It's been a few days since my last blog and the time has been full! Thursday came and the world of london suburbs was hushed by a thick blanket of snow. An unusual phenomena in this part of the world. It amazed me how snow seems to bring a stillness that is quite beautiful. The children in the school where in heaven as they made their snowmen in the playground and the sound of their laughter was a delight to the senses. The problem with a heavy snowfall is the misery of the thaw, but thankfully it passed quickly and the landscape (cityscape) returned to normal.
On Saturday I went with some of our altar servers to Mass at the Cathedral. I don't think I have ever seen so many servers in my life! They enjoyed the experiemce and the drama of the cathedral liturgy.
Sunday was the patronal feast of the parish that I work in - The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. I presided at the children's Mass which was all about Thankfulness. I really enjoyed the liturgy and the children were great. I shared with them a story that I have had for some time
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return for their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked. “Oh yeah, “said the son. “So tell me, what did you learn form the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in out garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve one another. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”
Too many times, we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s worthless object is another’s prize possession. It is all based on one’s perspective. It makes one wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for what we have instead of worrying about wanting more.
The children enjoyed the story but it seemed to touch many others as well. It was one of those rare occassions when you feel that you have hit the right note!
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