Living the Gospel: “I will not reject anyone who comes to me” (Jn 6:37)

To meet Jesus in our neighbour is to discover the tenderness and beauty of his love. Opening ourselves to each other allows us to be a gift to anyone who passes by and even unexpectedly receive a hundredfold.

Heart full of joy
A very poor family with five children lives in our village. The father is an alcoholic. Three of them are in the same class as my children.

One evening, as we were leaving school, it was raining hard. I took the children in my car and, seeing the three of them on the street, I picked them up and drove them home.

“Come and meet my mother,” the youngest said to me.

We entered the humble house, and the woman thanked me. Then, chatting, she told me that she was looking for a bargain bed for her youngest and showed me their rooms, where the upholstery was peeling away from the walls due to the humidity. The other four children all sleep in the same room. The little two-year-old, practically naked, was wearing an apron that was too long for her.

I promised that the day after I would bring her the folding bed that we rarely use. The next day, when we arrived at the family home with the bed, some toys and some clothes, the children jumped for joy, including my own.

We left promising to come back. On the way home, my little one exclaimed, “Mommy, my heart is full of joy.”
O. D., France

The former principal
One day, on the street, I ran into the principal of the institute where I was teaching. He had fired me some time before under false pretences. At the time he was still a priest, but he had then left ministry and married.

When he recognized me, he tried to avoid me, but I went to greet him. To break the ice, I asked him about his life. He told me he lived in another city, was married to a widowed mother of two, and had come in search of work. He reluctantly shared his address, then we said goodbye.

The next day, I spread the news among my friends that I was looking for a job for a person in need. A response did not take long to arrive, and I heard about something that could answer that request.

When I contacted him to tell him, he almost couldn’t believe it! He accepted with deep gratitude. He was touched that I took an interest in him.
J., Argentina

Grandpa
Since Grandpa suffers from serious walking problems, he has given up his usual walks and instead stays home and reads in an armchair and sleeps, even though the geriatrician has encouraged him to exercise and go out. How best to rekindle in him the drive to heal, to fight for life?

Our daughters, with so much love, came up with the best way to help their tired and depressed grandfather. Every now and then they would take out their playing cards and ask him to play a game of briscola. He would try to get out of it, saying that he was no longer able to play, but they would not give up.

During the game, which played out with all the enthusiasm and liveliness of children, he rediscovered the joy and the desire to be together.

The girls also continually reminded him of the exercises he had to do, such as a step competition. To help their grandfather raise his knees and not drag his feet, they sat on the ground with their legs outstretched, so he had to climb over them.
G., Italy

Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta

 From “Il Vangelo del Giorno,” Città Nuova, year VIII, n.1, January–February 2022