Our Heart goes out to you

Our Heart goes out to you

With the 4th of July and other traditional holidays there will always be lonely persons sitting around with no one to share their day with.  My wife and I are among the very fortunate who have more relatives living close by and are able to share this comradery with some who have no one else.  A phone call came to us on Saturday, July 2nd asking if it would be alright for her to bring a neighbor, who is a veteran, to our cook-out on Sunday the 3rd.  It was with elation that we will accept him just as we welcome our own family.

My concern is for the many whom no one has invited, not just for a large gathering but if nothing else to sit with them chatting and celebrating our Nation’s day of victory from an aggressor we have overcome.  When I was stationed away from home the holidays became lonely when some went back home while others like myself had to stay on base.  So, I feel for those, especially now elder veterans, who have no one to at least sit with.  This might be a plea for the rest of us to seek at least one of the forgotten and extend some type of love via self-indulging towards those who gave so much.

Perhaps the greatest feeling this week came when some other relatives called and asked if they could bring some more older persons with them and of course my heart leapt for the joy that we were filling our banquet hall; even in a park shelter. 

I often think how the Lord in the story of sending out servants to bring strangers into his hall so that there would be enough to share his feast.  (cf Mt. 22: 1 - 14).

There should always be enough space to invite the poor, the crippled, and the lonely for at least one day where empathy for those with no one can rely upon.

Ralph B. Hathaway, July 4th, 2022