A Story From Cardinal O’Malley

I was catching up on some old email and I found this story from Cardinal O’Malley as relayed by Michael Sean Winters:

O’Malley …related a story about the Capuchin provincial asking for a truly difficult assignment for the friars. They were given the missionary territory of Papua New Guinea. O’Malley relates:

Many years later, a young friar I ordained who was working in Papua New Guinea came to see me on his home visit. He had glorious pictures of smiling natives, with bones in their noses, feathers in their hair and little else in the way of clothing. He announced proudly, “This is my parish council.” I was particularly intrigued because one of my own pastors had just told me that his parishioners were not ready for a parish council. 

There is a deeper message here, but I must admit, as soon as I read this, I threw my head back and laughed.  Enjoy!