We’ll be assembling a crèche in our First Communion catechism class on Sunday. Some of the children are recent arrivals from Iraq, so they may not have a nativity set at home.
A couple weeks ago, I was talking with them about how Jesus teaches us to forgive those who have hurt or mistreated us.
“Have any of you ever been mistreated by someone?” I asked them.
Three of the kids don’t speak much English, but Angel, the lady who teaches with me, asked them the question in Arabic.
Two of the kids looked down and mumbled something in response.
“What did they say?” I asked Angel.
“They said that yes, they were mistreated back home in Iraq,” she told me.
Now here I was, thinking that they were going to tell me about a bully at school or how a brother or sister broke their toy.
It was yet another reminder of the extraordinary nature of this apostolate, this bridge-building between East and West.
Nativity set made by First Communion Chaldean students