This is the type of story that we all should read everyday. We meet people where they are in this world; they have a loved one in pain and possibly close to death, we have others who have lost jobs, are in legal trouble, have children that need assistance or have just fallen in love. We don’t know, but we can be present to that person. We can let them ahead in traffic, we can smile and say good morning as we pass on the street. We can pass a few dollars into the cup of those in need or open the door to the other that is entering the same building. We can do small acts of kindness that allows the other to know that in some very small way you are sharing their concern, their trouble is your trouble. We are all one, and we reach the other through patient acts of kindness. Our small acts combined with the countless other small acts converge and allow us all to become what we were meant to be.

I read this yesterday after I woke up in the morning and could not think straight. I went to Mass and thought about this question. As I slept there was a great number of people that I don’t know who were providing me comfort and peace. I slept in a warm house with gas provided by the workers at the gas company, to make sure that I was safe the fire department was on duty as was the police department. I know if I or members of my family were sick during the night there were doctors and nurses on duty to assist us. And if needed a cab or uber driver to get us to the hospital. And half way around the world in places I have never been there were people saying prayers in their places of worship or their private homes, praying for peace, praying that we all be united in love. There were merchant marine personnel transporting the goods that we all use, There are at every moment of our existence people all over the world who are contributing to our lives in ways that we don’t know about. We can’t live without each other. Thank you for this question, it made me just start to think about something that we take for granted.