Recently I have had the privilege of being invited to spend 10 days in England. It was my first time in that beautiful country. It was a gift from a very special couple who attended the English Mass at the Chapel Penha de França, in Funchal. It is impossible to know Neil and Dena and not believe in the Sacrament of Marriage that is the symbol of the passion that God has for His people. Married for 53 years it is impossible to know Dena and Neil and not believe that Love is a growing journey. That love is growing together. That love is a commitment. That love is a decision. I strongly believe that they love each other more now than on the day of their Wedding. It is a marriage built on a rock as Jesus says in the Gospel (Mat. 7). It is impossible to know Dena and Neil and not believe that love is not love until it is shared with the world especially with the most vulnerable.
Neil belongs to the Church of England and Dena to the Catholic Church.
Besides their strong faith in God, their healthy communication, they also have something special. It is their sense of humour. That’s why laughter is the best music we can hear in that house. That’s what motivated Dena to buy a card for her grandson’s birthday with this saying: «My internet went down the other day so I had to go downstairs to speak to my family. They seemed like good people» Visiting England for the first time I felt like my internet had to break down for me to be able to «go downstairs» to know England and the marvelous English People.
One day in California I said to one of my colleagues: «I have a handicap. The more peoples and cultures I know, the less ready I feel like to put labels on them». He said: «No. That is not a handicap. That is a gift to see beauty in diversity». Africa was a mosaic of peoples, cultures and religions. The United States is a mosaic of peoples and cultures and religions. And they are really like a beautiful mosaic full of diversity and beauty.
However I don’t understand why I fell into the trap of believing that the English People were formal, distant and sometimes cold.
Each moment and each person and each corner of any street was for me a surprise. It was like a show with no intermission.
The place where I stayed was more in the country side of Shrewsbury. Those roads, escorted by beautiful trees extending their arms and embracing each other over the passing cars, the fields of wheat, cows and lambs grazing through those little hills… it is a scene that will stay forever in the eyes and hearts of those who visit them.
And… what about those «cold and distant» people? I confess that every moment and every person I met was a pleasant surprise. And one of the best parts of this discovery was that I was rewarded for expressing my feelings. In the airport I was close to a coffee shop, waiting for my flight. The waiters were so kind and always smiling and treating each customer like as if he/she was the only customer. I went to buy a cup of coffee and expressed my feelings about their service. I got my coffee. Then I asked a normal question: «how much is it?». The answer was: «That’s on the house». His name was Patrick. I wish I could meet Patrick again. But actually I met him again in every person I encountered in England.
Soon I will write another story about a social gathering made of “Cheese and Wine” that brought € 555,00 to the poor helped by “People Helping People” in Madeira.
Love and Peace
Fr. Bernardino Andrade