“In ancient Jewish society a woman depended on her husband for sustenance and social status,” comes the voice of Father Steve DeLeon through the television. “To lose a husband meant to be poor and defenseless, especially where the widow had no grownup son.” A few minutes late to Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, the Castillo family sneaks past the lobby and into the nursery, where the youngest children, Kevin, 8, and Tessa, 5, find spots on the floor, and where the family can watch the service over the television. The Castillo’s eldest, Kim, sits between her boyfriend Ryan Harr and her mother, Tammy Castillo, whose husband Mike, a Maintenance Material Management Coordinator, is deployed with the Normandy. Though this is their fifth deployment, for Tammy, it is proving to be the hardest.
“Faith is what will keep us going when it seems that our situation seems hopeless and our prayers seem to go unanswered,” continues Father Steve, as Tammy raises her eyes to the screen and Ryan rests his head on Kim’s shoulder. “God does not ask us to be perfect, because we will never be perfect. God asks us to keep on trying. The persistent widow is the hero of today’s parable, not because she got what was rightfully hers, but because she did not give up in the face of all of the obstacles.”
1 comment:
nice to be back here. great stories.
saludos
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