A Random Act of Kindess

It was Saturday, January 12th, and I was on my way to officiate the funeral of one of those beautiful saints of the Greatest Generation, a man named John Brown. Mr. Brown's children had sent me--via fax and email--a bonanza of information to use in preaching the memorial homily. Unfortunately, I had been kept busy with other funerals and parochial business and I hadn't had time to finish writing this eulogy. I decided to stop at the local Dunkin Donuts to put the finishing touches on my tribute to Mr. Brown.

I didn't pay much attention to the woman in line in front of me. Truth be told, I don't think I could pick her out of a police line-up. I ordered a Boston Creme and a small cup of coffee, sat down at a table, and pulled out my funeral notes. I still had an extra twenty minutes to finish the eulogy.

"Excuse me," the woman said. She was standing over my table. "I have a present for you." She handed me a buff envelope about the size of a thank-you note or a party invitation with the words "For You" and the number four written on it. The envelope was sealed, and as I opened it, the woman vanished out the door.

The envelope contained a small note card. When I opened it, a crisp ten dollar bill fell out onto the table.

The message in the envelope read as follows:

"In Memory of Olivia Engel, Age 6

"In memory of the 26 lives lost in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy, I'm doing 26 Random Acts of Kindness. You  are the recipient of Random Act #4. Please enjoy this small gift and remember to pay it forward. I hope this brings a smile to your heart."

I am deeply touched and inspired that the horror of Newtown should provoke kindness rather than fear and compassion rather than bitterness. The gift to me was not the ten dollars, but the blessing of hope in the umbra of tragedy.

The greatest weapon of mass destruction is the feeling that we are living in a heartless, hopeless world in which sin and death have the last word. This is not so. I truly bless this anonymous woman and all others who have committed themselves to honoring the victims of violence with acts of love and mercy. Because of this, I will never forget the little girl in whose honor this act was done.

I have decided to donate ten dollars to The Brady Campaign, a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of gun violence in America. You can do the same by clicking here: http://www.bradycampaign.org/.

"Lead on, O King eternal, til sin's fierce war shall cease

and holiness shall whisper the sweet amen of peace;

for not with swords loud clashing, nor roll of stirring drums,

but deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom comes."

                                                               From Lead on, O King Eternal

                                                               E. W. Shurtleff (1862- 1917)