The Man and the Church by Matt Brown

For my internship, it became a regular task for me to walk from the office to a nearby Staples to buy office supplies. Each time I would walk from the office to Staples, I would pass Saint Agnes Church. Each day I passed, without fail, there was a man outside asking for change. St. Agnes is a Catholic church on East 43^rd street, it is famous for being on one of the busiest streets in the city and it’s beautiful interior. When I asked my boss, the one who sent me to the Staples every 2 weeks or so, about the reason for such frequent panhandling and the apparent hospitality on part of the Saint Agnes church to the inhabitants of their front door, he offered a sharp answer. He coined, “Saint Agnes has always been a helping hand to the poor and downtrotten” and added whimsically, “I suppose that is what religion should be all about.”

            I do not know if people meet the criteria required to be considered a religious text, but when combined with the accidentally wise words of my boss, the reoccurring image of the panhandlers came to be a symbol of when religion at it’s best. Furthermore, it seemed deeply relevant to both the state of our American society and many of the texts discussed over the course of our semester. Regarding our society, the experience of working in a wealth management office and passing these panhandlers so often shed light on the growing force of economic inequality festering itself in our democracy and representing a pivotal talking point in our approaching presidential election. Regarding our religious texts, the good works of the Saint Agnes most directly echoes the work of Dorothy Day.  Beyond her radical politics, Day saw issues in the church order, like the “lack of a sense of responsibility for the poor” or “there was plenty of charity but too little justice” (473). 

            In her founding of “The Catholic Worker”, Day set up an organization able to provide extensive hospitality for the “poor and downtrodden”. In Day’s words they “felt a respect for the poor and destitute as those nearest to God” (474). It is these feelings of care and love for our fellow people, even those largely turned away by broader society, which composes the most beautiful apex in American religion.  The work of Dorothy Day and church’s like Saint Agnes reflect this love and the power it can hold. Moreover, each day it is growing more imperative for Americans to care for their impoverished counterparts.

            This message of care and love expands past the impoverished, but also to topics of tolerance and inclusiveness. Over our course we have seen a history of religious separatism ranging from the treatment of Catholic American immigrants to the reprehensible words of Franklin Graham against Islam or cases of discrimination against LGBT Americans. Amidst a wave of divisiveness that will live on in our nation’s history with an air of infamy, it is important that symbols like this man standing in front of Saint Agnes act as a call to assist those who need us, respect those different from us, and sow love and inclusion whilst weeding out seeds of hatred and division.