May 3, 2025 
by M. Regina Cram
There’s a passage in the Old Testament that bugged me. God was rebuking His people because He disliked their fasting. Oh sure, they were skipping meat on Fridays, or whatever they did in ancient Israel, but they were living terrible lives. “This is the fast I choose,” God had said, “to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger . . . when you see the naked, to cover him . . .”
I understand providing for the hungry, the oppressed, and the homeless. However, the part that baffled me was covering the naked when I saw them. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see many naked people in my town. How am I supposed to obey if I don’t come across the need?
Never underestimate God.
It was a chilly Wednesday morning, and I was racing out to Mass. I grabbed the closest jacket (which belonged to my husband), hastily slipped it over my head, and sped off.
As I hurried down the quiet lane to the church, I noticed a police cruiser driving toward me, lights flashing. The officer was panning house numbers, evidently searching for the origin of a 911 call. Just as the officer passed me and disappeared up what turned out to be the wrong driveway, a frenetic woman ran into the road, shrieking in terror. Her feet and legs were bare, and she was wrapped in a bedspread. An angry-looking man behind her alternately screamed and begged her to return.
I didn’t want to leave the scene until the woman was safe, so I pulled over and beckoned her into my car.
She quickly climbed in. The poor woman was frantic. It was hard to understand her, but it was clear the man had dragged her out of the shower and beaten her. Terrified, she grabbed a bedspread and ran.
I peeled off Peter’s jacket and helped the woman pull it over her head. She was freezing. And I wondered, what kind of fear would induce a woman to run into the road wearing only a bedspread?
I drove toward the driveway where the officer had disappeared, intercepting him as he reemerged. With kindness, he helped the young woman into his cruiser. Two additional police cars arrived to deal with the angry man, who was still begging the woman to return. I gave what little information I had, wished the woman well, and continued on my way, shaken.
A week later, I saw a moving truck emptying the contents of the small house. I never learned what happened. I hope the woman is safe.
When I returned home after Mass that day, I told my husband I’d given away his favorite fleece jacket. Only then did I realize what God had done. He’d demonstrated that even here, in a sleepy New England town, people can be hungry and naked and oppressed. And if we wish to please God, we must care for them with generosity and love, as God, in His tenderness, cares for us.
Isaiah 55: 4-9
M. Regina Cram is a published author and parishioner of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish.
