Real Mission: Suiting Up
A little boy in my parish once approached me on a Sunday morning with a gnarled face, shrugged shoulders, and squinty eyes that looked me up and down as he asked curiously, “Why do you always wear that?"
“Wear what? This?” clutching my collar and peering down at my wardrobe noir.
“Yeah, why do you always wear that?"
“Oh, this is my uniform. You know how if there is a fire, you look for someone dressed like a firefighter; and if someone’s sick you look for someone dressed like a doctor?"
"Yeah."
“Well, if someone needs to hear that they are loved by God, you can look for someone dressed like this."
He seemed satisfied with my brief synopsis.
This week, my uniform has been extended to include a face mask, gloves and a distantly detectable amount of Lysol spray.
Three days a week, I am blessed to carry your donations of food and hygiene items to Cincinnati Public School students at John P. Parker School in Madisonville. Every time I fill a bag with your generous gifts, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for you and for our Church community.
Mission feels so real in this time which requires us to suit up and step outside of ourselves. My days look a little different than usual lately, but I’m grateful to have a uniform that tells people exactly what I’m here for: to tell them that God loves them, no matter what.
