by Father Mark Goldasich
I’m not sure that she’d remember this brief conversation we had years ago. I was chatting in the chancery hallway with Benedictine Sister Barbara McCracken who worked in the archdiocesan office for social justice. She mentioned being grateful to stretch out in a bed and sleep.
I must have had a puzzled expression because she explained, “Think of all the people who have to sleep outside scrunched up in doorways or on park benches. We are so blessed.”
I never imagined what a gift it was to be able to stretch out on a bed. Since that conversation with Sister Barbara, not a night goes by without my breathing a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessing to stretch out.
Obviously, if you’ve got a bed to stretch out in, you’ve got a house surrounding it. And air-conditioning or heating. Clean water. A refrigerator. A dishwasher. A stove, microwave or air fryer . . . or all three. Electricity. Furniture. Maybe a garage. The list of these often-unappreciated blessings could go on and on.
Let me interject a story here about a tourist from a big city who was hiking through the mountains of north Georgia. Coming across the tiniest cabin he’d ever seen, he was intrigued, knocked on the door and asked, “Is anybody home?”
“Yep,” came a kid’s voice through the door.
“Is your father there?” “Pa? Nope, he left afore Ma came in.”
“Well, is your mother there?” “No, she left before I got here.”
“So then, you’re never together there as a family?” asked the tourist.
“Sure, but not here,” said the kid through the door. “This here’s the outhouse!”
That’s a funny story but housing really isn’t a funny topic.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of World Habitat Day, established by the United Nations and celebrated on the first Monday in October each year. The day invites us to “reflect on the state of our habitats and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.”
With that in mind, I retrieved a used book I bought a couple of years ago, entitled “Material World: A Global Family Portrait,” by Peter Menzel. Published in 1994, it’s chock-full of vivid color pictures and is a captivating study. Sixteen photographers were sent to 30 nations around the globe to live for a week with an “average” family for that region.
At the end of the visit, the photographers captured a picture of the family outside their dwelling, surrounded by all their possessions. It’s staggering and disconcerting to visualize how much people in the First World have compared to folks in the Third World. It’s also fascinating to see their habitats — not only their homes but the surrounding countryside.
The theme for this year’s World Habitat Day deals with urban crisis response. This is a critical issue worldwide, even in the States. Many people come to the parish asking for assistance because they’re homeless or can’t afford the rent, utilities or groceries to keep their families housed and fed.
I admire organizations like Habitat for Humanity that builds houses for the poor or the Veterans Community Project that offers 49 tiny houses for homeless veterans in Kansas City, Missouri. I commend our own Catholic Charities, the Good Shepherd Thrift Store here in Tonganoxie and the many other centers that provide so many needed services for the “forgotten” among us.
World Habitat Day is a wonderful opportunity to generously offer our time, treasure or talent to these charities that continue to be the compassionate hands and heart of Christ to our world.
And tonight, before you drift off to sleep, don’t forget to thank God for being able to stretch out!
