Healing The World

A reader writes:

Last night I did something the likes of which I haven't done for a long time and went to one of those parish Lenten evenings that was no doubt much like thousands of others around the country. We were asked after an hour of reflection together to split into small groups. In my group of four (two women and two men put together by chance) we were to share with each other about carrying the fruits of the Eucharist to others in need. It was suggested that we frame our thinking in classic Ignatian terms of "what I have done, what I am doing, and what I will do." I can't tell you how moving it was to hear these three who, as is often the case in large Catholic parishes, were complete strangers to me, speak honestly and directly about their very different lives and aspirations.

The other guy was one of those healthy-looking mature men who looked and sounded typical of the gray-haired man you might see in a TV commercial -- which made it all the more striking as he spoke very simply of his extraordinary "second career" working with people at risk of becoming homeless. He then mentioned the other folks in his life to whom he has responsibilities. Among these he listed "my husband." Nobody blinked an eye, and the focus stayed on the subject at hand.

It's impossible not to be struck by the wide implications of this sort of thing.

The world is always saved one soul at a time.