The Homeless are The Monks and Nuns of The Past

I have come to believe that ¼ of the homeless of today would have been the monks and nuns of the past. If we as a society started viewing these people as we are meant to, seeing the face of Christ when we look at them, then we would see the great potential that they carry within them, and the world would be a better place. We just have to open our heavenly eyes and see them for what they are.

I know this young homeless woman, Daisy, who doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do drugs, is chaste, and is deeply spiritual and dedicated to God, has mystical experiences, and lives communally with other women—now historically what would she have been? A nun. I know several other homeless women who are similar. Same for men, I know several who are deeply spiritual and sleep in a room full of other men, such as my friends Patrick, Steve, and others, these men would historically have been monks. So why aren’t they?

There are several reasons:

In some cases, like with Daisy, the Protestant Reformation is partly to blame, as some of these people were not raised Catholic, and therefore don’t even realise that becoming a nun or a monk might be a viable and rewarding vocation for them, that it may be the exact lifestyle they feel called to, but they are unaware of how monks and nuns live and what they do.

And that leads into the next factor, The Church doesn’t promote Religious Life enough. It often doesn’t show people the lives that Religious live, and it especially isn’t showing this to homeless people—it should! You never know who you will inspire by a simple video, field trip, or guest speaker. Modern misguided sensibilities might say, “Eeeww, we don’t want homeless people as monks and nuns!” But people should release that perhaps the reason these people ar homeless is that their calling is to become monks and nuns, but they haven’t found that calling yet, because they are unaware of it.

If churches had more Houses of Hospitality and Agronomic Universities, it could easily promote Religious Life to those who are perhaps prime for such a vocation, those who are already living communial lives of poverty and deep faith. I am certain that these homeless historically made up a good percentage of the monks, nuns, hermits, and mystics of old. If we love as God instructs us, looking after the homeless and those in need, we would foster the great saints as of old, and be blessed with insights and wisdom.