A Child's Humility - The Greatest Gift

Dear friend,

 

I hope you had a blessed Easter, and Christ has etched himself into your heart, the depth of your being (Proverbs 4:23).

 

I wanted to share with you something personal . I know that now many of you are sheltered in place – if you are like me, it is surreal as spring is blooming all around us, beckoning us to get out congregate, and yet we are distant – watchful of the person close to us, washing our hands, worried if “I might be next”. 

 

On Good Friday, my family and rode our bikes to 14 churches – a beautiful New Orleans tradition in which each church is a Station of the Cross .  After about 6 miles and 13 churches we ended at St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter – the oldest in the USA. The Cathedral opens out onto Jackson Square, normally teeming with people and drums and horns and voodoo palm readers. People wander about coated in powdered sugar from beignets or amble a long with camera's and daiquiris in hand. Horse drawn carriages, cars, mopeds, and bikes buzz through the streets. I have been in New Orleans for 9 years, and this was a first. Jackson Square and the Cathedral at 3 pm on Good Friday afternoon, save for a couple of stragglers, was empty.  The streets surrounding, usually dancing with pilgrims and tourists and traffic were quiet, lonely . As I said to a friend it was like a scene from the Book of Eli .

 

Many of us are like the French Quarter – lonely, locked down, financially on the brink – work has been virtual, or furloughed, or terminated… Bills, health, children, future?….  We are praying to Mary, asking Our Father for our daily bread, hungry for Jesus in the Eucharist.

 

I want to let you know The Newman Idea is right there with you . We are struggling and uncertain, though your generosity allowed us to quickly pivot online – and I invite you to join us for class or for a parish mission . We also have been fortunate to receive a PPP loan/grant to keep us afloat until June. But there is so much turmoil in our society, especially in higher education, we don’t know where it is all going. But we have our mission, we are going to trust in the Lord that if this is His work, He will be our Pillar in the Cloud (Ex. 13:21-22) that lead the Israelites from slavery and danger to safety. He will do the same, although we may not understand the path in which he leads us – not just The Newman Idea but all of us. In these days seek the Lord and ask Him what your mission is. Pray for us as we pray for you that we do the Lord's work.

So, here is the personal part.  You never know when kids are listening. My wife and I have had some kitchen table conversations in the last week, and I have talked with friends and family and board members about the future of The Newman Idea. Last night after having put the kids down, I was doing the late shift and washing some the final dishes from our wonderful Easter dinner. Ella, my wife, had done the lion’s share and I was finishing up the stragglers.  I heard my 10 year old – Naomi – quietly come down the stairs and walk up behind me.  I figure she wanted a glass of water to help get to sleep. Instead, she handed me her wallet and a couple of loose bills; it's filled with singles and a couple of 5’s and 10’s and 20’s. 

 

Out of nowhere she says, “Dad I want you to have my money for The Newman Idea.” I am trying to keep it together. This is money she had been squirreling away for a while now, maybe a hundred bucks from odds and ends over the years, birthday cards, chores, who knows. She thrust in in front of me, and of course I said I can’t take that, but she insisted. 

Not only does it show the beautiful heart of my daughter – for Naomi means beautiful – one that will be a rock of Christ for many, but it shows the beauty of Easter, of Christ, of the Resurrection. I have been praying fervently to our Lord for His Will to be done – and so it was.  This is the Greatest Gift The Newman Idea has received – the love and care of a child.  I am humbled and awed by her, and by the God who gave her to us. 

 

I pray that all of you receive the gift that you need in this troubling and uncertain time. It may not be expected, or exactly what you think you need, but when you receive that gift – know it will be from the Lord, and therefore perfect. 

 

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You! Thank you for Naomi and Bless all those who need the gift of your grace now.

 

Dave