Love Notes

In October, Angels’ Place was approached by our friends at the Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame – for a resident to create artwork for their annual Christmas card.  Several of our residents took up the challenge.  The work done by Lenny W. was selected as the one to be used. When the card was created, Lenny’s picture was included along with a brief explanation of our organization.  The card was sent to dozens of famous athletes including Mike Ditka, Alan Trammell, Janet Lynn, and Mike Krzyzewski. Recently, a beautiful box of art supplies arrived at the Angels’ Place office.  It was addressed simply to Lenny.  It gave him and his Mom huge smiles; it gave the whole office goosebumps. After some investigation, we learned that the previously anonymous gift was sent by baseball all-star and NBC broadcaster Tony Kubek. More often than not, we can’t draw a direct line between one small experience and someone’s kindness to our residents – in this case, the generosity of a New York Yankee. 

My brother Walt recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land.   I was sharing the joy of his experience with a friend and the friend suggested that my brother might also enjoy the book “Jesus” by James J. Martin SJ.  The book is based on Fr. Martin’s own travel experiences in this area. About two minutes later, the book was on its way to my home via Amazon. When the book arrived, I flipped through the pages and was so intrigued, I eventually decided to buy a second copy for myself. In the opening pages Fr. Martin’s travels to Nazareth and shares his reflections on the Annunciation.  You know the story.  But in the book, Fr. Martin provides more historic context and he shares what he imagined as the interactions between Mary and the angel. Among other details, he focuses on Her fear and the angel’s reassurance. "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” After reading that chapter, I thought about the fear of my own mother – our parents had lost three babies befo