For You, a Banana

The Paschal Triduum is my favorite time of the year. 

One of the "things" that I love to do during that time is to sit in the church and greet people as they come visiting for their own or their group's prayer time in front of the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday following the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.

I was sitting the "second shift", from 10:00 PM until Midnight. The night was relatively light with visitors, so the church was peacefully quiet. The 11:00 hour was slow - very few people passed through the church. (I'm not complaining - it was just what I needed!)

Towards the end of the evening, a lady came in. I greeted her, and she proceeded to the front of the church, towards the Altar of Repose. She prayed for a little while, and as she was leaving, she wished me a happy feast day (since we celebrate the Institution of the Priesthood on that day), I thanked her, wished her a good night, and she left. 

About a minute later, I heard the doors of the church open (thinking another pilgrim or two was / were about to stop in for some prayer time), when the lady who just left came back into the church. She said that she wanted to give me something in appreciation for my priesthood. (I was a little surprised, and very humbled.) She mentioned to me that she didn't have much with her, but she had stopped at the grocery store amidst her visiting some of the area churches. 

Then she handed me a banana.

She felt embarrassed for not having anything else. And since I really didn't expect anything from anyone on that day, I was speechless. She knew that the Good Friday fast would be beginning shortly, but she thought that I would have been hungry. (I did grab a small bite between Mass and my "shift", so, in all honesty, I wasn't starving. But, again, I was speechless, so I really didn't know what to say to her at that point.) I thanked her for her gift, and she thanked me again, and left.



What are the proper words to thank someone for a gift you weren't expecting?



What are the proper words to thank someone for a banana?



In all honesty, it was a humbling moment to remind me of how much the faithful truly do appreciate the priesthood. 




That banana is probably one of the best gifts I've ever received.






Enjoy the journey . . .