I was shaking hands outside after Mass one Saturday evening when I was pleasantly surprised to see my old friend Reese walking out of our church doors. He is a 27-year-old gentleman who came from China to study at Father Judge High School. From there, he graduated from St. Joseph’s University and is currently working at Cooper Hospital doing data analytics. I met him about two years ago when after Mass, he shared his story and told me he just wanted to be in the company of an Oblate. Reese is not Catholic, he just wanted the relationship and, hopefully, that Salesian connection. We became friends and when I told him of my recent transfer to Our Mother of Consolation Parish, he assured me that he would visit. Promise kept!
When he visited, he told me that he was offered an exciting new job that would take him to the Barnes Museum, one of his favorite places, but he declined the offer because he just had his Visa renewed through his present employer and felt a sense of duty to them. Honor, integrity, goodness. Who cannot appreciate this? After his visit, and upon my insistence that it was not an imposition (as I was headed that way to see my nephew), I drove him to his apartment. On the way there, Reese told me about events he was looking forward to and work that interested him. As we approached his apartment complex, he pointed out a corner where a couple of days ago, a few kids were beating up another kid. He was horrified that people simply passed by without doing anything. Then, he told me he shouted at them to stop and they ran away. What a risk! What goodness!
I admire the gifts and qualities different people present. I am in awe of what others can do that I cannot imagine doing. In my life, I have met many very talented and gifted people. But goodness is the gift I most admire. Maybe it’s synonymous with character and quality. Reese is a man of much simplicity and goodness. So, that night, he was a welcomed, unexpected visitor who reaffirmed my conviction that goodness is essential.
Sister Catherine McAuley, who founded the Mercy Sisters, wrote “Do good today and better tomorrow.” This dovetails perfectly with Saint Francis de Sales’, “Be who you are and be that well.” There are a thousand other mantras like this to inspire us to “be the best version of ourselves” as is the writer, Matthew Kelly’s mantra. They are all needed to help us “do the will of God for the world” (what I believe is Sister Joan Chittister’s mantra), to be faithful to whom God is calling us to be, “the presence of Christ for the world” (OMC tagline of our Mission Statement) or simply put, to “Live Jesus”, V+J, Vive Jesu, the Oblate mantra. Goodness, living Jesus Christ, is our call.
It is our imperative, in the pews and in the marketplace, when people are looking and not. Goodness, character, integrity, presence, relationship, recognizing the beauty and letting it seep within our very core to invigorate us to do likewise. When bombarded with violence, hatred, disdain, greed, self-interest, or self-promotion, let’s awaken our goodness; that is, the image and likeness of Christ, and share it with others to make the world a bit more kind, gentle, forgiving, and welcoming. Who are the Reeses in our orbit, those unexpected visitors, who show us what life is supposed to be?
Fr. John J. Fisher, OSFS
Pastor
Our Mother of Consolation Parish
Philadelphia, PA
