Prayer for August

On Kindness

"Sprinkle the sunshine of kindness wherever you may"

Over the past few years I have come to the conclusion that the most important virtue (to use an old-fashioned word) to practise in everyday life is kindness. It is small, unobtrusive, and most often goes unnoticed. And that is the best kind. I am not referring to the Boy Scout who takes the old lady across the street whether she wants to go or not. I am thinking of the small and gentle kindnesses of everyday life – the smile, the pause to listen, the hand that quietly steadies the chair.

When he saw the crowds he had compassion on the them - Matthew 9:36

I am reminded of a moment which moved me deeply. A couple of years ago I attended a brunch at our college reunion. Among those at the table were two men I hadn’t seen for many years. Friends for a long time, they now lived many miles apart, one not far away, the other in Florida. The man who lived at a distance dearly wanted to attend the reunion, but he suffered from ALS and was experiencing increasing difficulty.

But come he did – arriving by plane, to be met by his friend of many years, taken to his home for the night, then on to the mass and brunch. There he was “cared for” so quietly, so respectfully and with such sensitivity that his disability was barely noticed. There, truly, was kindness, and a gathering I will never forget.

...his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. - Luke 15:10

The sun of August is kinder than that of July, but it is the August sun that brings about the fullness of the crop. Look around you these August days and sprinkle the sunshine of kindness wherever you may.

Written by Sister Mary Buckley CSJ
Photo by Gisela Cote

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