Today I Give Thanks for Father Jim Callan

 

Thankful Everyday 12-03-24

Today I am thankful for Father Jim Callan – a true Illuminator. 

 

Certain people can walk into a room and just light it up – and you, Father Jim, are one of these Illuminators. 

 

Jim, my husband and I first met you in 1987 at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Philadelphia.  You came with a group of folks who knew that our parish had similar beliefs and goals as your own Corpus Christi Church in Rochester, New York.  At that meeting, you spoke about tithing – giving at least ten percent of one’s income to charity.  You said, “The more you give away, the more you have.” 

 

Both Rick and I thought that was a crazy idea.  We had two small children and lived pretty much from paycheck to paycheck.  Yet your presentation and the enthusiasm you radiated when sharing this simple concept did intrigue us.  And yet somehow, within two years, we were able to build up to that goal.  And somehow, we managed to adopt another child, too.  Yes, the more we gave away, the more we really did have!

 

Who knew that a decade after first meeting you, our family would move to Rochester and join Corpus Christi, whose congregation then broke away to create Spiritus Christi Church.  And twelve years after Spiritus Christi was formed, I reached out to you and Rev. Mary about starting a new ministry, Buddy Readers, where volunteers would read one-on-one with a child every week.  Your enthusiasm and support kept me going as we struggled to define and implement this new ministry.  You are personally responsible for encouraging so many folks to volunteer with us. 

 

What is most wonderful about you, however,  is your illuminator spirit, which keeps us moving forward in the right direction.  As the author David Brooks explains, all of life’s social skills can be boiled down to “one foundational skill: the ability to understand what another person is going through . . . to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen.” 

 

That’s what Illuminators do – they see others deeply and make them feel seen.  You, Father Jim, have seen each of us Buddy Reader volunteers deeply and made us feel seen for fourteen years now.  And because you have seen each of us deeply and made each of us feel seen, we have been able to do the same with our little buddies.

 

Today I want to thank you, Father Jim, for being an Illuminator to me, to the Buddy Reader volunteers, and, through your example, to our little buddies.  Please know that nothing has a bigger impact on our lives – and the lives of the children we serve - than this!