"THE GREATEST GIFT"- Fr. Noel Spring
"A bell isn't a bell until you ring it
A song isn't a song until you sing it
And love isn't love until you give it away!"
The greatest gift that you can give any person is your genuine love.
No money or wealth or money can buy it.
Friends, it is so easy give things. We can so easily ease our conscience by giving things to people who we know we should thank. The majority of people, however, who are in hospital, living alone or lonely, because of circumstance do not need things from us - they need us. They need to feel they are important to us.
You may have heard of the family who wanted to do everything possible for their 86 year old mother who had become ill. The Doctor suggested that they should give her a small glass of brandy each night to help her digestion. However, she was a very religious woman adn she refused to take it. They then offered her a glass of milk, which she graciously accepted. So rigorously, every night, they would get a fine big glass, fill it three quarters full of milk and then fill it to the brim with brandy. For two years, she drank the mixture licking her lips not to miss the last drop. Then came the end when she was called to God's eternal peace. From her deathbed, she spoke to the family and her final words were: "by the way, never sell that cow"! Each simple thing they did was to give comfort,joy,happiness and love to their mother.
We may all dream of showing love in some dramatic way and of doing something exceptional to show God how much we love him. But for most of us, we are asked to show love of God to others in the ordinary simple things of life, in the bits and pieces of everyday living.