Submitted by: Mary Gilmartin
Institution: Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church
This really happened to me.
I was preparing a drama about The Ten Lepers with a group of
children preparing for First Communion. We gathered together,
prayed, I explained what we were going to do and then we listened
to the story.
The children then volunteered
to be readers or actors. It was going swimmingly. I sat with the
group and we started to explore the Word. I started to explain how
Jesus loved and welcome even those who were rejected and despised
by everyone. In years gone by the children had loved to hear the
terrible details about what leprosy actually entailed. 'So then,'
I said, 'Who can tell me what a leper is?
There they all were, almost hopping with glee at the prospect
of being the one to relay the gory details. There was one boy,
I'll call him John, who was not the greatest contributor to the
group, but there he was as eager as the rest. Great, I think,
John is really engaged, I'll ask him.
"So John, tell us what a leper is."
"Well Mary, it is a bit like a tiger but spotty...."
It was a truly classic moment, and a salutary lesson. Never take
for granted that they know what you think they know!
