{"id":12379,"date":"2021-03-19T04:58:59","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T09:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=12379"},"modified":"2021-03-19T05:03:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T10:03:31","slug":"smile-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/smile-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Smile….Again."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Some time ago, in a previous parish, I lived and worked with an old retired pastor. He was revered as a priest who knew his parishioners and had that \u201cgolden touch\u201d with people who were troubled or lost. People flocked to him to receive his gentle wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had one particular habit however that bugged me. At the end of every mass he celebrated on Sunday he\u2019d tell the congregation, \u201cBe sure to share your smile\u201d. It was his sign off. People waited for these last words from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for me I thought how \u201ccorny\u201d it was. It was just too simple. I mean for all the problems we face, for all the worries we have for the coming week, for all the problems of the world . . . all you can say is \u201cshare your smile\u201d?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Over the years I have come to realize the old priest was right. A smile has a hidden spiritual power. It speaks a universal language. Everyone knows what a smile means. Webster defines it as \u201ca favorable, pleasing, or agreeable appearance; characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what does this \u201cupward curving of the mouth\u201d say? It says \u201cyou\u2019re worth it. You are not invisible. You\u2019re a fellow human being and I\u2019m sending you my good wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can literally change a person\u2019s day. Suddenly someone has seen me and cares enough to offer me a tiny \u201cbe well\u201d. A smile disarms us of our fears, touches us briefly with kindness, and becomes a light in the midst of gray and shadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people have that gift in spades. They have a wonderful smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a seminarian who sometimes worried whether he had the pastoral skills needed but who had something the rest of the class lacked – – – he had a magical smile that brightened any room he walked into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You just feel better when someone smiles at you, don\u2019t you? So why don\u2019t we do that more often? I think it\u2019s because: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. We\u2019re afraid. We\u2019re afraid of being \u201cmisinterpreted\u201d or frowned upon or ignored. <\/li>
  2. We\u2019re self- absorbed. \u201cI\u2019ve got too many things on my mind right now. Too much to do. You stay in your lane; I\u2019ll stay in mine.\u201d And <\/li>
  3. We think we have an ugly smile. Forget it. A real smile is never ugly.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    So how do we get over our fear and self-absorption in order to give the gift of a smile? Some thoughts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n