About Mychal's Message: Updates

It was Saturday, October 25th, 2003. There was a chill in the air, and we put on our warm coats and gloves. We were on West 31st Street in Manhattan, right outside St. Francis of Assisi Church. It was 6:30 in the morning, and the Breadline would begin in just 30 minutes. About 200 homeless men and women lined the street waiting for their free sandwich and cup of coffee, offered to them each morning at that same time since 1929. Today, they would all receive Winter coats as well - your "second coats" would become their first.

The coats, over 300 of them, were piled in mountains along the sidewalk, all thanks to generous donors from across the United States. There were various sizes, colors and styles, all ready to be given away to our homeless friends this cold Autumn morning.

Father Cassian arrived and greeted us with a warm, friendly smile.

There were five of us handing out coats this morning. Father Cassian helped us by distributing Halloween candy bags we had brought along.

Before we knew it, it was 7:00. We put our arms around each other and prayed, prayed for everyone who sent a coat and everyone who would receive one.

* Around 6:30, half an hour before the Breadline would begin, we saw one man rise from his "bed," a cold cement step on the St. Francis Friary stairway. He folded up his blankets, put them in a bag, stretched, and walked down the stairs to greet the friars on the Breadline. His day had begun. He woke up on the street.

Two other men across the street rose from their "beds," the sidewalk. They ran across the street before the Breadline began to take some coats from the pile we had brought with us. They ran with their coats back across the street and quickly put them on. One of them had taken a warm, army coat. Earlier that morning, we had commented about that coat - "You could march across Europe on the coldest day of the year in that coat," we had said. We were glad one of the men whose bed was a sidewalk now wore that coat. The men climbed back into their "beds."

* One man was looking for a trench coat. We found one. "That looks like it's from the 70's," he said, "I need something a little more hip." Shannon kept searching and finally found one that he just loved. He asked her, "How do I look?" "Great," she told him. He said to her, "You know - I don't want to look homeless or anything!" He looked into a glass window in front of the church to see his reflection and said, "I feel like I'm shopping at Macy's!"

* One man proudly displayed his street-length hair and explained that he'd been growing it for 25 years. It reached the sidewalk. Shannon and her friend, Sara (one of our volunteers) thought it was amazing!

* When "Rose" showed up, looking very lovely in her red lipstick, she was smiling. She needed a coat. A long, black leather coat suited her perfectly and she walked away smiling from ear to ear, as we recalled the woman who donated it.

* One quiet, gentle man asked us if we had brought any sneakers with us. There were a few pair we'd brought along, and we brought them out when asked. For this man, there was a pair of warm, leather Timberland half-boots. He almost danced on the street with joy in his new shoes! His sneakers had broken laces and several holes in the bottom. Interesting coincidence OR Father Mychal’s helping hand: among the few pairs of sneakers and shoes we had brought with us were just the right sizes for the men who needed them. (We know which it is.)

*Things were moving along smoothly, and everyone was accommodated, when two men approached the Line. One of them pointed to the pile of coats and said to the other, "Now where were they when the Hawk was chasing me?" Curious, we had to ask, "Who is the Hawk?" They both replied: "You don't know about the Hawk? The Hawk is the COLD." We gave them each a warm coat. We hoped and prayed that these men would no longer be chased by "the Hawk," but rather be greeted by "the Dove" (the Holy Spirit).

* After receiving his coat, one man offered us the one he'd come with. We asked him to keep it - to layer and keep warmer. He responded, "I don't need 2. Give it to someone else who needs it." It was then that we realized that your SECOND coats had become their FIRST.