Hablemos, Tele

Yesterday, St. Theresa’s parish here in Sugar Land, Texas, was packed to the rafters. There were people even in the outer hallways, but the true miracle of the morning didn’t happen at the altar; it happened right at my right hand. Let me tell you what I witnessed with this pair of “Senior Citizens” that set my heart racing.

These two champions, carrying the weight of their years, entered the church making a tremendous effort. They walked halfway down the aisle and only found one empty seat. But love doesn’t care for separate comforts: after a few minutes, he helped her up, and they backed away, looking for a corner where they could both fit. Providence did its part, and a young couple gave up their chairs right in front of me. Watching them walk was like a poem; you couldn’t tell who was helping whom, but they moved as a single block.

When the time for the collection came, the gentleman, with an enviable spirit of service, stood up to help the ushers. When the task was done and he handed over the collection at the back of the temple, he began his return… but his wires got crossed.

He passed right in front of us with a lost look, heading straight for the end of the aisle. I watched him, thinking he had some other business to attend to, but no. Upon reaching the back, he began to gesture with a look of worry that broke my soul; he was asking the people in the back pews: “Where is my wife?”

She and I watched him from our spot. Before I could jump to the rescue, she started waving her hands as if she were guiding a plane onto the runway, until he finally spotted her.

What came next left me speechless. Upon reaching her side, the man, visibly distressed, almost whispered: “For a moment, I forgot where we were sitting… Forgive me.” They looked at each other, sharing one of those smiles that can only be understood after decades of traveling the road together, and the world returned to its axis.

I didn’t cry because I found courage from who knows where, but I looked at them with an expression that said: “Don’t worry, I understand you perfectly.”

I left with immense joy, thanking the Almighty for letting me see up close how life evolves. At the end of the day, what matters is that, even if the path gets blurry, the right person always appears to show you the way home.

I don’t know who they were, but from here, I send them a shower of blessings.