by Fr. Justin Fulton
Do you mind if I share a couple of pictures with you?
Here is a picture of my niece Juliana—well, actually a few of them. Here she is frowning as a baby, frowning as a 1-year-old, and frowning as a 3-year-old. It seems Juliana has a natural proclivity to frown. Yet, she is a very happy young girl.
Here also is a picture of her Grandpa Bob, my dad, at the age of 3 back in 1951. Can you see his frown as well as a young boy as he stands next to his brother Bill? It is like we have something in our DNA as Fultons: we naturally frown! I’m laughing at that fact as I look at these pictures. We frown, but believe me, we are joyful people!
We can speak a lot of words silently with our smiles. Our smiles invite welcome, give hope, and show care and love. Our frowns show displeasure, protrude distaste, and emit hate.
At Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska, we let our actions and our smiles do most of our communication. Our executive director Katie Patrick and her team in Imperial, Hastings, Auburn, and Lincoln have implemented a culture of encounter over transaction. This simply means that an employee or volunteer of CSS understands the need for clients to be encountered physically, emotionally, and spiritually as human beings and not simply given something they materially need.
A smile welcomes a client at CSS, a smile accompanies them, and a smile is the last encounter they experience as they leave our campuses. A human being is encountered by another human being and not just rushed in a line. In this way, the love of Jesus Christ permeates the person and the ethos of their visit to CSS. And in turn, the joy of Jesus enters the heart of a client visitor, and the joy of Jesus expands in the hearts of the employees and volunteers of CSS.
A culture of encounter over transaction. It shouldn’t happen just at CSS. It should happen in our workplaces, schools, homes, dinner tables, classrooms, community centers, cubicles, desks, locker rooms, and pews. We are all beloved children of our Almighty God. May we encounter each other and recognize the innate dignity of every human person.
As we enter with our Lord into Holy Week, may we see Him in the face of the poor and the face of all whom we encounter.
Smile. He loves you. He created you. He died for you. He lives in you.
Thank you for your prayers and support of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska!
