”Our enemy the devil, who fights with
us in order to vanquish us, seeks to disunite us in our houses, and to
breed quarrels, contests, and rivalries, because, while we are fighting
with each other, he comes and conquers us, and makes us more securely
his own.” -Saint Philip Neri
Yesterday morning the Lord allowed a very significant event to
take place to increase my humility and fraternal charity, and also to be an example
for others. Why? Because He very clearly gave us this command to follow:
A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:34).
Oh, how we are all so interconnected! The Lord planned it that way.
How important it is for us to develop, through God's grace, fervent
practice, and selfless love, the virtue of fraternal charity.
Yesterday morning I stopped off at a local café for a cup of
coffee and breakfast to go while on my way to church for Holy Hour and Holy Mass.
I was to already begin preparing my self to receive our Savior. Not that He wasn’t with me already, but
still, I was on my way to being in His Real Presence in the Eucharist, Body,
Blood, Soul, and Divinity, and then was going to receive Him totally and completely.
Guess what I did.
I didn’t even realize what I had done until He pointed it out
to me.
The dear young girl behind the counter was preparing my food
and mentioned while doing so that she was very sick.
The other times in the recent past when I heard those same words spoken by others as I stood on that
very same spot watching my breakfast being prepared I kept my mouth shut,
with difficulty, although I did leave feeling quite irritated.
For heaven’s sake, don’t tell me that as you prepare my
food, I thought, head shaking.
"Let each one love his brother in charity.
We have each our faults. He who has to put up with his brother's fault
today will have to be borne with himself tomorrow.” -Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church
Granted, I was very, very eager to not come down with
anything else at that moment.
So yesterday morning the well meaning young lady mentioned that
she was very sick. That time, I couldn’t contain my feelings about her honesty.
“Don’t tell people you are sick while preparing their food,” I
reprimanded her calmly through the Lord's grace.
"How patiently Christ, the King of Heaven
and Earth, bore with the Apostles, enduring at their hands many
incivilities and unbeliefs, they being but poor and rough fishermen. How
much more ought we to bear with our neighbor, if he treats us with
unkindness.” -Saint Philip Neri
She replied that I was safe because she had gloves on, held up her hands to show me, and as I shook my head she continued to explain that she was keeping her distance from my food and not breathing on it. She was trying so hard.
I told her with my head shaking (not in an unkind way, but in a disapproving
way) that if I catch anything else, I fear I will die.
It seems funny now, but it wasn’t then.
I did thank her and then went on my way, but when the student is ready the Teacher appears, and He had something very important to teach me about fraternal charity.
He pointed out that right in front of me was a young lady who was sick,
and all I could think about was myself.
She was clearly suffering, and she even told me she was
suffering, and all I could think about was myself.
Jesus was right! It
was only then that I realized that sick girl received absolutely no compassion from me. None!
I didn’t even tell her that I hoped she felt better soon,and I was on my way to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!
Wow, what a moment to have shared with our Lord while looking through HIS eyes.
We are wise to be very open to receiving the Lord's instruction! We are very wise when we are grateful to Him for the times when He shares this information about ourselves with us, while we are still living and still have the opportunity to change and make amends.
We are wise to be very open to receiving the Lord's instruction! We are very wise when we are grateful to Him for the times when He shares this information about ourselves with us, while we are still living and still have the opportunity to change and make amends.
My sweet, loving, compassionate, and kind Jesus, in thinking
only of my own welfare I ignored my suffering neighbor, and by ignoring her, I
also ignored You!
And not only that, by not showing her any compassion I
failed to embrace a precious opportunity to bring You to her, and failed to
serve both her and You. I failed to make up for my previous lack of fraternal charity, and You were so kind to have given me this precious opportunity to have done so.
"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved You! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for You. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which You created. You were with me, but I was not with You. Created things kept me from You; yet if they had not been in You they would have not been at all. You called, You shouted, and You broke through my deafness. You flashed, You shone, and You dispelled my blindness. You breathed Your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for You. I have tasted You, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for Your peace". ~ Saint Augustine
Thank You, most loving Savior, for forgiving me and for
sharing Your joy that I was willing to learn something very important to my soul. May I never feel so self-important that I
ignore the needs of others that are in plain sight.
I will be sure to apologize to her the next time I see
her. Perhaps she will accept a cup of
coffee from me, and also from our most loving and merciful Jesus. +
That afternoon, I came down with quite a cold and today am suffering greatly, just like the people who came to work sick and prepared other people's food. ;>)
Thank You, Lord, for the important teaching moment, and for another poignant ending! I just love working with You. And receiving You. And being with You. And serving You. And loving You...
