A Small Miracle

Today's Advent selection is A Small Miracle, illustrated by Peter Collington (there is no text.)  In this contemporary fable, we see an old gypsy woman awake in her caravan on Christmas Eve.  It is freezing cold and the cupboard is bare.  She has no choice but to go out into the town, in the hope of earning a few dollars playing her accordion on the street.  

What follows is a series of misfortunes that is so sad that it is almost painful to read.  But even in the midst of her suffering, the nameless old woman has the charity to assist in restoring to rights a church that has been vandalized.  And in particular, she pays her respects to the figures in the parish Christmas creche.  Though I do not want to give the story away, what follows is a eucatastrophe, where the woman's generosity is repaid a hundredfold.  

Though I had not thought of it before, this story has many parallels with my previous recommedation of The Little Juggler, where a struggling street performer receives an expected gift of grace as a reward for their simple faith.  I think both of these stories embody the Beatitude, "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."  They also reveal the truth that our sufferings serve to make the joys of Heaven all the greater.  

Rating: A