Dear Saint Simon Families and Friends,
My heart is filled with gratitude and strength. I am so grateful to Clare D’Agostino and her team for preparing an extra Donut Sunday for us to enjoy fellowship last Sunday. I had two donuts, many hugs, photos taken, written notes, gifts, and online thank you notes and pictures as well. I am deeply grateful to you all for your support and prayers during my five years with you. Thank you so much for all your friendship and generosity. A child, who has learned things about me, wrote: “You are Catholic and funny.” I could not help but chuckle again and again. Yes, we are Catholic and funny too!
One of the activities that I treasure is to visit our school classrooms to interact with our students and teachers. They often asked questions that are personal. One of them was “Have you ever seen God? What does God look like to you?” I have shared with you my response to that question was “Yes”. “God looks like you and me. God is love, and so are we.”
You heard me clearly, and recently one of you handed me a piece of paper with this story. It is entitled “I Had Lunch with God.” It is worth sharing with you.
A little East African boy in Dar es Salam wanted to meet God. He knew that it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his bag with small, sweet cakes and a large bottle of soda and started on his journey.
He had been on his way for about ten minutes when he met an old woman. She was sitting in a park by the Indian Ocean just staring at some African birds. The boy sat down next to her and opened his bag. He was about to take a drink from his soda when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a small cake. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again. So he offered her a drink from his soda. Again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
The little East African boy and the old woman sat there all afternoon eating and drinking and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and got up to leave. But before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile.
When the boy opened the door to his own home a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “what did you do today that makes you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God. But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I have ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home in the Upanga section of town. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that makes you so happy?” She replied, “I ate small cakes and drank soda in the park with God.” And then, before her son could respond, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”
(Parable, adapted by Father Joseph Healey, M.M., Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.)
Unlike the boy and the woman who went home, I am going to St. Elizabeth Parish in Milpitas, where I will continue celebrating God’s love and mercy with them, as I have done so with you here. I am greatly missing you and deeply grateful to you. Thank you so much for being a part of my priestly ministry and journey.
Please keep smiling on each other, as everyday is God’s day! Fr. Thuc Si Ho