Meaning (03/30/2026)

Stella loved her family. She missed her husband, but she could see him still in her children and grandchildren. She planted and tended to a huge garden every year and sold the produce to raise a little extra money, but mostly she did it for love of her husband. When she was working out in her garden, the memories of him were closer she told me. Grief she said was the price one pays for love, and meaning is what one does with that love.

She used the extra money to help others. She was generous not only with her produce, sharing it often with others, bringing it to the parish events and donating it as her contribution, but she also used the extra money to support charities that helped others. And whenever there was a need for extra volunteers, she tended to show up, helping in her own way, always working.

She taught me a great deal about real love. She taught me that doing things for others mattered more than the dollars in the long run. She taught me that giving of her time and talents were the most precious gifts she gave because they were wrapped in her love. She taught me that we all carry our own crosses that are invisible to others and the only way to discover them is to come to know the other by sharing the journey with them for a bit.

 This Monday of Holy Week I ponder the meaning of Christ’s coming and of His gift to us all. The image of Good Friday doesn’t look like a gift, but it is by far the greatest gift ever given. Holy Week teaches me that gifts of value aren’t always wrapped in pretty paper with bows. Christ’s gift to us as was Stella’s all those years ago were wrapped in love. And that’s what makes them so meaningful.

Holy Week is a time when we recognize the price the LORD paid for love of us. May it also be a time for us to ponder what we have made of that love. Let us add to the meaning by brining our deeds and our gift of self to this week and all beyond it for love of the Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.