Early this morning, while I was vesting for Mass, a Vietnamese woman approached me. She is a regular at 6:30 AM Mass, and several weeks ago she told me she was going to Vietnam to visit family. She hadn’t been there for a while. She jokingly (I thought) had said to me several times, “Can I have your checkbook?”
She made her trip and apparently got back to the US last week. She said she went over with $15,000 and came back with $50. Mind you, this is not a wealthy woman. She saved a little money as she could to accumulate the sum.
She went on to describe a priest who was in the mountains and began a parish there several years ago. At first, he had 400 parishioners. Now, he has over 4,000 and he has no church in which to celebrate the sacraments.
She gave him her money and asked him to build a church on that mountain.
Looking back, perhaps she was not joking when she asked me for a donation. Little did I know it would have gone for such a good cause.
She said this morning, “In Vietnam, they run to church to pray. Here, the run from the church.”
May God bless her abundantly for her generosity. The poor are never outdone in their acts of charity toward others.
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