Father Charles Puthota

The little Julia and her grandfather were taking a walk in their rural neighborhood, sharing precious moments of conversation about what children tend to ask in their inimitable style of innocence and insight. They happened to pass an open well when the girl says to him: “Grandpa, where does God live?” Holding her arms firmly back, the grandfather asks the girl to look down into the water in the well. He says to her, “Tell me what you see.” The girl says, “I see myself, grandpa.” The man says, “Julia, that is where God lives. God lives in you.“

Walking from St. Elizabeth Church last week to anoint a parishioner in the neighborhood, I saw a long line of people winding around Dr. MLK Jr. Academic Middle School campus on Girard Street. They were waiting to pick up food bags distributed by San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. Talking to the organizers, I came to know that they distribute once a week over 900 food bags at this location as they do in other places as well. Anyone could receive food or donate or volunteer.

An atheist quizzes his newly converted Christian friend about Jesus. “Where was Jesus born? How many apostles did he have? Who were his parents? Where did he die?” The neophyte draws a blank to each question. Unimpressed, the atheist says, “You seem to know almost nothing about Jesus to whom you claim to have been converted.” The friend answers: “I’m ashamed at how little I know about Jesus. However, some years ago I used to be abusive toward my own family and addicted to gambling and alcohol. But now I am completely free from those demons. All this Jesus has done for me. This much I know of him.”

Years ago, as a young priest studying at Marquette University, I had the privilege of doing a summer French language course at Institut Catholique de Paris, as a way of preparing myself for a European language requirement for my doctoral program. The Jesuits at Rue de Grenelle in Paris generously gave me board and lodging. The French food was out of this world. Staying with the Jesuits, I would walk to my classes through the busy streets of Paris, amazed at the sights of the City of Lights. One of my favorite things was to walk to Notre Dame de Paris. What a luminous, resplendent cathedral! I fell in love with the grandeur and majesty of the church. It mediated to me the mystery of God. Through its towering gothic architecture, magnificent stained-glass windows, centuries-old history, and the fervent faith of those who worshipped there, God became both powerfully transcendent and movingly intimate to me. My experience was not unlike that of Thomas Merton, who as a young man visiting European cathedrals, was deeply touched by the presence of God, a religious experience that eventually led him to faith and vocation.