Saints Among Us

Driving downtown Thanksgiving morning the streets were noticably empty. There were a few homeless people sleeping on the downtown sidewalks - always sad to see esp. when the weather is wet and cold. There was a long line in front of one of the Missions - maybe waiting for a Thanksgiving meal. It seemed like the only other people on the street were coming to Mass.

I was glad to be at the Downtown Chapel. It reminds me of Cincinnati's Drop Inn Center. Inside the chapel there are no windows. Except for 14 small plaques of the Stations along the back wall and simple seasonal decoration behind the altar, the walls are plain white. The pews are in a semi-circle around the altar with a piano/organ to the left. The altar is up a couple steps higher than the main floor, much like the podium and TV at the Drop Inn Center. You can see why I felt at home when I first came here 4 years ago.

The congregation was small. I counted 30 all together. But the people who attended are people that make you wonder about the existance of a "holy underground". There are a couple old men with walkers and a single mom with her 10 yr. old son. There were a couple homeless people with their bags containing all their possessions, sometimes sitting quietly alone, sometimes praying aloud in tongues. And there's one old woman, tall and lean, dressed always in black with ankle length skirts and what we used to call "nunny shoes". I've seen her often on the streets and at the cathedral, too. Where do they all live? What draws them here? Especially on this quiet morning with thanks in our hearts?