As I am wont to do when I wake up in the night, I ease open my 8th-floor balcony door and gaze out into the night, checking that the moon is in its place, counting how many vehicles are travelling by (not many) and seeing if there are any people out and about at 3 am.
On a recent night,I observed a young woman shouting as she wandered down the street to the shelter for homeless women located nearby. She was wailing, “the person I love most in this world is my baby father but he doesn’t love me!” It was heart-rending her calling out her pain into the darkness.
The anguish of not feeling loved. Is there a worse feeling? I don’t think so.
“When was the last time we let our people know that we cherish them deeply?”
Though in this case, it was a specific person’s love she craved, it reminded me of the love that each of us has to share. When was the last time we let our people know that we cherish them deeply? Today would be a good day to remind them of our love. And who else can we reach out to that needs our care and compassion today? Let that person not need to feel unloved today.
-Sister Nancy Sullivan, csj