New parable: Small kindness makes huge difference

Jul 31, 2023

There was a woman with a watermelon. As she stood at her counter, slicing the melon, she saw the outdoor thermometer. The mercury had reached 90 degrees, and it wasn’t yet 9 a.m.

Watermelon was the woman’s favorite food, yet that day the fruit of summer saddened her. Her old dog had loved watermelon, too; and the woman missed her furry friend, recently deceased. The woman also had shared watermelon with an elderly man who had lived across the street, but he had been moved to a nursing home near his daughter, far away.

The act of carving the melon stirred the woman’s memory and made her melancholy. “I have too much of a good thing,” she said to herself. The fruit that had all her life symbolized the carefree joys of summer now seemed bittersweet. “What will I do with all this sticky, drippy, pink melon?”

Then, she heard the usual Friday morning roar as the lawn crew arrived with their mowers, blowers and weed whippers. Deeply tanned, covered in dust, grass clippings stuck to their sweaty skin, they worked quickly. The woman’s property was not an easy job, given her corner lot and steep banks. It occurred to the woman how delicious and welcome a slice of cold watermelon might be to these young men on a morning already so hot and getting hotter. She hesitated. Would they consider it some sort of bribe? Was it improper? Would they, like some children these days, grow suspect, having been taught not to accept gifts — especially food — from strangers? She censored her altruistic instinct. Fearing rejection or misunderstanding, she tossed watermelon rinds in the compost container and put the sliced melon into the refrigerator.

At her window, she watched the guys finish the mowing. One wiped sweat from his brow with his T-shirt; the other paused a moment in the shade of a maple. Maybe they don’t even like watermelon, she considered. Maybe they’re allergic. And the nonsense of her line of thinking struck her as she said aloud, “Who doesn’t like a cold slice of watermelon on a hot summer’s day?”

She grabbed two thick slices of melon and two paper towels. Based on their response, the pink fruit might have been gold.

This article comes to you from  Grace In Action  ( Our Sunday Visitor ) courtesy of your parish or diocese.

Big “T” traditions

15 Sep, 2023
Traditions are important to families. Singing the family birthday song, making grandma’s banana bread, praying in a special way at holiday meals — traditions are the foundation on which strong families are built. Likewise, the Church was built upon the rituals and traditions of the apostles and the early Christian communities. This body of ritual and teaching is called Tradition (with a capital T), and it serves as a unifying force in the Church today. This Tradition is so important that the teaching office of the Church, called the magisterium, safeguards it. We believe that that sacred Word of God is found in both Scripture and Tradition. In fact, the Tradition of the Church was in place before the Gospels were even written. It’s true! We practiced our faith long before we wrote about our faith. The first Christians were already meeting together, mostly in homes, celebrating the Eucharist, sharing the teachings of the apostles and encouraging one another at the time the New Testament was written down. This was the beginning of St. Paul addressing his letters to these early Christian communities. Those who argue that Scripture alone should be the source of Christian teaching fail to recognize that in the first several centuries of the Church there was no “Bible” in the form we have today. Early Christian communities read from the Old Testament writings, the prophets and from the letters from leaders like Peter and Paul. The earliest writings in the New Testament reflect the belief and practice of the early Christians as the Holy Spirit guided the Church and her leaders. If we truly wish to understand Scripture, we must understand the context in which it was written — the Tradition of the Church.

The reality of sin and forgiveness

15 Sep, 2023
by Catherine Cavadini

September 15, 2023

15 Sep, 2023
Jn 19:25-27 Luke 2:33-35 Today, we pray the Sequence Sabat Mater, which means the mother was standing. Mary stands at the foot of the cross on which her son hangs. She remains with him until the end. Years before, Simeon had told her of her son’s destiny and her own suffering. Mary stood with Jesus through it all. This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

We are not orphans

15 Sep, 2023
"We are not orphans, we have Mothers: Mother Mary. But the Church is Mother and the Mother Church is anointed when it takes the same path of Jesus and Mary: the path of obedience, the path of suffering, and when she has that attitude of continually learning the path of the Lord. These two women — Mary and the Church — carry on the hope that is Christ, they give us Christ, they bring forth Christ in us. Without Mary, there would be no Jesus Christ; without the Church, we cannot go forward". – Pope Francis   Reflection: Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. What is your typical response to pain or extended times of difficulties? How do the two women – Mary and the Church – offer you hope in the midst of suffering?   This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.
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