Sunday Homily 3-28-10, Palm Sunday

Rosemary's Blessing

Let us approach the feast of the Holy Spirit with the confidence and conviction that the Spirit of God who has brought us this far is always ahead of us, calling us forward and offering us what we need.

 

Let us ask for the Spirit’s Gifts of:

Wonder and Amazement at God’s faithful, steady, unconditional love for us in all the planned and unplanned times in our lives

Compassion for those who are suffering, isolated, hungry or unemployed

Deep Peace and Calm when we are in the midst of anxiety, worry or loss

Courage in conflictual situations that call us to speak the truth with love

Trust and Confidence that God is with us as God beckons us forward in ways unknown.

 

Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with your Spirit that we may do our part in healing and transforming our world into the realm of God ~ A place of inclusive love, unity, reconciliation, justice and peace.

 

Adapted from a Prayer and Refection by Sister Jean Amore, CSJ, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, New York

 

 

Thanks to the Team

Music, Shonda & Ben

Readers, Tom & Denni,  & Buddy, the candle blessing

Eucharistic Prayer & Gospel, John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Ben & Becky 

Final Blessing for last day of May, Rosemary

 

 

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles, 2, 1-11, They were all together in one place.

Psalm 104, Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth

1 Corinthians  12, 3-7, 12-13, There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same spirit

John 20, 19-23, Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you." 

 

Please Remember these special people:

For all the medical personnel struggling to treat the tsunami of sick people, in particular, locally, Cindy's staff at Presby, Dallas and at Frisco Presby, the mother of Harper and Betsy, Kendle, working in labor & delivery;   For Joe Hogan with cancer;  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;   For Ryan, Rosemary's nephew, who had surgery; For Bill Hammond,    For Sydney;  & For Sir Charlie;  Shonda's mom;   For Gilberto:  for Michelle;  For a friend, a neighbor, & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free.;    For Hue;  For John O'Donnell;    For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health;  For Anthony & Sabrina;    For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini;  Virginia Mattingly

 

SPECIAL NEWS:  I have a good friend who has joined us at Romeos a couple of times over the years.    His dad is 93 years old.  His dad was diagnosed with The Virus.  He was hospitalized.   Recently he was discharged and declared healthy!  Amen!

 

 

Birthdays: Ray (80), Christi Occhipinti (45), Zaile Ekes, Shonda, Brent (13, AA), & Mabel (88!)

 

 

Community Finances, May 31, 2020

Expenses: $2000.00

Outreach:  $150.00  (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Reading 1

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

        When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—and no one could tell where it came from.  It filled the whole building.  Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. 

There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world.  When they heard the sound, they came on the run.  Then when they heard, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck.  They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans?  How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues? 

        “Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;

        Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia,

        Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,

        Egypt and parts of Libya;

        Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes;

        Even Cretans and Arabs!

“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works.”

Our word for today.

 

 

Reading 2

 A Reading from the first Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

        Sisters and brothers:  No one would say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit.  God’s various gifts are given out everywhere, and are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.  God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God is behind it all.  Each person is given something to do that shows who God is:  Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. 

        You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body.  Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body.  It’s exactly the same with Christ.       By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives.  We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say.  Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink.  The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful.

Our word for today.

 

 

 

The Lord be with you.       A Reading from the Gospel of John

          Later on that first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together. Fearful of the Jews, they had locked all the doors in the house.  Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”  Then he showed them his hands and side. 

The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant.  Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you.  Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”

        Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them.  “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said.  “If you forgive someone’s sins, they are gone for good.  If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”

The Good News of John.

 

 

Pentecost Homily by Stack

We are celebrating The Spirit this Sunday and I have a question.  When was the last time you saw The Spirit?  Knowing you folks as well as I do, I would surmise that you have seen The Spirit often, but you may not recognize what you are looking at.  Let me tell you about 3 visits of The Spirit that I have seen.  See what you think.

First, say you are a girl about 10 years old.  May is your birthday month and with your mom’s help you always have had a party.  This year??  Your mom gets inspired.  All the girls you want to get invited will get invited to an afternoon party.  Each girl will come in the family car with her mom or dad or both.   Park on both sides of the street in front of the house.  

 

 

A street birthday for an eleven year old girl.

 

Instead  of coming into the house, each girl will sit in the car window or lean out of the sun roof or sit on the roof.  The birthday girl will walk up and down the lane talking with the girls on their perches.

I saw it, folks, really, while walking Aviana with Rosemary one afternoon.  For real.  There must have been 10-12 girls perched on their family cars and the birthday girl was walking up and down the lane.  I felt privileged to walk that lane.  Since then I have heard about other street parties in our Preston Hollow neighborhood.   Recognize The Spirit?

 

 

The Spirit also surprised me one other morning when I was walking Aviana.  I noticed that some yellow yard signs with red script  had sprung up. 

For instance.

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.  (yes, that's Aviana blessing the property)

 

 

I can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.

 

 

 

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.

 

Catch the spirit?

 

 

My third example of the presence of The Spirit.  My parents have lived in this house in this Preston Hollow neighborhood since ’75.  Rosemary & I have lived here since 2005.  Never in this time have I seen so many families walking with dogs and little kids.  I’ve seen lots of little kids practicing to ride their learning wheel loaded bikes.  Rosemary knew personally most of the people who walk their dogs.   Now days, after the tornado destruction and the Virus, there are so many new dogs & dog walkers that we are overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed with delight!

Where is The Spirit in your life?

 

 

 

 

A Note from Becky: Song books will be available in the front office of the school in case anyone would like to come by and pick one up so they can sing along.

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah 7, 10-14,  Ask for a sign from the Lord

 Psalm 24,  Let the Lord enter, he is king of glory

 Romans 1, 1-7,  Grace to you and peace

 Matthew 1, 18-24,   Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son.

 

 

Say Ray and Genevieve, "Welcome in, Everybody, to the 4th Sunday of Advent.  Next time, Christmas Eve, 4:00, in the gym."

 

Observations on Isaiah:

What: This is Isaiah 1.

When:  Isaiah 1 lived before the Babylonian Captivity and predicts the downfall of Jerusalem.

Our selection: Optimistic.  

 

Hi, Cody, Hi, Ben.

 

Finding The Presence

I would like to speak this morning on finding the presence.  What is this?  It is a feeling of consolation and peace of heart when something special happens.  Around the season of Christmas I tend to reach out for these events, many of which are repeats from former seasons of Christmas.  

 

 

Leo, our Candle Lighter of The Week.
 

 

I've had two of these moments this past week.

The first was our visit to the Meyerson to hear the Christmas presentation Friday night.  This event every year puts me in touch with the presence.

First, the concert hall itself is a visual feast, just beautifully decorated.  It takes my breath away almost every year when I walk in.  It was at its best this year.

 

 

Welcome home from college, Darbianne and Dana.

 

The concert itself is an auditory feast and presents so many of my favorite Christmas carols.  This year the conductor, Laurence Loh, was in rare form, teasing the audience, inviting participation, dancing on his podium, and just being congenial.

I was also surrounded by about 30 of my best friends.

So, I felt the presence in my friends, and the visual and auditory artistry.

 

 

"Yippee," says Victoria, "My mommy loves me."

 

Secondly, I had a wedding yesterday, Saturday, in Austin.  The presence was everywhere.  

First, the bride, Samantha, was the daughter of Charlie Fechtal, a student of mine at Jesuit when I was teaching there as an intern Jesuit priest in the latter half of the '60's.  Charlie and his wife, TJ, live in our neighborhood.  As I told him during the wedding, I love him as much now as I did then.  Even more tears of consolation during this wedding than usual.

 

 

Time to celebrate.

 

After the wedding I was talking with Charlie and a classmate, Mark Goedeke, another guy I have loved.  His wife Liz is with us and she reminds me that I had done their marriage also.  43 years ago!!   Talk about feeling the presence.  Very consoling and very humbling.

 

 

Dear old friend, Charlie Fechtel.

 

A footnote to this homily is that I took the special luxury bus from Dallas to Austin.  It has received rave notices from people like Beth & Rob.  It lived up to its reputation.  3 hour trip non stop, comfortable seat (19 only in a full sized bus), a stewardess who offer drinks and snacks on the house (or bus).  $99, heart of Dallas (Love Field) to heart of Austin (Congress & 2nd).

During this season of Advent, how are you finding the presence? 

 

 

 

Mark Goedeke and Charlie. 

Readings: Isaiah 11, 1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15, 4-9; Matthew 3, 1-12

Isaiah: Once in a while in the course of our church calendar year we get a special selection.  Isaiah’s vision is one of those specials.  Read it and watch out for heart ache.  I imagine one of our ancestors centuries ago dreaming and coming up with this vision.  Later, another of our ancestors writes it down. 

To emphasize how special it is, Emily will read the vision, after her mom Julie has read the introduction.

What is Your Dream?

In the late 60’s I spent four years in Toronto studying theology before I finally got ordained a priest in ’71.  At the beginning of my second year a new class of about 35 Jesuit priest students came in and one of the new guys got the room next to mine on the third floor.  He was unique: he was blind.

His name was Larry and he was also a cheese head and a Jesuit brother, meaning he was not going to be ordained a priest. Brothers are Jesuits who do all sorts of works, just not saying Mass.

Larry had spent a few years teaching at a Jesuit boarding high school in Prairie du Chien, WS.  During his time there, a number of Jesuits & others had encouraged Larry to looking into moving from being a brother to getting on track to get ordained a priest.  Trouble was, blind people did not get ordained. 

When Larry arrived at our college in the fall of my second year, he had been given permission to try studying theology, the subject necessary for ordination.  Consequently, he was studying on condition.  You do okay, you continue.  You don’t do well, you stay a brother.  Guess what: he did fine and all of us made him a project.  We wanted him to succeed.

After his first year, which was successful, the provincial in WS asked Rome if he could be ordained.  Rome’s response, "No."  After his second equally successful year, they asked Rome.  "No, and don’t ask again.  Blind people don’t get ordained."  After his third year, his provincial asked again.  "Yes," they said.

He was ecstatic.  We were ecstatic. 

The fall of his fourth year, this same second Sunday of Advent in the chapel of our college his class was getting ordained deacons, which is done before getting ordained priest in the spring.  The reading of that Sunday was exactly the same Isaiah reading as this morning, the dream of peace reading.  Larry was chosen to read the Isaiah dream passage–in braille.

That whole chapel was all in tears.  It was one of the special moments of my life.

Larry is still working as a Jesuit priest in Omaha or Milwaukee.  I even used to bring him down to help with retreats I ran at the retreat center I directed in Grand Coteau, LA.  We have not been in touch in probably about ten years.  I have to call him.

My friend Larry had a dream.  Our ancestor Isaiah had a dream. 

I would suggest that to be fully alive we have to have a dream.  Dreams fill me with energy, enthusiasm, and life.  Ideally my dream will also give life to others. Larry’s dream to get ordained gave life to all 100 plus of us Jesuits in that big house.  Isaiah’s dream, while unrealistic, can still energize me into creating peace in some small human way.

What must it be like to not have a dream? 

What is your dream?

AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2007-12-09.mp3

Readings:

Acts 14, 21-27,   From there they sailed to Antioch.

Psalm 145,  I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Revelation  21, 1-5,  He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them.  I, John, had a vision of a great multitude.

John 13, 31-35,  A new commandment, love one another.

 

 

Acts, a couple of observations:

1.  Remember the three rings of Acts, Jerusalem, Palestine, the World (Mediterranean & Rome)?   Since we are at Chapter 28 of 28, you can guess in what ring we are today, yes, the World.  Paul and Barnabas are in the region of Greece.
2. The author, the same as the Gospel of Luke.
3. The date again, before 70

 

A New Commandment, Love One Another

I want to talk this morning about the new commandment, love one another. 

It has been a couple of rough weeks, folks. 

First there was the Boston Marathon.  I have been at those finish lines, like running the Mexico City Marathon.   I know both the exhilaration and the fatigue, like after the Hotter N’ Hell 100 mile bike ride in Wichita Falls the end of August.

Then, West.  I just happened to be in West the afternoon of the evening of the explosion.  I wonder about the delightful ladies at the famous Czech bakery, where we had stopped for kolaches

Then a story that has been gnawing at me, the 10 year old boy starved to death by his father and step mother.  At times I cannot get this nightmare out of my mind.

See enough of this and I could get pessimistic and lose perspective on people.  Which is why I don’t normally listen to local news.  Which is why I want to tell you 3 antidote stories of loving one another.

The first is about a Plano boy Rex Burkhead, who has just graduated from Nebraska.  I found this article Friday in the Dallas Morning News.  Anyone know him?  The article does not say which high school he attended.

In 2011, Rex had lunch with the Hoffman family of Plano as part of his Nebraska football team’s outreach program.  Why the Hoffmans?  They have a 7 year old son, Jack, who has had brain cancer for 2 years.

As a result of the lunch, Rex and Jack have become buddies.  Even the parents of both families have become good friends. 3 weeks ago the Nebraska football team staged its spring intersquad game.  Little Jack, wearing Rex’s 22 on a small jersey, lined up in Rex’s position in the backfield, was handed the ball on a play, and he ran 70 yards for a touchdown.  Everyone cheered Jack and Rex’s video of Jack’s run became an Internet sensation

Rex Burkhead exemplifies loving one another.

This even happens in our very own community in so many ways.

For instance, I know one anonymous person who cleans houses once in a while.  One elderly family, in particular, she visits once a week.  It takes her at most an hour to clean the house.  But she always plans to stay with the couple about 3 more hours to talk with them and do little helps. 

I know, also, of a couple of women from our community who visit Rita once or twice a week to help her and especially to change her pressure sox, which she cannot do herself. 

This is living it out, loving one another.

Give me one way you love another.

Reference: Dallas Morning News, Sports section, Friday, April 26, 2013

 

 

Readings:

Exodus 32, 7-11, 13-14,  So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened.

Psalm 951,  I will rise and go to my father. 

 1 Timothy, 1, 12-17,  I am grateful to him who has strengthened me.  

Luke 15, 1-32,   The Great Parable & story of the Prodigal Son.  (A superb story.)

 

 

Says Genevieve, "Wellll, Everybody, just come on in."

 

Exodus observations :

What : a story, a long parable.  It has 2 parts, the exodus or exit from Egypt and the years wandering in the desert.

Who: the work is all about Moses, but he did not compose it.  Rather, it was put together by a committee during the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.

When: it appears that the purpose of the work was to encourage the people during the Babylonian Captivity.  It is not history and borrows stories from other cultures.  For instance, the parting of the Red Sea comes from a Mesopotamian creation myth and the 10 Commandments resemble the Code of Hammurabi.

Our Subject: The people have been bad, God is mad at them, and Moses defends the people.

Sources: Good News Bible, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia

 

 

Kevin, too, says, "Grab a seat, Folks, we are ready to start."

 

The Prodigal Son: A Work of Art

I want to talk about my favorite parable of the whole Bible.  Two special notes to start with:

1.  The author has carefully crafted a work of literary art.  Not history, not reality, but parable, story.
2.   Purpose: to show that God loves us unconditionally, not conditionally. 

 Let me give you three observations about the son, three about the father, and an extra three to show you how astounding this story is. 

The final question: can you believe in an unconditionally loving God?

 

 

Begin In the Name of the Father…

 

First, the younger son:

1. He has no right to ask for inheritance.  None.  By asking he is saying he wishes the father and the older son dead.  A symbolic murder.  Father can kill him for this.
2. He works feeding pigs instead of asking for help from the temple.  This means he rejects the religious tradition and is considered a traitor not only to the family, but to the religion.  
3. So, as a horrible failure as a son of the family and a son of the religious tradition, he decides to return.  A conversion, not quite.   He makes up his little speech and heads home.  He is hungry to the point of dying.  Do this, he calculates,  or die.  Many listening Jews would say, Die.  

 

 

Offertory with Tom, Teresa, and Tim Quinn.

 

 

The Father: he actually commits as many crimes and sins as the son.

1. He runs down the road to the son when he sees him coming.  A very undignified action.  Outrageous.  People who emphasize conditional love point out that the son at least came back.  Despite this point, all the other elements of the parable point to a father with unconditional love.
2. He embraced and kissed the son.  Huge violation of Jewish religious custom and law.  By doing this the father positions himself outside of the religious & cultural community.  He is a reject like the son. 
3. He cuts the son’s speech off before he can finish, eliminating the last sentence, “treat me as you would one of your hired workers.”  And to make it worse, he orders the servants to bring the finest robe, ring, and sandals. 

 

 

Daddy, I think it is time I start playing this guitar.

 

 

The robe, the ring, and the sandals:

1. The robe: restores the son’s dignity. 
2. The ring: gives authority to the son, even equal to the father and certainly more than before he left.
3. The sandals: gives the son freedom.  Slaves were not given sandals so they would not run away.  The father is doubling the message he gave when he cut the son’s speech off before he could say the third part about being treated as a servant.  

 

 

Thanks, Georgie, for being such a great help to Buddy.

 

 

A word about the older son, because we so often identify with him.  Two additional and final points.

1. That he tells his father how he feels.  Great.  In those days, it meant the father can kill him.  Today: communication. 
2. What is his challenge: acceptance of his brother, his father, and himself; focus on gratitude for all he has; move from trying to be a good boy to loving?  Any one of these?  Or all?  All.  

 

 

Zoe, we got to get you up to light the candles again some time. 

 

 

I apologize for so much data.  There is even more.  The point is that the story is a carefully crafted literary work of art that attempts to describe how totally unconditionally loving our God is.

I had once a lengthy discussion with another priest who insisted that the father's love was conditional, conditional on the son choosing to return.  I still believe that the love was unconditional.  I am influenced by the two previous parables, the lost sheep & the lost coin. Luke is an artist.   It is no coincidence that the two little parables both emphasize the Hound of Heaven concept.    

 

 

Tori at the play station.

 

 

How does this image of God reflect your image of God?   Can you believe that our God loves you and me unconditionally?

 

Source: The Liberating Stories of Jesus, Francis Vanderwall

 

 

Peace!

 

  

Readings:

Isaiah  45, 1, 4-6,  I have called you by your name.

Psalm 96,   Give the Lord glory and honor.

Thessalonians 1, 1-5,  Grace to you and peace.

Matthew 22, 15-21,  Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?  

 

 

Isaiah observations :

Who : Can you guess which Isaiah this is in chapter 45?  1, 2, or 3.  A little more difficult than the last two Sundays.  This is Isaiah 2, going from chapter 40 to 55.

Today’s selection:  this is not Isaiah 2 at his best.  I like the line, I have called you by your name.  Otherwise, the passage is mildly comforting to the people who are living in Babylonian slavery, around 555 before Christ.

Cyrus: So, who is Cyrus?          

 Cyrus the Great of Persia, modern Iran, built the first great empire, which extended as far as Athens in Greece.   He was a benevolent emperor of his people and the people he conquered, for instance, the Israelites.

Isaiah 2 is championing Cyrus because he hears of Cyrus coming and hopes Cyrus will defeat the Babylonians and set the Israelites free to return to Jerusalem.  This is exactly what Cyrus does.  Where is Babylon?  Try 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River.  What is left?  Rubble. 

 

 

Thessalonians:

• Time written: ca. 50 A.D.   Considered Paul's first letter, and, in fact, the earliest written document in the N.T.
• Place: Paul was writing in Corinth, Greece to the town in northern Greece, Thessalonica, at the northern corner of the Aegean Sea.  He had founded a community there.
• Purpose of writing: to comfort and encourage the new Christians of Thessalonica, most of whom were Gentiles.    He sent Timothy to see how things were going.   The report Timothy brought back was largely favorable—hence the warm tone of the opening thanksgiving, which forms the main part of today’s reading. But there were also a few problems in Thessalonica; we will meet them on the thirty-second and thirty-third Sundays.

 

 

Resources: The New Interpreters Study Bible; St. Louis U. Liturgical @ Liturgical.slu.edu

 

The Best Line:  the Alleluia verse, Shine like lights in the world.  Guess what I would like to talk about.

 

 

Matthew observation:

Matthew lifts this story right out of Mark.  The story a game that was popular among the intellectuals in Jesus time, like a game of verbal chess.  The object was to confound your opponent so that choosing either one of two answers springs a trap.

Watch the smarmy language of the Pharisees and you can almost see them salivating at the impending kill. 

The trap: do you think it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar or not?  Jesus confounds them by choosing both.  Jesus wins the game.

Why do Mark & Matthew use this story?  To show how Jesus is superior and worthy of being followed and listened to.   

 

 

Me, a Light in the World? 

I want to talk about the alleluia verse, “Shine like lights in the world.”  I apologize again for talking about this reading in a way I have talked before. It is just so perfect a fit.  It comes to mind also because of the ebola focus these days.

After getting ordained at old St. Rita’s in June of 1971, I was sent to Miami to work as a chaplain in the big medical complex known as Jackson Memorial Hospital.  It was like Parkland, Southwestern Medical, and Presbyterian. 

The Jesuits of my southern province had a big parish right in the middle of downtown Miami, and part of the team worked the hospitals.  I was a summer helper and loved it.

 

 

One day after I had been there about a week, a blond little girl of 10 or 11 was brought into the burn ward.  Ever been in a burn ward, a children’s burn ward?  Tough places.  I spent a lot of time in these wards.

The girl, Anna, had been with her family on a sail boat.  Somewhere along their trip the boat had passed under a bridge.  Anna was standing on the edge of the boat with her back leaning against one of the guy wires.  

As the boat went under the bridge, the mast touched an electrical line.  The electricity went down the mast and the guy wire.  Anna was electrocuted and burned.  Fortunately, she was hurled into the cool water which helped to stop her burns. 

 

 

However, her back and the insides of her thighs and legs were seriously burned.  She would stay in Jackson for 2 to 3 months, even after I had to move on.  

I got really close to Anna & her family.  I visited her first & last every day and I was privileged to be allowed by the doctors to hold her hand when her bandages had to be changed.  Her parents had to leave the room.  You know that this is such a high tension time.  It used to leave me shaken.  

 

 

I talk about this because the alleluia verse tells us to be lights in the world.  I think this is what it means.  I was privileged to be with that little girl & her family in such a horrible experience.  It is reciprocal: she was a light in my world.

The good news is that Anna finally did leave the hospital all healed up.  I never had the opportunity again to see the family, but I corresponded for years with the mom.  Somewhere during my time in Africa, the connection got broken.  I know that maybe 15 years later her mom wrote me that Anna had married and had a little kid. 

In whose world are you a light today?