Today in church, the scripture readings were about poor widows who gave everything they had to God. The first reading was about the widow who met Elijah. He asked her to care for him. She said she had only enough for a final meal for her and her son. After that, they would die. Elijah promised her that if she helped him, God would take care of her and her son, which of course He did. In the Gospel reading, Jesus pointed out a poor widow who gave all her money to the temple. Jesus explained to His disciples that she had given more than even the rich people because she gave everything she had. In the homily, the priest explained how beautiful the actions were of the trusting, generous, faithful women. As he talked, I couldn’t help but notice the activity around us. A few rows in front of us was a mom, dad, and 2 kids. One of the boys had special needs and he and his brother went back and forth between mom and dad. Both parents were so patient with them and with each other as they taught them the basic movements of the Mass. In front of them was a teenager who also had special needs. He was with an older man. The boy would occasionally rub the back of the old man or gently tug at his sleeve to say something to him. The old man too was very patient. Sometime during the Mass, another family scooted in 2 rows in front of us. This family included a mom, dad, and 5 young children. There weren’t even enough chairs to accommodate the crowd, but they made it work. A couple of the kids were very active and the baby loved to make that high pitched scream. The parents calmly gave their attention to the child that needed it most. After a while, the dad finally took the baby and the next younger out the back doors. While it was somewhat of a distraction, it seemed to me that these parents and families were demonstrating beautiful actions of their own.

I Found God today in beautiful actions.