Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Acts 10:30-31
“For some time now, we have had a small community of sisters in Guatemala. We came there during the earthquake of 1972 that caused so much damage. The sisters of Guatemala came to love and serve, as they do everywhere.
They told me something beautiful about a very poor man who was picked up from the city streets and brought to one of our homes. He was very sick, disabled, hungry, and helpless. But somehow, with the help he received, he got well again.
He told the sisters, “I want to go and leave this bed for somebody else who may need it as much as I needed it when I came here.” Now he has a job. Every time he gets a little money, he remembers the other disabled people who are in the home and comes to see them.”
He always brings something for them. Even with the little he has, he always brings something. This is the great gift of our poor people: the love they have.”
Mother Teresa (1910-1997) in In the Heart of the World, ed. by Becky Benenate (New York: Fine Communications, 1997) 73-74.
God remembers our giving. And those touched by His matchless love remember to give to others.
How is your memory? Do you remember what God has done for you? Do you remember those who have helped you?