You saw Him, Didn't you?

Rewards of a Virtuous Life By Mercedes W. Gutierrez *
There is a story about a man named Jim who traveled to Calcutta to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity. To his surprise one morning, Mother Teresa asked for his help as she roamed the streets looking for the sick and dying. When they left the house and were walking through the slums of India, Mother Teresa spotted a man lying in a ditch. She bent down and told Jim, “Pick him up.” As Jim looked at the dying man covered with sores, he thought to himself, “whatever you do, don’t touch him, don’t touch him.” So, he pulled his sleeves over his hands and reached down to lift the poor man out of the ravine.
They returned to the Missionary House and Jim laid the man on a mat in a large room where the missionaries care for the dying. After laying him down, Mother Teresa said to Jim, “bathe him.” Jim looked at Mother Teresa and then turned his glance back to the dying man. He thought again, “I cannot touch that man.” But, out of fear of disappointing Mother Teresa, he agreed. He took the sick man and laid him in a tub for washing. Then, with a sponge in hand, he cautiously patted the man’s sores, still refusing to make direct contact with him. However, with every contact the man repeatedly slipped down to the bottom of the tub. Jim was overcome with emotion, “how could I be so selfish, this man needs to know that he is not alone. He needs to know God loves him.”
Jim then placed his arms under the man’s shoulders and held him as he poured water over his wounds. While he washed the man, Jim began to rock him in his arms. At this moment, Jim noticed that he was no longer holding the man he had pulled from the ditch. He was actually holding our Lord…not an image of our Lord, but Jesus Christ himself. He had holes in his hands and feet. His side was pierced. His face was battered and bruised. While Jim was rocking him, he closed his eyes in amazement. Then, once he re-opened them, the suffering man had returned to his arms. Immediately, he looked behind him and saw Mother Teresa standing there. She smiled and softly said, “You saw him, didn’t you.”
We can only imagine the number of times Blessed Teresa of Calcutta interacted face-to face with our Savior. Her faith, her love, her outpouring of self for those who were the poorest of the poor …each of these virtues opened her soul to receive an abundance of grace: graces that actually allowed her to see Christ in humanity.
As Catholic women, we are called to demonstrate the same service of love in ourcommunities that Mother Teresa witnessed for the dying in Calcutta. We might not confront the atrocities of abandonment found in India, but God presents us with unique opportunities to grow in virtue each day. We need only ask ourselves how we respond to the cranky baby, the ungrateful parent or the gossipy neighbor. Do we react in anger, frustration and spite? Or, do we respond with patience and love.
Sacred Scripture reminds us, “whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). This profound verse is oftentimes dismissed because of the difficulty in implementing it. In order to know God and see His face, we must love. In addition, we need to pray for God’s grace to recognize the opportunities where we can grow in virtue. The Catechism teaches that “a virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good” (1803). Virtuous people pursue goodness and choose it in concrete ways.
One way that women can deepen their faith and cultivate virtue in their own lives is by attending spiritual retreats. On September 8th -9th, women will gather in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the 2006 ENDOW Catholic Women’s Forum entitled “Living a Grace-filled Life.” The Forum features two days of educational and uplifting talks from prominent Catholic speakers, daily Mass and confession, and enriching fellowship with other women.
Whether we take this opportunity for spiritual renewal or another, we must remember that God desires to reveal Himself to us in new and profound ways, just as he did with Blessed Teresa and Jim. We need only open our hearts to his grace and persevere in virtue.
Visit www.endowonline.com for registration information about the 2006 ENDOW Catholic Women’s Forum.

* Mercedes W. Gutierrez sits on the Board of Directors for ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women,) a non-profit, grassroots organization that promotes the New Feminism as proposed by Pope John Paul II. Mercedes and her husband Sergio live in Denver, Colorado.
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When did I see you hungry... thirsty.... sick... imprisoned....
Lord Open my eyes that I might see you always before me, not in the specatular, but in the ordinary, in the brad and wine of our lives, that we may see you, and ourselves be transformed.

Lord I offer myself to you today. Hold me to my offering, for what you offer in return is so much the greater.