I have said this before, but I am always amazed at how people always smile when I smile at them or wave when I walk from the Church to the Rectory on Central Ave. The reason is that I am in the cassock and wearing the Cappello Romano. Such a simple thing, and yet it brings joy to strangers.
As I was walking to hear confessions this afternoon, a tall black man was also walking in that direction. We have drug dealers around, so I am cautious. But I decided to say hello to him and then on a second thought, tell him God bless him. He responded that it was too hot out. He asked me if this is where I pray. I noticed that he had an accent, so I asked him where he came from. He said Sudan. I then asked him if he was a muslim. He said no, he was christian and Catholic. I told him he was invited anytime to go to the big church where I was heading.
For me this was a God incident because, I was afraid to talk to him because he could be a drug dealer. But because I overcame my fears and was kind, I found out that he was a kind person too.
The original author of this blog passed away in July of 2016. RIP Father Carota.