The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception:
And St. Matthew's, a church a few blocks from the White House JFK attended:
the inside was beautiful:
We also saw some of the famillar attractions. The Washington Monument:
The Capital:
The White House; front and back:
(And I didn't take any of these pictures, by the way).
But something I didn't really anticipate seeing was hitchhikers, beggers and homeless.
When we first got to Washington D.C., there was a man standing on the side of the road holding a sign. I couldn't read it very well, but it said he needed a ride. All this man had with him were the clothes on his back, a small bag and a radio. Tons of cars were driving past him and none of the stopped. And who knows how long he had been standing there when we drove by. Who knows if he even got a ride that day.
After going to mass at St. Matthew's, we left the church and at the bottom of the steps were two men holding paper cups and begging for money. That's sad, but this is even worse. Out of all the people coming out of that church, only a few gave them money. Most just walked right by. That bothered me; it distressed me; it gnawed at my mind; it made me want to cry. And it still bothers me. It bothers my a lot. Christians, those who profess to follow God, walked right by these two men and didn't do anything. They didn't give money, they didn't say hello, they didn't give a word of comfort. Now there were some that did, but the majority did not. In the bible Jesus says that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him. The people in that church walked passed Jesus. They walked passed Jesus and didn't do a thing. What if they had really seen Jesus standing there, begging for money? Would they have talked to Him? Would they have given Him some money? Would they invite Him to their home to share a hot meal?
This whole incident has been on my mind ever since it happened. It bugs me, the scene replays over and over. How can we call ourselves Christians and not help those in need? If Christians can't be counted on to give freely and help the poor, who can?
When we went to dinner, we came out of the metro station and there on the street outside the resturant were two or three people seating wrapping in blankets and one in a sleeping bag asleep. They were cold and probably hungry and had no place to go. We went into the warm resturant, order drinks and laugh together and later I order more food than I can eat. When we are finished, a hour or so later, we get back on the metro which takes us to our cars and we head home. That night I slept in a bed with piles of blankets in a heated house.
I am blessed. I have no idea just how blessed I am. I have a heated house to live in and yet I complain that it's too cold. My dresser and closet are full of clothes and yet I buy more. I'm hungry, and all I have to do is walk into the kitchen to get something to eat. We I want to go somewhere I just get into the car and drive. My family is around me, we do things together, we laugh together. So many people don't have all this. Some people don't have any of this. I complain that I want more when I already have plenty.
Something has to change. First of all, I have to change my thinking. I have to decide what really matters. Secondly, what about those people I encountered yesterday? What about them? How can I live my life as I have been, knowing there are people out there who have to beg for money to get their next meal? How have no place to live but have to sleep on the streets? Who depend on strangers to get from one place to another? And finally, what about the church? How does the church in America need to change to that Jesus can say to us, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and clothed me, I was sick and looked after me, I was in prison and you came and visited me," (Matt. 25:35-36) ?
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