Daily Meditation for February 13, 2023

We were told repeatedly not of give money to guests at the border hospitality center. We were to offer food, a bed, and clothing. Pablito was perhaps seven, and he needed a warm jacket before he and his daddy left on a seven-hour bus trip to St Louis. Pablito waited patiently as I fumbled through the stack of clothing. His father spoke softly that he had been robbed while in detention and was worried about buying food later. Miraculously, I pulled out a boy’s jacket with large pockets. Though a bit too large, Pablito looked handsome in it. I asked him to wait for I needed to get some extra buttons. I walked quickly from where my purse was stashed and put all my coins in the jacket pockets. When I returned the jacket to the boy, he plunged his hands into the pockets. He looked at me quizzically and said, “Botones?” “Yes, buttons,” I said. “Si,” he responded, “botones de plata” (buttons of silver), then smiled broadly and squealed, “Sank yu!”

By Judy Kramer, OSB