28th Sunday Ordinary Time: Gratitude

In Sudan, when a visitor comes, the first thing one does is to offer him or her a glass of water.

The Monsignor came to my house.  I gave him a glass of water.

“You don’t have any cold water?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“What about ice cubes? No ice cubes?” 

“I’m sorry”, I replied.

“Never mind, I’m not really thirsty anyway,” leaving the water on the table.

The old Dinka refugee woman came to my house. 

I gave her a glass of water. 

She took the water, blessed herself, then slowly drank the water.

Then she blessed herself again and handed me back the empty glass.

Peter Major MHM