" At Christmas time several years ago, Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz noticed a homeless person a corner in downtown Toronto, so wrapped up in a sleeping bag to keep warm that he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. This is Jesus was Schmalz' first reaction.
The Catholic artist decided to create a bronze sculpture of the tired Jesus, wrapped in a blanket except for his feet. Despite the artist's hope to place a homeless Jesus in every major city, the statue had difficulty finding a home. In Schmalz' home Diocese of Toronto, st. Michael's Cathedral declined to accept the statue. St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York also turned it down.
But when Pope Francis blessed the sculpture at one of his weekly general audiences and called it a "beautiful piece of art:, interest in the bronze sculpture increased.
Today the Jesus the Homeless statue (which is based on Chapter 25 of Matthew) can be found in several locations, including Chicago, Rome, North Carolina and at the University of Toronto's Regis College."
This Lent - can we find Jesus the Homeless in our thoughts and what we do for those in need?
(1.) from The Little Black Book, Six-minute meditations on the Passion according to Luke
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