The ‘homeless’ priest

                        
A priest was assigned to his new parish, and tried an unusual method of how he can mingle with his parishioners, before they even got to meet him. So he dressed up as a homeless man, and on the day the parishioners were expecting their new priest, he arrived a little early and started to mingle with the people. Yet most people ignored him or even moved away from him. Nobody talked to him or greeted him as he moved from a group of people to a nice family hopefully to share a few words. So he decided to enter the church and a few minutes before 9AM, when the Mass was supposed to start, he rested in the front bench, all by himself, all disheveled and unkempt. Then an usher came towards him and asked him to move towards the back. He obliged and waited in the last pew.  Around 9 AM, a lector came on the podium and told the congregation that they were still waiting for the new pastor to show up. At that moment, the ‘priest’ started walking slowly through the middle aisle and went up in the sanctuary and to the podium. He cleared his voice and told the people, whose eyes now were fixed on him, ‘I hope that you all go home today, and seriously reflect on what just happened here today. Please examine your conscience and your heart. I’ll see you all next Sunday.’ The entire crowd felt very embarrassed and guilty on how they had behaved. A few were crying and others just looked at each other in disbelief, realizing how they had so negligently and uncharitably behaved. The priest was the pastor in that parish for over 10 years, but even though they may not have remembered any homilies he preached, what he did that first day was the best homily that priest ever gave to that parish.