[Magdalen] Please pray for Daniel

[Ginga Wilder]

Yes, Jay.  That is my first prayer.

I asked Daniel if he had been snorting anything that would make his nose
bleed.  O, NO, Mama,  I am not a drug addict, I am just an alcoholic.  And,
from my pew, he has liver trouble in spades.

Ginga

On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 2:18 PM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> Your priest was right, of course. And perhaps Daniel's friend will get him
> to a doctor or the ER, or at least take care of him.
>
> On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Ginga Wilder <gingawilder at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > When Jesus came to church
> >
> > Ash Wednesday, 2015.  Jesus came to church.
> >
> > He was already there when I arrived.  Several people asked me to go speak
> > with him.  He was sitting in the front pew, the one without anything in
> > front to lean on.
> >
> > A young man, around the age of my sons.  Handsome with thinning, black
> > curly hair.  His name was Daniel.  When I shook Daniel’s hand in
> greeting,
> > I noticed that he was feverish.  His nose was running and his eyes were
> > bleary.  He wreaked of alcohol.  He called me ‘Mama’ and asked if he
> could
> > stay here for church, near the altar.  Of course.
> >
> > Can we take you to a doctor or medical clinic or hospital?  Oh, no,
> Mama, I
> > don’t want to go to the doctor, the hospital.  He cried.  Just let me sit
> > here by the altar.  Sure, I said.  He had been on the streets for several
> > weeks.  His mother had died and his wife had left him.  He asked for a
> ride
> > to a friend’s house where he could stay.  He did not ask for money, just
> to
> > stay at the altar for a while and to catch a ride.
> >
> > I went to the back of the church and sat with a friend.  Immediately, I
> > remembered these words, “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving
> your
> > neighbor as yourself.”  After a few minutes, I told my friend that I
> > thought I was to go sit with Daniel on that front pew with no support in
> > front.  He was still weeping.  When the priest began to read the liturgy,
> > Daniel, assisted by alcohol, fell asleep.  I watched him through the
> > service, paying little attention to the priest.
> >
> > I beheld Daniel.  It was then that I noticed how jaundiced he was but
> that
> > actually did not register until later, after the service.   All I could
> do
> > was watch him.  I wondered if he might awake and be sick, or become loud
> or
> > violent, but I did not think that would happen.  He slept until the end
> of
> > the service.  As the congregation left in silence, another parishioner, a
> > man, and I questioned Daniel.  His nose began to bleed.  I found tissues
> > for him.  No, he did NOT want to go to a doctor.
> >
> > I just need a ride to my friend’s house but first, may I pray at the
> > altar?  Daniel knelt at the altar, weeping and praying quietly.  He was a
> > Baptist, he said later.  I was compelled to kneel with him and to pray
> for
> > him.  He stayed there as long as he needed.  We asked a final time if we
> > could take him to a doctor.  No.  Just a ride to my friend’s…he will take
> > me in.  So, the other parishioner took Daniel to his friend’s house about
> > 15 miles away.  He learned more about Daniel while the rode together.  We
> > know Daniel’s family, his parents are dead.
> >
> > Our priest said to me as he was leaving the church building, that was
> > Jesus, the young man who came to church.  We have added Daniel to our
> > prayer list.
> >
> > I wonder if we might have taken him for medical care.  I know he is sick.
> > We did take him to a warm house where his friend lived.
> >
> > Please pray for Daniel.
> >
> > Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.
> >
>