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While walking to the grocery store with my daughter, she noticed that an elderly gentleman had fallen. She said, "Mommy, that man fell." We went over to see if we would help him get up. When we got to him, he was reaching out to his elderly wife for help. Seconds later, a woman pulled up and got out of her car and got out. She offered her assistance and reached behind him to stabilize him and helped him get up. While she was helping him, 2 others stopped to help. He thanked the woman who helped him and she said, "no problem, it is what I do in my job." My daughter and I definitely saw Christ in action today with the many people who stopped to lend a helping hand to someone in need.
I was observing a second grade class watch a short video on Martin Luther King Jr. The video ended with an excerpt of MLK's "I have a dream" speech with a gospel music background. All at once, the second graders with a rainbow of skin colors - black, white, and brown- all started to snap in unison to the gospel tune - just as Martin Luther King Jr. was saying, "I have a dream.... that little black boys and girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as brothers and sisters." Christ in diversity, unity, harmony, peace, and in the innocence of children.  The prayers of my children: Seeing and hearing them talk with our Heavenly Father warms my heart.
My encounter with Christ was with my client who is looking for housing. When an option fell through because a HUD regulation she said, "I understand. Wasn't meant to be." I said, "That's an honorable was to look at it." She responded, "That's the only way to look at it."
My encounter with Christ was experiencing the love of the Spanish community in our Parish. We are so blessed to have such love among us.
Earlier this week we experienced the first big snowstorm of the New Year. My daughter and I work in Miamisburg and carpool every day to work. We normally travel into West Carrollton and take the Big Alex Rd High to get to work. As we left that day travel was slow but we made it through the snow and ice. As we approached the hill we felt confident as Miamisburg always turns their lights on that hill to flashing as it’s dangerous to stop with bad weather. As we ascended the hill we noticed for some reason the light were not changed and were still on normal cycle. Alas we got a red light and had to stop about ¾ up the hill. As the light changed we along with 12 or so other cars proceeded to go nowhere. All tires just spun....
The other day I received a phone call from a brother in Christ and former college teammate who serves in youth ministry on the other side of the country. We talked for 30min or so about our respective lives, and just before we said goodbye and hung-up, he said, "You know, we're still on the same team." What a wonderful reminder - and encounter with Christ- that no matter where we live, no matter our vocation and calling in life, that as disciples of Jesus we are all teammates - helping to build the God's Kingdom of love, compassion, and mercy together on God's team.
I was listening to a woman talk about her daughter who recently died of cancer and left behind two small children. She said, "We prayed and prayed for healing, but I did not think that God had in mind spiritual healing. That is exactly what happened. My daughter grew so close to God and received such spiritual healing through her battle with cancer, as did her husband and much of our family, including me." I sensed no bitterness or anger towards God, just a realization of the amazing spiritual healing that He was able to do through tragedy.
Reflecting over 2014, I have been thinking about the encounters with Christ I have had through the deaths of three of my grandparents, which all happened within roughly the past year.
The one thing that all three deaths had in common was this vibrant spirit yearning and fighting to leave their aged bodies and move on to the next life in the last weeks of their lives. My grandpa kept trying to take of his clothes saying, “I came into this world naked, I’m going out naked!” My Nana spent hours in tears asking, “Why do we have to live so long?” And the last, my Grandad, mustered up just enough energy to use his last words to greet my husband and me when we came to say goodbye. My cousin arrived just a few hours later and had the great privilege of gently taking him by the hand and “walking” Grandad to heaven to join his beloved wife of 60+ years – an experience my cousin explains as “divinely surreal.” What these encounters with Christ did for me were to fortify my belief in our God, who, as Father Satish stated in his homily for the Commemoration of all Souls, “Loves us beyond death,” and also helped me realize how short our lives really are here on Earth, as every memory with each one of them- from my childhood through the present day- flashed through my mind with each passing. And most importantly, the encounters showed me that there is no greater purpose for our short lives here on Earth than to commit our hearts and lives to the mission of Jesus so that all those we meet can also know the God who “loves us beyond death.” |
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