– Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade
Jessica, a sixteen-year-old girl, had a beautiful and abundant bunch of hair covering her head, making her face even more beautiful and angelic. One day I was invited by her parents to have dinner at their house. I was surprised and actually shocked when I saw Jessica. Even with her same beautiful smile and brilliant eyes, she didn’t look the same. She had cut her hair.
– Jessica, – I said, – you look so so different.
That’s when Jessica told me about «Locks of Love». « Locks of Love » is a public non-profit organization that provides hair pieces to children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata. But in this case Jessica’s hair was a gift she gave to a friend of hers who had lost her hair due to chemotherapy treatments.
Also, Jessica taught me that in many cases when women, especially young women, have to face an oncologic condition and have to go through chemotherapy, before the fear of losing their lives, they fear losing their hair. Feelings just happen. They don’t have to make sense.
Counting the hairs on your head («Even all the hairs on your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. » Matthew 10: 26-33):
It was just a few weeks after Kathryn Lay’s surgery; the chemotherapy treatments had begun. Every morning, she would comb her hair — and every morning she would pull out anther clump of her beautiful hair from the brush. This side effect was hitting her harder and harder.
One morning, she felt the top of her head and, for the first time, she could count the strands. But she felt strangely at peace. She held each strand — just as God, in his providence, could count them from the moment God breathed his life into her. She became aware of God present in the love of her family and friends who were supporting and suffering with her.
She remembers: « I felt comfort knowing that God knew how many strands were in my brush, on my pillow, in my hat, and in my hand. God had counted them all. With or without my hair, God knew me and what my future held. I was still afraid — of the cancer, of the chemo, the upcoming brain scan, and its results — but I knew that God would be with me through it all. »
May we find peace and reason to hope in the providence of God who has “counted . . . all the hairs of your head,” a providence that manifests itself in the love of family, the comfort of friends, the support of church and community.
« I lost my hair, », says Kathryn Lay, « but not my faith. ».
Dedication to a dear friend – Janice Contreras
My column and my Eucharist today are dedicated to my dear friend in the United States, Janice Contreras, the first coordinator of the «People Helping People», at the St. Anthony’s Church, City of Oakley, California. Janice has gone through some tough times also, like Kathryn Lay. Janice knows what chemo is and she knows what that means – losing her hair.
Janice! Tourists from all over the world visiting Madeira and attending the English Mass are going to be praying for you and for Larry, your husband, at the Mass I am saying today, in English in this beautiful Madeira Island. «People Helping People» which has been «your baby» for a long time, is still alive. God is in control of your life and your struggles.
The poorest of the poor you helped are your best advocates. We love you Janice and I thank you for inspiring my life to be spent at the service of the poorest of the poor. Starting today, your name and Larry’s name are going to be added to the prayer list of our “Joyful Gift”.
Please don’t quit before the miracle happens.
Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade (bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)
