Miracles

by Fr. Francis Mary Roaldi, CFR

I confess that I have a great propensity to rush. So often, whether in our friary, traveling, or at San Benito Jose, I tend to have my eyes on the goal and I miss truly significant things around me. Thankfully God often will put people or little things in my path to slow me down and remind me what is really important. This is what happened one February day of this year. I was moving at my normal pace from the front gate of the clinic to go upstairs to our administrative offices and attend to business matters. On my way by I smiled and greeted the poor people waiting to be attended, but as I reached the staircase, two people in my peripheral vision caught my attention. They were an elderly couple, waiting at the pharmacy window for some medication prescribed by our own Dr. Carlos. Immediately I knew they were campesinos or "country folks." After one has lived in Honduras a little while, the distinct dress, bearing, speech and a certain look in the faces reveals individuals as being from remote mountain villages. They are, in diverse ways, a real treasure. This particular couple just drew me to them. Whether it was his weather beaten sombrero, or her unusual sunglasses, I do not know, but my heart was tugged. So I slowed myself down, turned around and greeted them. Like so many of the people that travel hours to reach San Benito, they were nothing but gracious and grateful. As the conversation continued I inquired as to the reason for their visit: was one of them very sick, or just a check up? The wife explained a few problems her husband had and then mentioned that she was there for a follow-up visit. This is normal procedure for San Benito following our surgical brigades. After the surgeons return to the States, the doctors that we have at San Benito schedule post surgical visits to make certain the recovery is going well. This particular woman had had surgery in January when two eye surgeons came and performed cataract surgeries for an entire week. She recounted her story to me in a most humble, but joyful way. She told me, "Father, for years I've been losing my sight [due to the severe cataracts she had in both eyes]. And one day, once I had completely lost my sight, I went to our little chapel and I knelt down and prayed, 'Lord, how am I going to read your Word if you let me go blind like this! You need to give me back my sight!' And now father I came here, and your doctors helped me, and I can see again." I was totally taken aback by the simple faith which surrounded her whole story. This little old lady's plea to be able to read the bible again, asking God for His help, and seeing His hand in the little miracle she received at the hands of US surgeons in January of this year. She had literally come into San Benito blind, and left being able to see again. It is a miracle Jesus regularly performed on many individuals 2000 years ago, and for this woman, it happened again. My one regret is that as I closed the conversation (much more joyful and edified from the whole encounter) I failed to remember their names. Nevertheless, as I ascended the stairs to my administrative tasks, I did so with a new lightness. I was so grateful for having encountered, once again, how God chooses to do good through San Benito and all the many people who generously offer their time, talents and money to make the work possible. It is truly a beautiful work and a light for many of the poorest of the poor in Honduras. As for myself, I continue to hope that I may learn my lesson to slow down a bit more - to stop and listen more frequently - and in all of it to encounter once again the miracles God does in so many lives every day.