Thanks be to God

I wanted to share this column by Fr. Gumersindo Meiriño that originally appeared in Spanish in El Lector, December 18, 2006. Fr. Gumer married the lady he talks about in this column several days later.

I write these few words in a small office. Around me are the birds with their morning songs and the sun that appears with force to illuminate and give heat to life on the planet earth. A little further downhill, runs the Uruguay, tame and calm. Mixed with the song of the birds, the noises of men begin to be heard. People going by on their bicycles to work, children to the school, another car. Lifting my eyes, I see the observant palm, the roses red with splendor, the green, red and yellow plants, the celestial blue of the sky that reminds me of Our Mother of the Miraculous Medal. And in front of these events of life, only one word occurs to me: THANKS.

Thanks be to God who gives us so many things each day that we do not know how to appreciate. Eyes, hands, a face, a nose, feet… Thanks because He shows His singular beauty in nature, the sun, the birds, the stars, the trees….We keep watching TV shows; we rise at daybreak to watch the weddings of the powerful. But is there a greater spectacle than the setting of the sun, when we watch it from the heart?

Thanks be to God for what He is making me experience during these last months. The closeness of a family in which I grew up and who loved me not because of how important my work was but because I was their son, their brother, their brother-in-law, their uncle. The titles that were placed behind my name didn't matter to them; for them I have always been Sindo -- that is how I have been called in my house since I was a little boy. Except my mother and my father who, when they were angry or in an ironically affectionate tone, would call me "Don Sindo" or "Don Gumersindo".

Thanks be to God for the person whom He has put by my side. First as my companion in the mission and later as an inseparable companion. She woke me up from my arrogance. She taught to me to love God in a new way. When I thought I was a wise man based on all the things I had experienced, she taught me to pray the Lord's Prayer and to put on faith in Jesus each morning, trusting completely in Him. And soon our first "little child" will be born, a book that is called "Reiki Crístico" ("Christian Reiki").

Thanks be to God for those good friends who accompany us, who have understood our new way, who have given us breath, who are noble, sincere and friendly people. Among them, thanks to the evangelical pastors who have prayed for us and with us. Thanks be to God for my brother priests who are my friends, who have shown themselves to be such in these moments, and who are good people. Thanks be to God also for those who have not understood my way and my decision. Because of what I have shared with them, I will not stop loving them just because of this.

Thanks be to God for the friends who do not understand me, because my role was more important than the person for them. They help me review my life every day.

Thanks to you who read this article every week and have a good heart and good will because you will continue to read it, although now it will only be called "Buenas Noticias de Gumer" ("Gumer's Good News").