by Fr. Ray Chase, Agency Chaplain
Many years ago I stopped by one of the apartments at the former Villa Maria to visit the staff and kids. One of the children told me that he had made something for me. He disappeared and then quickly returned presenting me with a plaster plaque he had made, which was subsequently broken and glued together again. From top to bottom and side to side he had used his finger to trace the outline of a cross. He had painted the entire plaque a really uninspiring color of grey! But in the middle, at the juncture of the two parts of the cross, he placed – for lack of better word – a “blob” of golden yellow. I wasn’t sure about the significance of the “blob” so I asked him what the yellow middle was. He very matter-of-factly said: “It’s the light shining through!” I should have known. The plaque remains a permanent fixture in my office and will remain so for the rest of my life. It’s a testimony from a vulnerable, “broken” child to the light within him and every human being waiting to burst through the difficulties and traumas of life.