Denise, 1998
He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. Psalm 33:5
Devastated by the loss of a job I loved, I approached the bureaucracy of the state unemployment office with fear and shame. The job counselor, an older man, listened to my story with patience and compassion, told me funny stories about his dog and generally cheered me up.
God has an “underground,” my friend Judy says, a network of holy souls who stand ready to lift us up when the world has beaten us down. I felt I had met one that day. The stranger who stops to help with the flat tire, the nurse holding the hand of a suffering patient, the clerk who provides a kind word on a desperate day – all these are agents of grace.
If we are open to the movement of the Spirit in our daily lives, we can join this holy underground by taking the part of the kind stranger, the whisperer of hope, the courier of God’s infinite, merciful love. It gives us joy to receive the healing, saving touch of God’s messengers; it gives us even more joy to be able to bring a touch of divine mercy to others.
Give us, Lord, the grace to hear the call to bear your presence in our daily lives.
Published in A Treasury of Living Faith, Volume 3, Catholic Devotions For Every Day of the Year, Living Faith Publications, 1998