Toni Rossi
Director of Communications
Many years ago, The Christophers’ founder, Father James Keller, M.M., wrote a prayer about hope, which includes the following lines: “Hope looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst. Hope opens doors where despair closes them. Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot. Hope draws its power from a deep trust in God and the basic goodness of mankind. Hope ‘lights a candle’ instead of ‘cursing the darkness.’”
We human beings are always in need of hope and light because no life is free of darkness and strife. That’s why we at The Christophers highlight these types of stories in our annual “Three Minutes a Day” book, which presents reflections, Scriptures, and prayers for every day of the year. We just published Volume 56, so we hope you buy a copy for yourself—or as a gift for someone who would enjoy stories about loving God and neighbor. Consider this entry from the book:
In January 2014, as a blizzard barreled toward Steubenville, Ohio, Molly McGovern emerged from Mass feeling called to help those without a home make it through the freezing weather. She and her husband Bill turned their house into a “warming center,” thinking the situation would last a couple of weeks. As the cold weather dragged on, the McGoverns came to genuinely care about their guests and understand how desperate they were to find a welcoming place to stay. And so, The Friendship Room was born. To this day, the facility provides food, shelter, and love to those in poverty or suffering from addiction. Bill explains, “Many of these people literally have nobody...With that love, a chance for hope enters their lives.”
Molly adds, “It’s not on our merit that those things haven’t happened to us. That could be any one of us. But we have a chance to comfort Christ when we comfort one another...When we open up this home to anybody that needs a place to...be accepted for who they are today, then we are healed because we are encountering truly the face of Christ.”
Sometimes, we discover the face of Christ—or become Christ to another person—in our own families. That was the case with actress and former “Christopher Closeup” guest Nikki DeLoach, whose father was afflicted with an aggressive form of dementia. Growing up, Nikki and her dad shared a love of music, so whenever she would visit him in recent years, they would sing together. One of their favorites was The Temptations’ classic “My Girl.”
During his final few months of life, Mr. DeLoach lost the ability to speak, but Nikki decided to sing to him anyway during a recent visit. She got to the chorus of “My Girl” and was shocked to hear him echo her words “in perfect harmony,” she recalled on Instagram. “I looked up at him, shocked. And a tiny smile spread across his face. Tears fell down my cheek as I finished the song…Watching this disease swallow my dad whole is absolutely devastating. Yet, even in the midst of tremendous heartache, there are miracles and magic. This was one of those moments for me, and I am so grateful.”
For more stories about finding light in the darkness—or becoming the light in the darkness to someone else—consider buying a copy of “Three Minutes a Day: Volume 56.” To purchase the book for $10, call 1-212-759-4050, ext. 241—or visit us online at www.christophers.org.