Mrs. Tyrrell looked inside the brown paper bag and found hundreds of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and several postage stamps. The couple must have saved this for several years. Mrs. Tyrrell brought it in to me with a smile and a little tear. It was so touching that these two parishioners had so thoughtfully saved their change for all these years and wanted to give it to us so we could better help their parish children. We have received many donations, especially in the run up to our festival. Some have been for $20, one parishioner recently gave $500 toward the Bishop’s Golf Classic. All of these have been greatly appreciated (and are so important for us to serve more children). But there was something very personal in the little paper bag of change collected for so long and then lovingly given. Mrs. Tyrrell was not the only one to have misty eyes.
We often get caught up in the Christmas holiday – not just the shopping and busy-nes, but even in our attempts to keep Jesus central. Our families often give serious gifts to those in need, and will often stress out even about that, trying to keep the love of Jesus central. But like the old woman in Jesus’s story of the widow’s mite, it is really pretty simple. What do you have? Give that.
Much was given by this parishioner, much more than the amount of quarters and dimes, and Jesus remained central. This is what they could do to help, and they gave. During this Christmas season, somehow in this little gift, let the spirit of giving be symbolized in the little bag of coins left on the counter.
Rick Howick is the Principal of St. Catherine of Alexandria School in Riverside.