The unknown benefactor
One day, a simple yet deeply moving and significant event happened to me. The warden—a common-law inmate—was serving lunch and, perhaps noticing that I had been in the punishment cell for some time, quietly added two ladles of food to my canteen. This occurred in the presence of a thin-faced, elderly platoon leader.
The platoon leader attempted to resist, but the warden placed the mess tin atop my lap and said:
– Never mind, Don, he’s been here a long time, poor thing!
I took the mess tin and quickly hid in the blind spot of the cell, so that the guard peering through the peephole would not see me crying. Oh, unknown benefactor—thief by trade or victim of some personal drama—you do not even realize that, by your gesture today, you restored in my soul faith in humanity. For so many years, I had seen humankind only in the face of beasts, always ready to inflict harm. You renewed my belief in man and the human spirit.
How good it is to be among human beings in whose presence one feels safe, unafraid of deceit, lies, or persecution.
The next step is even deeper: your fellow human being must feel with certainty that you will help, support, and care for him.
Our attitude toward Christ reveals the true measure of our attitude toward humanity. Whoever loves Christ naturally loves man, for Christ is man in his highest expression. Whoever does not love Christ does not truly love man, but merely pretends to.
(Fr. Liviu Brânzaș – Ray from the Catacomb)