I was distributing Holy Communion at the Mass last Sunday at Sauble Beach. As people were coming up in line to receive communion, a little girl lined up for a blessing. I would venture a guess that she was about 5 years old. She stopped in front of me, with hands folded together as a sign that she desired to be blessed. I offered her a blessing as I usually do, and then something unexpected happened. This little girl put her arms around my legs and gave me a big hug. Why am I telling you this? Well, perhaps because that moment stayed with me for a week now. Even when a priest friend of mine called me and asked, “What’s new in the Church? What do you know? What have you heard?” He was interested in hearing about negative things, gossip, etc. Instead I shared the story with him about the little girl who gave the priest a hug after receiving a blessing. What I’m realizing is that in the midst of all the negative things that exist in the Church, there are also many good things. The good are usually small, and humble, and it’s easy to miss them. But we should not. It is in these small things that we find life. I never thought that a little girl’s hug could give me so much joy. It is so easy for us to see the negatives, the scandals, the gossip, etc. But what about all the good and beautiful things that God is doing all around us? They may seem smaller than the bad things we notice so easily, but just because they seem small doesn’t mean they are. Fr. Wojtek Kuzma
