clothing the naked

No other saint in the history of the Church entered into popular memory like St. Martin of Tours, with his mantel and his half cloak divided and donated to a beggar. The following night, Christ appears to Martin, wearing half of the cloak, to thank him.

In the Bible, nakedness is negative, seen as a result of sin (Gn 3:7), and as that of a slave being sold (Gn 37:23), of the imprisoned (Is 20:4; Acts 12:8), and of the mentally ill living in conditions of alienation (Mk 5:1-20). “They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold…. They go about naked, without clothing; hungry”. (Job 24:7-10). The Bible suggests an attitude of compassion towards nakedness in counselling, “Give clothing to the naked” (Tb 4:16); praising the one who “covers the naked with a garment” (Ez 18:16); and advising, “When you see the naked, to cover him” (Is 58:7). Therefore, in Matthew 25:36, such an action is seen as a work of mercy.

The B.O.L. foundation accepts the biblical invitation to show compassion towards the naked to provide adequate clothing for the indigent.