complaint? Good Lord. I took a minute to pray for whoever is wearing that coat now, whoever they are. I hope they’ve noticed the cool inner pocket, and that it’s given them whatever protection they’ve needed. And I asked God to remind me (again!) that I have more than I need, and that, as St. Basil the Great said, “The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests, belongs to the naked; the footwear mouldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes. The silver that you keep hidden in a safe place belongs to the one in need.” (You can read his whole homily here. It’s short but convicting!)
It’s funny how this one act of generosity is echoing through my life these days, and honestly, I’m feeling greedy for more. I didn’t expect to feel better with fewer things, but I really am starting to. I’m starting to eye the extras in my house and feel… overloaded. I think I want this to be the year I stop “stealing from the poor.”
We’ve heard great things from people who were at our Christmas Masses, who gave their coats right off their backs; but also from people who just couldn’t do it, or who went home with changed hearts. We’d love to hear from you, too; if you weren’t there, you can watch it here: listen to Fr. Murray's homily (starting at 24:00) and then watch what happens starting at around 52:20.
Happy New Year, everyone. May this be the year we love like Jesus!
