“For of His Bread He Hath Given to the Poor”: An Obituary for Gilbert

“He that is inclined to mercy shall be blessed: for of his bread he hath given to the poor.” Proverbs 22:9

“I am sending this to everyone I know in hopes that it will inspire those who are open…if you ever see a homeless person on the street and you can’t buy them a meal or even pray with them, please, at the least, give them a few minutes of your time to talk to them…ask them about their childhood, life, & family…please don’t walk by and ignore them…regardless if you think whether or not they deserve to be where they are in life, they deserve the same dignity and respect as any other person… that homeless person is someone’s parent, someone’s child, someone’s sibling, someone’s relative…you may be pleasantly surprised after hearing that individual’s story…”

My wife posted this on Facebook in 2013 after we found out that a very close friend of ours, as close as family, had passed away.

His name was Gilbert.

We first met Gilbert in a somewhat unorthodox way.

We happened to be driving down a street when my wife said, “Wait!… Pull over! I just saw Jesus-in-disguise! And he needs our help!”

“Jesus-in-disguise” was Gilbert, a homeless man who looked weak, fragile, skin-and-bones, with one eye missing, in his late 60′s, literally laying in a pile of garbage.

My wife’s inspiration in regards to the help that was needed was Gilbert’s living arrangements. She figured his “house” could use a little cleaning. So we grabbed some trash bags, approached the man, and introduced ourselves. He said his name was Gilbert and he was embarrassed that we were offering to help clean, but we insisted that God called us to it, for which he was very grateful.

We ended up going back later that day with some dinner, to sit with him and get to know him better. We discovered he had been a San Fernando Valley native for his entire life. We also learned he was a landscaper, a gardener, a cook, and a mechanic as a younger man, and that he had considered seminary at one point to become a priest. He ended up falling in love with Joanna, whom he eventually married. She was called to her eternal home in 1985, and Gilbert was never really the same after losing her. In mid-sentence often, he would call out her name, and on numerous occasions would say he looked forward to seeing her again… One day, in the next life, with God.

He enthusiastically spoke of oldies music, classic cars, and the Bible. He loved to pray with us. At times, I would lead. Other times, he would. And he loved coffee with only sugar.

A very touching and personal story that will always stay with me was when I offered to buy him lunch one day. As I got ready to leave, he said, “Wait, mijo!” He pulled out a pocket full of quarters, dimes, and crumpled dollar bills. “Here… It’s everything I have! Get yourself something, too!”

He used to plead for us to not leave him. He loved having company, to have people to talk with. It was not uncommon for him to repeat stories from time to time, but I always acted as if it was brand new information. After all, he always had a rush of joy telling stories about how he fell in love with Joanna, and how much he could not wait to see her again one day.

Gilbert was very open and honest about the mistakes he had made in life, and how they led him to his life as a stranger on the streets. It pained him to no end that he could not go back in time and take back his introduction to heroin, which had cost him so many loved ones, friends, family, jobs, money, years, and even one of his eyes. However, he was also very open about how God gives all of us second chances, and third chances, and fourth chances, and so on. He firmly believed that God’s love never gives up on any one of us.

I remember one day when I was complaining about how confusing and frustrating life could be… especially when it seemed God was utterly silent and distant. Gilbert patiently allowed me to vent, then smiled and said, “Mijo, look at me. You want to talk about confusion and frustration? I am missing an eye. I am destined to die alone as some nobody on a cold street. I am lonely, mijo. But you want to know something? I know for a fact that God is not distant. I know for a fact that God cares! You want to know how I know this? Because God brought you and your wife to me. And I don’t deserve love or attention, but God continues to give them to me through you.”

I will miss seeing Gilbert’s enthusiastic Rocky-like arm thrusts in the air, and hearing his cheers, whenever we’d park our car and approach him. Our goal was to ensure that if and when God called Gilbert to his eternal home with Joanna, that in his final moments and breaths, Gilbert would know he was not departing as an unknown nobody. He was known by someone… he was a friend to someone… and that he would be missed when he leaves.

That he would know, with certainty, his departure from this earthly life would leave a void in our hearts.

My wife and I were heartbroken when we learned that our friend, our brother, our Jesus-in-disguise, Gilbert Aguirre, passed away and graduated into the next phase of life. We had spent close to 3 years with him, visiting him as often as 4 or 5 times a week. We both fought back tears and held hands as we drove to the spot where we first met him.

It was providential that about a month before he died, I asked if he wanted to make a good Confession to a priest. He had not been to Confession in almost 30 years. He cried and said he could not walk, and I told him not to worry. The next day, I arrived with a priest from a nearby parish. I walked back to my car to give them privacy as Gilbert confessed in tears for close to a half hour. He then received absolution, and Holy Communion for the first time in decades. Little did I know that we only had a couple weeks left with him at that point.

Who is the Jesus-in-disguise in your midst? Go to them, and bring peace and hope and purpose with you as gifts of grace. You might be pleasantly surprised… They just might end up being the one to bring a little hope and purpose and peace back into your life.

Rest in paradise, Gilbert. We pray you are holding hands with Joanna again. See you one day…

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.