718. I Made a Blanket, Sleeping Mat, and Pillow by Hand, Practicing Semchigo As If I Were Making Them for Jesus

💌 718. I Made a Blanket, Sleeping Mat, and Pillow by Hand, Practicing Semchigo As If I Were Making Them for Jesus

When I first started helping elderly man Bong, I did not even ask for his name. And even when he asked me who I was and where I lived, I would just say, “Just think of me as your daughter,” never revealing my identity. I feared that being noticed might detract from the glory that belongs to God.

I tried to go about everything quietly so no one would notice, but not long after I began visiting elderly man Bong’s house, I ran into the elderly lady who lived across the street. “Oh my, are you not the young lady who came asking for straw that time? Goodness, you must be the newlywed who has been helping Bong-sen, right? I was wondering why a young lady would be looking for straw—so you are not just a young lady, you are the new bride!”

“No, no, I did not do anything.”

 “Well, my goodness! You must have just gotten married, huh? How can someone that pretty have a heart just as lovely? Bong-sen looks like he is glowing these days!”

I quickly said, “It was not really my doing — I was just helping through the Catholic Church.”

“Oh, you are from the Catholic Church! No wonder I could tell there was something different about you,” the lady said.

After that, whenever I came to visit elderly man Bong’s house, she somehow always knew — and would drop by from time to time.

Back then, people called him “Bong-sen,” so I did not know his last name was actually Bong. I thought the name came from the Korean word bongsa (meaning “blind person”) because he was blind. I figured they were calling him “Bong-sen” as a nickname referring to that. I felt so sorry for this elderly man, who had lived his whole life in blindness — even his name had become “Bong-sen” because of it. I quietly made up my mind then, to care for him and to serve him with all the love of Jesus and the Blessed Mother.

There was no cupboard in his house, so the dishes were left upside down on the floor. Mice kept running across them, so even though I had washed them when I first came, they quickly became filthy again. The elderly man could not see that the dishes were dirty, so he probably just served himself meals using them as they were. It was astonishing that he had not fallen ill, living in such poor conditions.

So I went to a carpenter and had a cupboard made, then brought it in and set it up. After that, I washed all the dishes thoroughly, put them neatly inside the cupboard, and placed other necessary items in it as well. Meanwhile, his bedding was in a terrible state as well. How could a blind elderly man possibly wash his blanket, sleeping mat, or pillow?

None of the bedding — not the pillow, the mat, or the blanket — had ever been washed. The old blanket was threadbare and so heavily stained that it had turned from yellowish to a dark, grimy brown, and it gave off a strong odor. After spending all day doing customers’ hair at the parlor, I would spend my nights making a new blanket, sleeping mat, and pillow for the elderly man, with love and sacrifice.

Though I could have easily bought it with money, I chose instead to make it with all my heart—offering the Prayers of Life and pouring in my utmost care, with a heart to prepare it for Jesus. The elderly man had been using musty, damp, and heavily soiled bedding all this time. But when he lay under the newly made mattress and blanket, he tearfully said, “Oh my, have I gone to heaven?” He kept saying how soft, fluffy, and wonderfully comfortable it was, with tears streaming down his face.

At the time, our youngest, Philip, was six years old. Whenever I said we were going to visit elderly man Bong, he would be absolutely delighted and would eagerly come along. He loved seeing the elderly man and took joy in feeding him with his own tiny hands. Whenever he had the chance, he insisted on going with me. One day, he said, “Mom! When I grow up, I want to be a great priest like Father Ki-seon Oh. I will take care of the poor and do lots of good deeds.”

Rain or snow, Philip always came along whenever I said I was going to see the elderly man. On days when the snow piled high, his tiny feet would sink deep into the soft drifts, but he never once let go of my hand. “Mom, Grandpa will be so happy to get this,” he would say, eyes sparkling with joy. Looking into the eyes of my sweet little Philippo, I couldn’t help but break into a big, joyful smile along with him.

My personal reflection note with Mama Julia🌹💗 

Link 👇🏻

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