caterpillar named Hermie who doesn’t know what makes him special. He looks around at the
strengths of his friends, the Ladybug who’s SO pretty, and the Ant who is SO strong. These creatures
tell Hermie God made them the way they are. He asks God many times, why HE is so common. God
gently responds, “I love you just the way you are but I’m not finished with you yet. I’m giving you a
heart like Mine.” Slowly, Hermie trusts God’s words and makes a cocoon to take a long nap. He tells
God, “It’s ok that I’m common. You love me and that makes me special.” Of course, you know what
happens…when he wakes he is a beautiful butterfly. He is filled with joy and understanding that God’s
promises are true.
God’s words in this simple story are a great reminder of His truth. “I’m not finished with you yet. I’m
giving you a heart like Mine.” I LOVE that! It’s a beautiful promise, not only for little children, but for
all of us. It’s the truth of Philippians 1: 6 “I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will
bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” And Ezekiel 36:26 “ And I will give you a new heart,
and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh.”
So what does God’s heart look like? We know God loves us because of the sacrificial love He showed
us on the cross. Jesus shows us sacrificial love involves ACTION! I believe we saw God’s heart as our
Holy Father, Pope Francis visited our country. He loved us, and boldly demonstrated it on each leg of
his trip. He scooped up children, encouraged immigrants to be good citizens and encouraged families
to turn to God for their strength. Can you imagine, the most influential person in our church, taking
selfies with students at a school in East Harlem? Serving lunch to the poor and visiting the homeless?
Stopping on his way to the airport to kiss a boy in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy? Kissing a man
with boils on his face without showing repulsion of any kind?
What can WE learn from this man, our Papa, the Holy Father? We learn what the heart of a servant
truly looks like! It’s not KNOWING it all, it’s LOVING all! Most of us can’t travel all over the world to
serve those in need, but we don’t need to. Serving people who are hard to love is as close as our back
door! It’s not easy. But like Hermie, the little caterpillar, God loves us the way we are, BUT He’s not
finished with us yet. He will put those who may seem hard to love in our path, to give us the opportunity
to serve like our beautiful Pope, with our arms wide open and a smile on our face. If we’re not
sure how to treat someone, we just need to think of our Pope – and we’ll open our arms wide, with a
big smile, and love them with the heart of Jesus! -Justine Dufour