Treasures of love are hidden within the walls of our homes; we discover them when we knock on the door, it is opened to us, and we sit with the people of the house. To some people, certain others are not important in the course of life, history and society. We don’t visit them, or we have no time to “waste” visiting them… But inside these homes are “treasures of love” and “so much joy,” free of life’s complications and tangles. When you are with them, you feel as though you are born again in a spirit of innocence, purity and simplicity. You can’t help but love them. They look at you with sincerity and admiration: “Can it be? The priest has come to visit us!”… They talk to you with a kind of lived human theology of “Give us this day our daily bread”… It was God I saw there. And no doubt he saw us through them: through their devout eyes, their innocent laughter, their generous welcome, their special care, the coming and going in the house: “We have to offer the priest something”… Their hospitality has a special flavour, full of their faith, their love and their humility… And when it was time to leave, and they walked me to the door despite how hard it was for one of them to move, I heard a very beautiful and precious thing: “Abouna, your visit is worth millions…” and he said it again, “millions…” I thanked them and drove back, and they don’t know that what I gained from them is worth many times more than millions… It is Jesus who lives with them. I touched with my own hands what “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” means. Thank you… and to all of you whom the priest visits and who welcome him with your good Christian spirit: all my love… I thought it would be lovely to share this simple experience with you; may it bring some security and peace into our souls, and the assurance that the world, despite everything, is doing just fine.
Father Joseph Abi Aoun
