Catholic Guilt and Beggars

I had a really hard time with the google on this one. Lots of sites were for musicians and BDSM (If you don't know what this means, don't expect me to explain it to you). Probably because so many of us can relate to it. I suffer from a severe case of Catholic Guilt in my everyday life. Trying to do the "right" thing, but oh so often being swayed to bid the work of EVIL.

Also, the link above is for the first link when I googled the title of this post. If you read mid-page about his new release you might realize why not many people are running out to buy this album.

I had to call Janie (AKA Mom) at work today to get her opinion on a particular matter concerning Catholic Guilt and beggars. There are lots of beggars in Houston. I see them everyday holding signs at busy intersections. Today I had to go run an errand during my lunch hour so I just picked up a meal to take back to work. As I was walking to my car a man walked up to me and asked me for food. Now, as usual, my first instinct was to say no. When people approach you like that, you already have a response ready. So I quickly hopped into my car and drove off. At the first stop sign I dialed the magic number to Janie's desk. I had to know how she would handle the situation. It took about 5 seconds for the guilt to sink in. He wasn't asking me for money, he was asking for food. YIKES!!!!

Janie said that she didn't know what she would do in that situation. Due to the lack of beggars in the hometown, population 800, it's not something she is confronted with at all. I told her that there were many other things I was going to burn in hell for, so I wasn't concerned that this would be the straw that broke the camel's back. BUT, I felt guilty none the less. So, I asked the lunch ladies what they would have done. The lunch ladies are the women I work with and generally eat lunch with almost everyday. THEY thought I should have given him my lunch. I know I didn't need to eat those yummy chicken strips with a side of jo jo's and green bean casserole, but I was hungry (not starving, but hungry).

So as I savored the crunchy coating on the chicken and the yummy goodness of the green bean casserole, I thought of the beggar and hoped that someone out there was less selfish than myself. From now on though I will keep a sack lunch of non-perishable items in my car so I can toss it to a beggar as I drive away.