Living Monstrance

I lived on a mountain as a postulant with a Franciscan community for a month.  One of the difficult tasks was to get stuff up the mountain.  It was a difficult path, and it took an off-road 4-wheeler to make it all the way.  So, some stuff had to be brought up the old-fashioned way.

One day I had the task of bringing several wheelbarrow loads of mulch from the bottom of the mountain to the friary.  It was August in Maryland, sunny and 90 degrees and humid.  And I should also mention that I had on jeans and a “work habit”, a heavy garment that the brothers wear over a shirt and work pants.  And it took 3 trips - did I mention that, too?  Every twenty feet or so I had to stop, half exhausted.  I must have looked pretty rough …

Now this mountain is pretty steep, but cars - and even homes - can reach part way up.  So as I pushed up the last load, I came to a stop in front of the last home, where some friends of the friars live.  Seeing me, the lady of the house, Diane, came out immediately, scooting down the path from her property to meet me with a smile - and a huge bottle of Gatorade.  We chatted briefly, and between her sweetness, her generosity, and the huge bottle of Gatorade, I felt renewed and invigorated.  She went back to her house so cheerfully.  What a change - she made my day.  I finished the job, but I sometimes wonder if I could have without her.

When Our Lord carried the cross up the hill of Calvary, tradition has it that a woman named Veronica met Him to wipe His face.  How revived and invigorated must the Lord have felt!  In return, she was left with the image of His Face on her veil.

And on her heart.

Remember the Lord’s words?:  “And whoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mt 10:42)

Do you want the joy of having the Face of Jesus imprinted on your heart?  Then when you see Him in His suffering, be generous to Him.

You will certainly not lose your reward.