Beyond the Clouds by Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. | Page 72

for his neighbors. It will not be for the perfection of his language. For the
language of the humble and loving service will never die.
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We place a lot of conditions on things when we have the possibilities. I have
seen parents struggling to make their children eat in well to do families.
Whereas for a poor child- devoid of the many choices of food- anything will be
good, and he will eat it with much joy. A sense of poverty, no doubt, is the
essential ingredient for conversion.
Once visiting one of our mission stations in north India- where there is a hostel
for children coming from the remote villages- I was very much touched by
their simple and hard living conditions. So I decided to give an apple to each of
them during their evening meal, which means a little rice and curry. They
were seated on the floor, swaddled in a dirtied shawl or sweater since it was
winter time. They received the apple with much joy, and cherished it in their
hands. I noticed that some were not eating it. On enquiry, I found that they
did not want to eat it because they wanted to see and enjoy it. Once they eat it,
it will be over. This moved my heart.
When we are poor, in a state of want, we will be able to make many
adjustments. I am not advocating that we do away with quality and accept
anything and everybody. Many times, we place many conditions on things
because we can afford to. Remembering the little ones holding their apples, I
have been puzzled to see how difficult it is for some to choose what type of
bread they want for breakfast! Recall the plane: at most we get two choices,
even in good airlines. Fish or meat!
Let us not imagine that we are amidst only strangers in this world. While we
might meet people in the place only once in our life, in a moment of need, they
could become real angels to us. Thus, the international and global community
should be built on the most fundamental foundations. We are all created in the
image and likeness of God, and we have inherited one planet to live in. Our
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