A Giving Heart

I remember the first time we met Margaret. Fr. Dominic and I had wanted to visit her while in her area, but we did not have a phone number. We decided to check in at her apartment complex and hope that the receptionist could call her and ask if we could visit. She graciously did so, and we could hear Margaret on the other end telling her in her excitement, that "yes" send them up.

As we started down the hallway to her apartment, she came running out to greet us which so much excitement and energy! Fr. Dominic was so humbled by her joy!

Margaret grew up with you brother and mother struggling for years after her father left them when she was 6 months old. Although they struggled to make ends meet, Margaret never realized that she was poor as they received help from others. Even though people were generous to them, they still kept their children at a distance because she came from a single parent home and in those days a divorced woman was not looked upon well.

In order to have heat for their home, Margaret and her grandfather would walk the railroad tracks and look for coal.

"My mother, bless her heart for not making me feel poor. Mother worked full time she made dinner every night with potatoes that were given to us by friend and strangers, we never wanted for more." shared Margaret.

While Margaret had been baptized, her mother did not follow the Catholic faith. Each Sunday Margaret would see all the other families get dressed up and drive past their house, on their way to Sunday services. One day, Margaret decided that she too would get dressed up and wait on the corner for someone to stop and take her with them. This became a habit, and the families would take turns taking her to Mass. Margaret so loved the Mass and music and the generosity of her neighbors stayed with her.

Because she received so much from going to Mass and her love for Jesus, as an adult, she began taking those who couldn't get to Mass each week as a way of giving back.

Margaret is a modest woman, worked 45 years as a secretary and still has an office in her apartment, set up just like she worked all those years.

We have been blessed to have visited Margaret a couple of times to thank her for her donations in our Heart to Heart monthly giving club. Because of Margaret's generous monthly donations and others like her, we know in advance for certain money that is available to help with children's education, clean water, seminarian education and so much more. We love her stories but love her smiles and outlook on life, and her giving heart is inspirational.