Amazing grace

In this moment of grace, I recognized that we area all called to be grace and blessing for each other

By Fr. Gerald Curry, S.F.M.
December 2007

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Celebrating New Years is a worldwide tradition that differs from country to country. A year ago last New Years found me in the Bahamas. I was there to fill in for Scarboro missioner Fr. Ambrose (Ambie) MacKinnon, pastor of Mary Star of the Sea parish in Freeport. I had arrived the day after Christmas and my duties were to offer Mass on weekdays and weekends and to answer any requests or needs of the parish.

Mary Star, as Fr. Ambie refers to it, is by Bahamian standards a large and active parish. Its people welcomed me with typical Bahamian friendship and hospitality. They appreciated my presence and the fact that I had enabled Fr. Ambie to visit with his sister in Canada as she wasn’t well.

With the first weekend over, I was able to explore this tropical paradise, a treat for me in the middle of winter. Soon New Years was upon me and I prepared to celebrate a midnight Mass and a Mass on New Year’s Day. However, I was not sure how the Bahamians celebrated New Years. Maybe there would only be a few attending the midnight and morning Masses.

Fr. Ambie MacKinnon, pastor of Mary Star of the Sea parish in Freeport, Bahamas, where he has served for more than 40 years.

On top of this uncertainty, I could not get my homily to come together; it just would not gel. Perhaps it was because of my ambivalence, my just not feeling up for the celebration of New Years in an unfamiliar setting.

I prayed for something to shake me out of this state of mind so that I would be able to celebrate with some exuberance with those who came to Mass.

At 11:10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, I walked into the church and saw that it was packed with about 400 exuberant and joyful people singing the songs of the season. I knew then how Bahamians celebrate New Years.

The singing continued and became even more joyful as Mass began. I felt myself becoming one with the people in welcoming in the New Year. I was able to get over the negative vibes that had plagued me and at least be thankful for the past year and hopeful for the new year to come. Little did I know that the best gift was yet to come.

After Mass, I stood at the entrance of the church shaking hands and giving each person a New Year’s greeting as they left Mass. The weather was warm and truly comfortable. In the midst of the crowd, two little girls came and stood in front of me. As I am a tall person, they seemed so very small, so I bent down to smile at them and say hello. They did not smile nor give me any response. I continued to greet the people and after a few minutes the little girls disappeared. To my surprise, a minute or so later, one of them returned. This time she looked up and in a tiny voice said something to me. I bent down to hear her and she calmly and quietly asked if she could sing for me. I gratefully accepted her offer.

She then sang “Amazing Grace” in a most dignified and beautiful way. Listening to her I was truly moved, I felt graced by her presence and her song. When she finished I hugged her and told her that she had blessed me. I asked if I could bless her in return and she accepted, then she turned and left. I never saw her again.

I had my homily for New Year’s Mass the following morning and for the rest of the weekend. I told the people about the little girl who had lifted my spirits, who had been Amazing Grace to me. The people were amazed and wondered who she was. As a visitor I could not give them an answer. She had taught all of us that our faith calls us to be a blessing for each other…to be grace for each other. I will never forget her.

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