Conversation With A Homeless Veteran

Last evening on my return home from the gym to the car I had a chance to chat with a homeless veteran of the Iraq war.  His name was Jay.  Why he was homeless I still am not entirely sure.

I asked him why he did not move back with his parents.  He was a bit reluctant with his reply.  I asked if they were divorced.  He admitted with a sound that was hardly audible but the pain that he conveyed was clear.  Then he told me that they lived in Pennsylvania, that he was a divorced father of three girls whom he loved dearly.   He also told me he was bipolar and about his other health issues, and was taking methadone for pain prescribed by the VA hospital.

I asked him if he was Catholic since he was camped out under a display window in front of the office of the Archdiocese showing a Nativity Scene.  His answer was no but that he was spiritual, that there was one God with many names for different cultures, including Allah, and they are all about being good.  He told me many other things while I was freezing in my workout shorts.

One of the things he said was that he knew about the time before he was born.  He also said that Original Sin existed before anyone was born, that Free Will was inherent in the spirit form before birth, and that as soon as the spirit chose freely to leave God to be born, sin was committed, and then there was the flesh and "everything goes."  And he laughed.

I grinned.  Then I told him that I, too, knew about the time before my birth, although our analysis of what came after was different.  I did not expand on it too much because I was ready to leave.

Then he said, "You were, before you were, before you were." That was so cryptic that it took me some time to decipher after I got home.  I would have to ask him I was right if I see him next time.

He wanted to meet up again.  I told him where and when he could find me on Sunday.  It would be at Mass.

He is in my mind an "angel incarnate" to do the work of God [1] in this darkening, God-irrelevant world even though he now has a few issues that need to resolved before he takes his next steps.  I believe that they will be, and that his current station in life is preparing him well for the challenges ahead.


[1] At one point, he indicated that he wanted to protect children.  With his success in shielding them from Satan's influence, those in the business of saving adult souls would have less work to do and more time for fun, wholesome fun.