Something more than mere dollars and cents
After my daughter’s graduation from 8th grade this past May, we decided to celebrate with my mother, who was unable to attend the actual ceremony due to health reasons. What seemed like an ordinary outing turned into an eye-opening experience for not only me but, more importantly, for my children. Without sharing too many details, my mother was in need of help which my children tried their best to provide. In an attempt to spare me any difficulty due to my recent knee surgery, my children assured me they had the situation under control. Unbeknownst to me however, the situation was far from under control. My oldest daughter took the lead trying her best to manage, but the circumstances proved too overwhelming.
After my daughter’s graduation from 8th grade this past May, we decided to celebrate with my mother, who was unable to attend the actual ceremony due to health reasons. What seemed like an ordinary outing turned into an eye-opening experience for not only me but, more importantly, for my children. Without sharing too many details, my mother was in need of help which my children tried their best to provide. In an attempt to spare me any difficulty due to my recent knee surgery, my children assured me they had the situation under control. Unbeknownst to me however, the situation was far from under control. My oldest daughter took the lead trying her best to manage, but the circumstances proved too overwhelming.
Many people passed by ignoring what was transpiring, yet at the precise moment when my daughter was at a complete loss, a woman in her mid-30s enjoying an outing with her friends noticed my daughter and asked, “Are you ok?” Uncharacteristically, my confident, strong, independent daughter replied, “No!” As the tears rolled down my daughter’s face, this woman selflessly gave of her time and treasure to help four complete strangers in need. Witnessing the woman’s actions, two other kind souls stepped in to offer additional aid.
This moving display of love for neighbor by these individuals was something my children had never experienced firsthand from anyone other than family and close friends. “She had to have been an angel,” remarked my daughter as she told me what had happened. Of course, I will never know one way or the other, but I do know the experience forever made an impression on my children, especially my daughter. Their eyes were opened to the reality that if we want to be Christ-like to others, we must first see Him in all who cross our path.
I share this story because this issue features several columns and stories highlighting the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Charities and Communities. All too often, the appeal is reduced to only being about dollars and cents. To do so, however, equates to those many people who passed by my mother and children in their time of need, ignoring their inherent worth. As Lee Bean, the subject of this issue’s cover story, points out, seeing “Jesus in His distressing disguise” and treating every person with dignity is what truly takes place as a result of the appeal.
I encourage everyone to read the featured columns and stories in this issue with an open heart, meditating on Jesus’ words to Peter in Luke’s Gospel, “Duc in altum (put out into the deep).” (Lk 5:4) We must strive to be like Peter and his companions and put our trust in Christ. Doing so will free us to see Him in every man, woman, and child, hopefully enabling us to be “angels,” as the woman was for my daughter, to those we encounter and those we empower through support of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Charities and Communities.