WORK WITH THE                            POOR AT EASTER AND MEETING JESUS AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

A NUMBER OF THE PRIESTS FROM SICM AND BISHOP RICHARD AND MYSELF  CELEBRATED A MASS IN LEICESTER SQUARE AT 3 P.M. ON MAUNDY THURSDAY.

ON ONE SIDE A STREET ARTIST WAS ENTERTAINING THE CROWDS. ON THE OTHER TWO DRUMMERS WERE FILLING THE SQUARE WITH RHYTHM.

AROUND,THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WERE PASSING BY, SOME STOPPING TO OBSERVE THE MASS, SOME SHARING IN IT, SOME RECEIVING PALM CROSSES.

AS EVENING FELL, MOST OF THE PRIESTS HAD BEGUN THEIR JOURNEY HOME  AND ONLY  BISHOP ELECT MICHAEL AND I WERE LEFT.

OUR TASK WAS TO OFFER TO THE HOMELESS AND THOSE WE ENCOUNTERED THE LOVE OF GOD. WE OFFERED  THE MASS, ANOINTING WITH OIL, THE WASHING OF FEET ( as it was Maundy Thursday ) AND ANY APPROPRIATE PRACTICAL HELP AS WELL AS GIVING £5 TO EACH PERSON.

AS AT CHRISTMAS THE EXPERIENCE WAS EXTRAORDINARY, AS THOUGH WE WERE WALKING WITH ANGELS.

WE MET AND HELPED MANY THAT NIGHT AMONG THEM:

RAM WHO I HAD MET AT CHRISTMAS. HE WAS HOPING FOR A FLAT PROVIDED THROUGH A CHARITY OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AND WAS IN GOOD SPIRITS. HE WAS DELIGHTED WITH THE £5 I GAVE HIM.

THEN GARY FROM UP NORTH. HE WANTED TO RECEIVE THE BODY OF CHRIST AND WAS GLAD TO CHAT FOR A WHILE.

DEREK WAS OVERWHELMED THAT WE STOPPED TO TALK AND ASKED US TO SIT BESIDE HIM. HE SPOKE ABOUT HIS LIFE AND HOPES, ASKED US FOR PRAYER AND THE BODY OF CHRIST AND WAS RETICENT TO ACCEPT THE £5.  WHEN WE SAID GOODBYE HE ROSE TO HIS FEET TO EMBRACE US BOTH.

MARTIN WAS 25 AND HAD BEEN ON THE STREETS FOR 5 YEARS ALREADY, WANTING TO ESCAPE AN UNHAPPY HOME. HIS SISTER SOPHIE HAD RUN AWAY MANY TIMES ALREADY BUT NOW HAD DECIDED TO ACCOMPANY MARTIN BACK DOWN TO THE STREETS OF LONDON. SHE WAS 16.  I FELT SO PROTECTIVE OF HER, IN FACT OF THEM BOTH, AS THEY LOOKED SO YOUNG, SO FAR FROM A 'HOME'. I GAVE THEM MY ADDRESS AND TOLD THEM TO GET IN TOUCH IF I COULD BE OF HELP IN THE FUTURE.

MARK CAME UP MEANWHILE. HE LOOKED VERY UNHAPPY AND LOST AND IN NEED OF LOVE.

WE SPOKE WITH COLIN WHO ASKED FOR PRAYER AND ANOINTING.

THEN MICHAEL WHO SAT WITH HIS DOG LOOKING SOMEWHAT FORLORN AS HIS NORMAL WORK AS A STREET ENTERTAINER HAD GROUND TO A HALT HAVING LOST  HIS METAL JUGGLING DIABOLA.

AS WE WALKED PAST ONE CLUB IN SOHO A TALL NEW ZEALAND BOUNCER STOPPED US TO ASK WHAT WE WERE DOING. HE WAS IMPRESSED, SAD THAT ALL THE CHURCHES WERE SHUT AND PEOPLE WERE SEPARATED FROM THEIR PRIESTS, YET HERE WE WERE BRINGING THE LOVE OF GOD TO THE PEOPLE.

BY ANOTHER CLUB TWO SCANTILY DRESSED LADIES INVITED US WITH THE PROMISE OF A GOOD '- - - -'. WE LAUGHED WITH THEM, DECLINED THE OFFER, AND OFFERED THEM THE BODY OF CHRIST INSTEAD.

ONE OF THE WOMEN SAID "NO THANKS, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THAT, MY DAD'S A VICAR!"

THEN WE WERE WALKING THROUGH PICADDILY CIRCUS WHEN I NOTICED AN OLDER MAN TUCKED INTO A CORNER OF A SHOP FRONT, SITTING CROSSED LEG AND STILL.

I STOPPED AND WENT OVER TO HIM.

I SAID HELLO, BUT HE REMAINED SILENT.

I SAT IN FRONT OF HIM AND ASKED HIM HIS NAME. HE REMAINED SILENT. I WAITED FOR A WHILE BEFORE I ASKED AGAIN.  STILL SILENCE.

HIS HAIR WAS RIGHT DOWN HIS BACK TO HIS WAIST, PLAITED, EVEN MATTED TOGETHER. HE WAS PERHAPS LATE FIFTIES. A LONG NICOTINE STAINED BEARD FELL FROM HIS CHIN AND HIS FACE WAS WELL LINED.

HIS CLOTHES WERE FILTHY, STIFF WITH THE GREASE OF YEARS AND HE WORE NO SHOES, HIS FEET ROUGH AND ENGRAINED WITH DIRT. HE SAID THAT HE HAD NOT BATHED FOR 12 YEARS.

CONSCIOUS THAT I HAD NO RIGHT TO DISTURB HIM I ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD PREFER ME TO GO.

IT WAS THEN THAT HE LOOKED AND SAID
" ITS UP TO YOU".

I ASKED AGAIN HIS NAME.

"GOD KNOWS MY NAME" HE REPLIED.

"WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?"

"HEAVEN".

I THOUGHT THAT HE WAS EITHER BEING FUNNY OR WAS SLIGHTLY DISTURBED OR WAS JUST TAKING THE…

BUT THEN I NOTICED HIS EYES. MANY OF THE EYES OF THE STREET PEOPLE ARE YELLOWY, BLOODSHOT, UNCLEAR BUT THIS MAN'S EYES WERE CRYSTAL CLEAR, SHINING, BEAUTIFUL, TWO OCEANS OF LIGHT.

I SAID SOMEWHAT NERVOUSLY,

" IF YOU DON'T MIND ME SAYING YOUR EYES ARE SO CLEAR, SO BRIGHT."

HIS ANSWER STILLED MY HEART. IN FACT FOR THE NEXT 40 MINUTES OR SO I JUST SAT SAYING VERY LITTLE  AND NOT ASKING ANY QUESTIONS BUT LISTENING TO THE WISDOM, THE DIVINE WORDS THAT FLOWED FROM THIS ENIGMATIC MAN. THE WORDS WERE WHAT HE CHOSE TO SAY...

HE SAID:

" THAT'S BECAUSE I CAN SEE. LOOK, ALL THESE PEOPLE THEY COME UP TO LONDON SEARCHING FOR LIGHT, FOOLED BY THE LIGHTS, BUT INSIDE THEM IS ONLY DARKNESS, IN THEIR HEARTS AND THEIR SOULS.

THEY CANNOT SEE THE LIGHT. THAT'S WHY THEY CANNOT SEE ME. THEY PASS ME BY, THEY LOOK AT ME AND SEE ONLY FILTH, THEY CAN'T SEE BEYOND THAT.

THIS WORLD IS FULL OF WORDS, CHURCHES ARE FULL OF WORDS, DEAFENING AND CONFUSING, BUT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THEM. THEY ARE DISTRACTIONS. SILENCE. THERE SHOULD BE SILENCE.

I SIT HERE AND I WATCH. PEOPLE FROM EVERY COUNTRY. I HAVE BEEN TO AFRICA AND JAMAICA. I WAS TAKEN THERE. I WAS  JUST LIFTED FROM HERE TO THERE. I SAW.

WE ARE HERE TO LEARN ABOUT LOVE. WE CAN ONLY LEARN TO LOVE WHEN WE REALISE WE ARE BEASTS. IN KNOWING THAT WE CAN ASPIRE TOWARDS LOVE.

IF YOU ARE A PART OF AN ORGANISATION IT IS SO EASY TO LOSE YOUR IDENTITY, THAT WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN. WE ARE ALL UNIQUE. IT IS EASY TO BE TEMPTED BY THE THINGS THAT AN ORGANISATION CAN OFFER, THE POWER, THE PRESTIGE, BUT YOU MUST ONLY SAY WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO SAY AND ONLY DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO DO.  JUST AS YOU MUST NOT WITHHOLD WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN NOR MUST YOU GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE PAST. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE. LIVE IN THE PRESENT AND WHATEVER COMES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COPE WITH.

( I ASKED WHETHER HE WANTED TO RECEIVE THE BODY OF CHRIST. HE CONTINUED… )

I AM THE BODY OF CHRIST. YOU ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. REMEMBER THAT.

WHO WAS THE BEST FRIEND OF JESUS?  LAZARUS. BECAUSE LAZARUS HAD NOTHING. ITS WHEN YOU HAVE NOTHING THAT YOU CAN HAVE EVERYTHING, THAT YOU CAN SEE.

( WITHOUT KNOWING THAT I CAME FROM SHEFIELD HE THEN SAID )

I KNOW SHEFFIELD. I KNOW IT WELL.

( I ASKED WHY HE HAD MENTIONED SHEFFIELD. HE JUST REPEATED.)

I KNOW SHEFFIELD. I KNOW IT WELL.

( I ASKED AGAIN WHY HE MENTIONED SHEFFIELD. HE JUST IGNORED MY QUESTION AND SMILED AT ME, AS HE HAD DONE THROUGHOUT, A WARM, EMRACING, KIND AND GENTLE SMILE )

DO YOU KNOW WHO THEOPHILUS WAS?

REMEMBER MEEK AND LOWLY. THEY GO WITH THE WORDS GRACE AND TRUTH.


I FELT I HAD BEEN IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS.  THAT THESE WORDS WERE FOR ME, FOR SICM, FOR THE WORLD.

I LEFT TO WALK TOWARDS THE STATION IN SOMETHING OF A DAZE.

I SAID GOODBYE TO BISHOP ELECT MICHAEL.

IN LEICESTER SQUARE I PASSED BY A YOUNG FRAIL GIRL. CHARLOTTE HAD JUST CELEBRATED HER 18TH BIRTHDAY THE PREVIOUS MONDAY AND WAS HAPPY BECAUSE SHE COULD NOW APPLY FOR CERTAIN JOBS ANDBENEFITS. SHE HAD LIVED ON THE STREETS FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS. SHE SAID IT WAS SO HARD BECAUSE UNLESS YOU HAD AN ADDRESS YOU COULDN'T APPLY FOR A JOB. I SUGGESTED SHE USED MY ADDRESS. WHEN I LEFT HER WITH £5 SHE EXCLAIMED,

"OH YOU ARE SUCH A DIAMOND"

A LITTLE FURTHER ON I MET ANNA-LOUISE. SHE HAD BEEN EVICTED AND HAD HAD TO GIVE UP HER 4 YEAR OLD INTO VOLUNTARY FOSTERING, BUT NOW THE COUNCIL WOULDN'T REHOUSE HER UNLESS SHE HAD A CHILD AND SOCIAL SERVICES WOULDN'T RELEASE THE CHILD UNLESS SHE HAD A HOME.

SO MUCH NEED.

NOT ONLY FROM THE HOMELESS. PEOPLE KEPT COMING UP TO US ASKING FOR PRAYERS FOR HEALING, ANOINTING, ADVICE. TWO YOUNG ADVERTISING EXECUTIVES SITTING DRINKING OUTSIDE A BAR, ALEX AND DAVID, ASKED US OVER TO TALK AND FOR ALEX TO RECEIVE COMMUNION.

ONE COULD MINISTER FULL TIME JUST WALKING THE STREETS.

IF YOU FEEL YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THIS WORK THEN PLEASE DO SEND ME ANY CONTRIBUTIONS.

ANY DONATIONS I RECEIVE TOWARDS THIS WORK WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE I MEET NEXT TIME I WALK THE STREETS OF LONDON OFFERING THE LOVE OF GOD IN THIS WAY.