An Early Morning Encounter Draws the Meaning of Christmas into Focus

 On December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I was getting ready to go to Mass and planned to leave a few minutes early to drop something off at the clinic. I arrived at the clinic at 6:10 a.m. The gates and doors were still locked, and it was extremely cold outside—the coldest day of the year so far.

 Standing at the gate were a mother and her daughter, who looked about ten years old. As I unlocked the gate, I asked why they had arrived so early when everything was still closed. The mother explained that her daughter needed vaccines to attend school and, since they did not have a car, they had come by bus. To arrive at the clinic in time for her daughter to go to school that same day, they had taken the earliest bus possible.

 I drove into the clinic parking lot and dropped off the items I had brought, all the while thinking about them outside with only light coats, bare legs, and the temperature in the 30s.

 I was in a dilemma. It was the feast of Our Lady, and I was on my way to Mass. I could let them wait outside until 7 a.m. as they had planned or open the gate so they could wait on the porch—which wouldn’t really be any warmer. If I opened the clinic, I would have to stay with them since no one else was there that early, and no one is allowed in the clinic without a staff member present.  Another staff member wouldn’t arrive for 30–45 minutes. Letting them inside meant I wouldn’t make it to Mass that day.

It became a classic “What would Jesus do?” moment— “What would I want someone to do for me?” I went back to the gate and asked if they were cold. They both said, “Yes.” That was my answer. I opened the gate and the clinic doors, letting them step into the warmth of the building. Because they were chilled from standing outside in light clothing, I offered them hot chocolate and some fruit. They were happy to be out of the cold and have something warm to drink. Of course, the child received her vaccines, and she was able to head to school that very day.

Upon reflection, perhaps I really did attend Mass on the Feast of Our Lady—just not in the way I’d envisioned. This family reminded me of a family long ago, on a journey, seeking shelter from the cold. We didn’t have a donkey, a manger, or hay, but we had a warm room and hot chocolate. God came to visit that day…in the people we serve, if only we have eyes to see.