HOLY CLOUT

In Homeless Nation, we have no politicians, statesmen, precinct captains, ward healers, lobbyists and such, so we have no clout in city hall, the governor's office, the Congress or on Wall Street.

But, we have clout where it really counts. Up there in Heaven.

Yup, we have our own patron saint. St. Benedict Joseph Labre, and Lo and Behold, today is his feast day.

Now, when you consider that the Roman Catholic church has a patron saint for just about everybody and everything - I mean, there are patron saints for the internet; television; puppeteers; ecology; gall bladders, and even politicians.

And there's a patron saint for ice skaters. Saint Lydwina. She's a saint because she took a nasty fall on the ice and lived out her life as a suffering invalid. St. Sebastian is the patron saint of archers because he was the target of archers, and he is depicted on his medals stuck through with about a hundred arrows. Go figure.

Then you have St. Christopher. He used to be the patron saint of travelers....and probably of all of the many merchants who sold those millions and millions of St. Christopher medals that people hung around their necks when they visited various places, and on their horses and carts and later on the rear view mirrors of their cars.

Chris must have ticked somebody off up there, because he was demoted to Mr. Christopher.

He will probably be replaced someday as the patron saint of travelers by that charasmatic British guy who owns Virgin Airlines.

Anyway, our saint, St. Benedict Joseph Labre is the real McCoy. He was French. We won't hold that against him. He was born into a family of fifteen children. Dad was a prosperous shopkeeper. St. Benedict had a vocation when he was very young. He ditched the prosperous life and tried out at a few monasteries for a position as a monk. They didn't want him because they thought he was a little off in the head, and thus...not suited to the rigors of monastic life.

So he ditched that idea, and joined the Third Order of Saint Francis as a traveling monk, took the vow of poverty, abandoned his rich parents whom he loved deeply, and his country and became a mendicant/pilgrim/ascetic and visited all of the famous places of Christian devotion throughout Europe.

He traveled light. In his backpack was only a prayer book and a bible. He didn't have a change of clothes so he bacame known for his ragged appearance.and he never washed, so uh, you knew when he was around.

He did marvelous things. He cured other homeless people of their illnesses. He multiplied bread for them so that they could eat. And though he sometimes begged, he most often let people give to him of their own accord, and when he was given what he thought too much, he would, in turn give it away, even if it was only a penny.

Ha! Imagine this guy flying a sign at an intersection: "Homeless and lovin' it, don't give me nothin".

Ok, so St. Benedict finally made it to Rome. He slept in the ruins of the Colosseum, traveled every day to his favorite church, doing good things for people along the way, and continued to do good works. And sometimes he levitated. And he still didn't wash his clothes or eat much.

One day, he collapsed due to malnutrition. The priests at the church where he hung out, The Church of Santa Maria del Monti, carried him back there, where, after a few days he died, and they buried him right there at the church, which is now his shrine. He was only thirty-five.

St. Benedict became very famous throughout Europe after his death for all of the miracles he had performed when he was alive, and for the miracles attributed to him by people praying to him for his intercession.

That's how you become a saint. You suffer a whole lot, do good things and then do good things even after you're dead. And so St. Benedict Joseph Labre the traveling/mendicant/ ascetic was cannonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII.

St. Benedict, like probably all saints nowadays is a multi-tasker. Not only is he our patron saint, he is also the patron saint of bachelors, rejects, mental illness, beggars and hobos.
And we are very proud of him, and proud to be represented by him up there in heaven.

Now, that's some kind of holy clout.