The Pontifical Mission Societies of Charleston in South Carolina

       On one cold evening, my girls in the hostel showed me the most remarkable example of God's love. We were outside sitting on the gravel courtyard. Not all the children owned sweaters, and many wore their bed sheets to stay warm. An elderly man came through the gate. He walked with a limp, using his cane, moving slowly and painfully as he approached the steps to the motherhouse. Weak with hunger and thirst, he sat on the ground and told his story. He had walked for miles in the dark with no food or money. His wife had died, he was too ill to work. As he spoke, I noticed that the girls were watching. The Catholic girls made the sign of the Cross and said a short prayer. Then two of the girls rose and began to gather rice from the plates that still had food. They sat on the ground beside the old man; they did not hand him the plate of rice, instead, they picked up the rice with their fingers and fed him. In India, we eat with our hands. It is an act of love to feed another person in the same way a mother feeds a baby. I watched in amazement as these girls, who often go to bed hungry, fed this stranger. Some of the girls went to the well; filling a cup with water, and held it so he could drink. Other collected ten rupees (about 18 cents) and gave the money to him. These poor girls like the boy in today's gospel are living examples of God's love.  

       You, too, can show the same generosity and compassion that those girls in the missions showed the man in need. Prayerfully consider a gift to the Pontifical Mission Societies in Charleston, SC to enable kindness and generosity in mission territories across the world.