Some time ago , I attended the inauguration of the President of the University of Portland . It was two days of festivities and we finished early on Friday night . I was staying at a hotel in downtown Portland and when I arrived back at the hotel I was thirsty . However , I did not want to pay the price of that bottled water at the hotel , a thimble of water for $ 5 ! There was a Rite Aid store around the corner so off I go . As I was walking into the store a beautiful dog caught my attention . She was lying on the ground with all legs in the air being scratched by her owner , a homeless man sitting on the ground beside her .

As I shopped , I thought to myself that I should buy another bottle of water and some extra food just in case I decided that on the way out I would talk to this homeless man and his dog .

As I came out , I knelt down and petted the dog , starting a conversation , “ What ’ s your dog ’ s name ?” He said , “ Spooky .” I said , “ Spooky . That is an unusual name for a dog . Why did you call him Spooky ?” He said , “ Because the streets are spooky !”

He was a 25-year-old man named Michael . He had been on the streets over six years . In the ensuing half hour conversation , as I was sitting beside him petting his dog , we had a profound encounter that changed my life . I asked how he ended up this way ; there was

no apparent reason , no alcohol , no drug abuse , no apparent mental illness . I asked , “ Michael . What ’ s your story ? Why are you on the streets at such a young age ?”

He said , “ My mother died when I was young and my father beat me so I decided it was safer out of the house . I left .” I said , “ Didn ’ t you have any relatives to go to ?” He responded , “ Yeah . I went to my grandparents and I lived with them for a while until both of them died . I had nowhere else to go so I went to the streets . That was six years ago when I was 18 .”

After lots of conversation , I asked , “ What can I do for you , Michael ?” He replied , “ Can you give me a job ?” I replied , “ I don ’ t live here . I live in San Jose .” He retorted , “ Can you give me a job in San Jose ?” I wasn ’ t expecting that one ! I said , “ If you make your way to San Jose , I can probably get you a job .” But then I asked him , “ What can I do for you tonight ?” And he said , “ Nothing . You have already done it . You ’ ve done something that nobody has done for me in months . You ’ ve talked to me ; you ’ ve treated me like a human being . I haven ’ t felt this good in months !”

I pressed further , “ But is there anything else I can do for you tonight ?” He said , “ Could you buy me a warm meal ?” I said , “ Sure . Where do you want to go ?” He quickly added , “ There

is a street merchant over there that sells meals for $ 5 .” I inquired , “ If I give you that money , will you really buy a meal . You won ’ t use it for drugs or alcohol ?” He smiled and added , “ No . I don ’ t drink or do drugs .” After giving him money for more than a few good meals , I asked “ Is there anything else I can do for you ?” “ Can I have your phone number ?” he quickly asked . I pushed back , “ Yeah , I can give you my phone number but what will that do for you ?” He thought for a moment and added , “ In a couple of weeks or months , when I don ’ t feel good about myself maybe I will call you and talk to you ? And feel good just for a few more moments . It was sure nice talking to someone !”

When I left him , and went back to my hotel with my bottle of water , I wasn ’ t able to sleep . I paced my room to figure out the injustice of our world ; how it happens that a 25-year-old has become so hopeless , so desperate that he lives on the streets begging .

The sadness for me was I didn ’ t actually see him . I saw his dog and then I saw him . How pathetic is it that I don ’ t even see the human being first . I was ashamed of myself . As scripture says in the responsorial psalm , MY heart was hardened !

I do not have the solution for why homelessness happens . I am not going to judge why Michael is on the streets or

how he got there . I do know this ; there is not a lot of difference between him and me ! Whether it was my good fortune and his bad fortune ; my apparent good choices and his apparent bad choices . He ends up in a place where he needs help . I am in a place where I can give help . So , I helped him but I still feel helpless !

In today ’ s Scripture , Jesus is telling the Pharisees and scribes that these gifts have been given to the people to share . Sometimes our mistake is that we think the gifts we have been given are for us . Jesus , in today ’ s Scripture , is saying , “ It is given to all and you must produce the fruit .”

I know we get messengers in our own life who help us break open the presence of God . In this case , it was a homeless man , Michael and his dog , Spooky . Are we willing to hear the messengers that God puts in our lives to wake us up to reality ?

This week the Lord asks us not to harden our hearts . He asks us to produce good fruit with what we have been given . We are asked to listen to the messengers in our life and to allow our heart to be softened ; to hear the message of God in our life . Now that may be a homeless man for you ; maybe it might be your spouse ; it might be a child or a parent or a perfect stranger . Harden not our hearts ; may we open our hearts and hear the call of God .

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