22 years of Serving and Learning from the Homeless

The following are the reflections of Robin Polastri, shared as she stepped down from the Board of St. Anthony Foundation.

In the Footsteps of St. Francis

Fear and doubt are strange emotions. They can stop us in our tracks from taking an unfamiliar step; from heeding our heart’s desire; from venturing forth with courage and confidence; from falling with abandon into the reliable arms of the One who created All.

St. Francis, upon his conversion, must have experienced some pricklings of both fear and doubt as he turned away from the privileged, unexamined life he had known, eyes opened by the inanities and cruelties of war and by the graceless poverty and suffering God revealed to him.

And yet, Francis stood humbly before Sultan and Pope, filled with the Power that comes from the One, and the world turned as a result. Francis of The Leper, Francis of the Begging Bowl, Francis of the Re-Turn to the Rightness of Creation.

This is what has inspired me over the 22 years I have been associated with the St. Anthony Foundation. I arrived at St. Anthony’s Dining Room in September of ’89 full of fear and doubt, and thus began the shifting of my world view.

1) Celia, a heavily pierced and tattooed Dining Room volunteer, taught me the lesson of turning toward what we fear and don’t understand instead of away. Our mutual hello led to several years of on-going friendship outside the Dining Room.

2) Larry, a very frail, mentally-impaired man with notoriously poor hygiene, taught me that even I can offer up a prayer on the street when asked to enter into that Sacred Space by one considered an Untouchable.

3) Patty and Walt, Dining Room guests, taught me you can’t be too bold when asking for help, as they beseeched me to assist with getting the Living Room back in service, for surely “there’s a lot of money out there – can’t you get somebody to donate some?”

4) James taught me that sometimes we get called to do things we cannot imagine, like becoming someone’s “Person,” bulldogging the system to get what’s needed, being there on the way into the operating room and ultimately, distributing all that remains of the worldly goods.

5) Tommy taught me how you get old when you’re poor and how joy manages to remain even though clouded by multiple veils. Our last visits together included lots of coffee, coke and chocolate. Once again, I was the one who received the call of the passing of a Dear One.

6) A woman on the streets taught me to understand what it means to truly rest in the embrace of the One as she exuberantly cried “I’m blessed!, I’m blessed!!” when I asked her, “how’re you doin?”

7) The residents of Father Alfred Center have taught me that even if you fail once, you should keep on trying, no matter how hard it is, because next time things might work out.

Every time I jumped over the River of Fear and Doubt, I have been richly rewarded, for the terrain on the other side has added to what I know of the world. I learned these things and so much more by direct encounter and I am grateful that God kept calling me to come to St. Anthony’s so many years ago, grateful that I learned to walk with instead of walk by.

Francis stood in all humility, which was the source of the power of his message. Before Sultan and Pope, the Power of Francis broke minds open.  Before the Leper, the Compassion of Francis healed broken spirits. Before the Privileged, the Begging Bowl of Francis moved hearts to share.

What didn’t come today would surely come tomorrow. What was needed would surely come in time. What seems impossible to do will surely be done.

So, to “Celia” and “Larry,” and “Patty and Walt” and James and Tommy and the Blessed Woman, and the guys at Father Alfred Center, I say thank you for being vessels through which I have encountered St. Francis. I thank the Board for the opportunity to have served. May we all be blessed with opportunities to “walk with,” to extend our Begging Bowls in humble confidence, and for hearts and minds open to the lessons the One puts before us, helping us see the Kingdom as it was meant to be.