A friend falls ill
Our friend Lia, who still has teenage children, was diagnosed with a malignant tumour. The whole community banded together around her with a prayer chain and gestures of solidarity. Once a week we got together at church for an hour of adoration and to ask the gift of healing for her. We tried to understand how to lighten those difficult days. We took on a number of tasks: someone made food, carefully choosing the appropriate ingredients for her; someone else put money in common to pay for medicine. These were small actions that helped her not to feel alone, but part of a community. When her health permitted, she would tell of her experience at community meetings. After a round of chemotherapy, any trace of the tumour had disappeared. For us it was an answer to our prayers and our commitment to love and serve her in a privileged way. (C.V., Brazil)
Despite the wrongs done
After my husband died I had to put up with tiresome humiliations from his relatives, who wanted me out of the room we had always lived in. One brother-in-law in particular, despite being the godfather of one of our four children, started making quite a few problems. Suddenly this brother-in-law got sick. Each time he fell ill, I ran to buy him medicine to ease the pain and brought it to him. My neighbours asked, “Why are you doing this, after everything you went through?” I responded that for me, to love means to put myself at the service of others. A few days later my brother-in-law died, and I stayed there and comforted his wife, helping her with all the things that her husband used to take care of. She later thanked me publicly. Now she lives with us and we are truly one family. (R.P., India)
The mushroom expert
As I was walking through the woods gathering mushrooms, I came upon a man lying on the ground. I went to him and helped him get back up. He was trembling. He pointed toward where he lived – a rusted out container among the trees. I tried to get him to lie down on some kind of bed. I later went back a number of times to see him, bringing him food and medicine. He was a great expert on mushrooms and made a living selling them. In the time we shared, he taught me where to find the best ones and how to dig them up. He started to tell me about his life, business failures and abandonment. One day I found him with a high fever, and I brought him in. He was in serious condition. He told me: “By now you know all about me, but the most important thing is that I always had faith in God. To have met you was a sign from him.” He then told me he had money hidden and gave me the task of getting it and giving it to someone who needed it. Now, each time I go gathering mushrooms, I think of him like a guiding angel. (R.S. Poland){:}