September 17, 2006

Many of you asked about the story I shared in Sunday's homily. I am happy to reprint it here. Hope it touches you as it did me.

There is a story about a father and a daughter at an airport saying good-bye as she left. She said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough".

They kissed good-bye and he walked over toward the window where a stranger was seated, and said, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

"Forgive me for asking", said the stranger, "but why is this a forever good-bye?"

"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral."

"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?"

He began to smile. "That's a wish that's been handed down for generations; my parents used to say it to everyone. When we said 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them."

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough 'Hellos' to get you through the final 'Good-bye'.

Peace,
Fr. Chuck