It’s amazing what you can find at a parish festival or picnic. Growing up, the annual St. Luke Parish Picnic at Lakewood Park usually yielded some great food, lots of fun, and a feeble goldfish to all those able to conquer the bean bag toss behind the white, screened-in pavilion. While those prized fish never survived more than a week, the memories certainly live on.
Here in Central Pa, many folks attend parish festivals, and while not nearly as numerous as they once were, two still continue to thrive: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Altoona and Saint Patrick’s in Newry. It’s great to see both traditions carry on. One of the biggest differences between the picnics I remember growing up, and the festivals of my current community, is the existence of parish yard sales which come standard here alongside the fun and games.
Parishioners can unload their “junk” and the church community benefits from the sale of all items donated. Everything from holiday decorations to lightly used pots and pans are there for the very affordable taking. This past summer, for the price of a mere quarter, I found a hidden gem at the St. Pat’s festival that has been a part of most of my mornings ever since. It’s a paperback book of quotes and teachings from Mother Teresa—now Saint Teresa of Calcutta—called Do Something Beautiful for God, and it has unquestionably done something beautiful for me.
Sometimes we don’t fully see the big picture when it comes to certain words or concepts. Our experiences and the things we have been taught often fall short of the mark in helping us comprehend the true meaning of something; this is evidenced by our thoughts, words, or actions. Never was this more clear for me than the morning of March 12, 2024, when I read the following passage pertaining to what it truly means to practice humility.
There are a few ways to practice humility: To speak as little as possible of one’s self. To mind one’s own business. Not wanting to manage other people’s affairs. To avoid curiosity. To accept contradictions and corrections cheerfully. To pass over the mistakes of others. To accept insults and injuries. To accept being slighted, forgotten, and disliked. To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
I have always associated humility with modesty. Humble people are not boastful as is referenced in the second sentence of the above quote. But sadly, everything the great Saint of Calcutta mentions in the rest of the quote are things that I myself and our society seem to often fall short of doing time and time again, and as a result, our lack of humility divides us—particularly when we feel slighted, insulted, forgotten, or disliked.
Today, Christians all around the world will commemorate an event that occurred just shy of two thousand years ago. On this day, the most humble human being to ever walk the face of the Earth looked past the mistakes of others. He accepted insults and injury of the worst possible degree. He endured being slighted and forgotten by many of those closest to him, and all the while, He never lost his kindness and forgiving nature towards those who were persecuting him.
His gift to us is an assurance that whether we make a concerted effort to practice humility on a daily basis, or too often fall short of the mark when it comes to showing it towards others, we are all the same in His eyes. We are all forgiven. While being sentenced to a death meant to humiliate, a carpenter from Galilee gave us the greatest example of humility in the history of the world, bar none. If that doesn’t motivate us to be better people, nothing ever will.
It’s amazing what a quarter can’t get you nowadays—unless of course, you find yourself at a parish festival in the heart of the Alleghenies. It’s certainly worth the time to grab some spare change out of your car’s cup holder, and peruse the wares on display—you never know, it could lead to some priceless advice that will last much longer than those plastic-bagged goldfish* ever did.
-Tommy O’Sionnach
*This excludes a remarkable, one-eyed fish procured by a member of the Graham family of Chase Avenue. That fish survived two full years thanks to the nurturing of the family matriarch, Coletta. Rest in Power, Cyclops!
Truer words couldn't be written. A difficult code to live by. Happy Easter!
I never thought I'd get to read an article about the St. Pat's Festival Community Yard Sale! This was sublime.