Serving the poor and needy in our inner cities is a major concern for many people today. As Lent approaches it is good to stop and reflect on those people who give up their days and nights attending to the homeless and the destitute. One such person is one of our student sisters who while studying attends the Capuchin Homeless Centre in Dublin. As her studies come to an end she writes about her experience:
“I want to thank you for allowing me to experience serving the poor in the Capuchin Day Centre where I was a witness to a miracle, a miracle of human love. From serving on the floor to the kitchen or dish washing, all in all feeling the spirit of being brothers and sisters to each other. Day by day my time at the Day Center became a true spiritual experience. With all my heart, I can say I encountered God in this truly blessed sanctuary in the heart of Dublin. I remember the first time I worked at the Bain Marie, 540 plates passed through my hands. Five hundred and forty faces, some very young, some very old, some seen too old for the years they have known. Their eyes, 540 pairs of eyes looking in my soul. Christ passing me by, a chance to love, to adore, to remember His Call. As I am making my way back to study, these 540 stories accompanied me, five hundred and forty lives now part of me”.
Nguyen Thi Hieu Thao RNDM