Forgiveness

Sister Maria Teresita Coloma (left) is in a prayer group with me that meets on Saturday mornings. She is from the Philippines, and and has had some amazing experiences.
Like the time she and some other sisters provided refuge for a young girl fleeing from an under-age marriage and who was being pursued by angry, torch-bearing men. The way Sister told that story, I felt like I was right there with her! That's another story that I hope to share here sometime.
But in the course of our sharing this morning, Sister mentioned a movie she had seen this week about Dorothy Day. (The late Dorothy Day was the co-founder, along with Peter Maurin, of the international Catholic Worker movement in the 1930s.)
In the movie, the original Catholic Worker house in New York had run out of food and donations, and they were unable to offer hospitality to anyone. Bickering broke out among the staff and those being served. Dorothy did not know what to do; so she went across the street to the church and began to pray.
She experienced a deep peace and returned to the house where she apologized to the staff and to those they were attempting to serve. She said she had recognized that she had failed them all by not trusting enough in God to take care of this work of charity. She had been unwilling as well to accept the suffering that was associated with serving the poorest of the poor. Soon afterwards, the food kitchen was back in full operation, and the work later grew and expanded due to the humility and faith of those working in this enterprise.
I was deeply touched by this example of faith-filled humility. I realize how often I may have hurt others by my pride.
If I have hurt you in any way, I hope you will forgive me, and even let me apologize to you in person. Our work at DeLaSalle is too important to let the failures of any one person stand in the way of our service.
It is good to reflect and think about why we suffer and endure hardship. Sometimes, we are being blessed with a deeper faith and humility, like Dorothy Day and Sister Teresita!