Once when I was in India, I had a chocolate attack - I wanted to eat something sweet. I think this was early in the year 2002. I left my residence, an ashram, and walked through the market to a friend's shop. This young man, a Catholic, knew me well and he also knew that I was a Catholic priest studying and teaching Indian Philosophy and Asian Spirituality.
Photo by Tamas Pap on Unsplash Photo by Charu Chaturvedi on Unsplash
I entered his shop and asked him for a bar of chocolate. He handed me a bar of delicious Belgium chocolate, which I paid for. As I turned around, I saw that I was surrounded by many children. Many small hands were begging me to share. “Oh my God! What am I going to do?” I thought. “ If I don't share with them I won't be able to walk out of here alive, but how do I share this bar of chocolate with so many? Whose hand should I put it in?” I thought that the child who I handed it to would run off and eat it all by him/ or herself. Well, that was me thinking in my normal, Alfonso way.
I had to risk it, though. So I put it into the hand of one of the girls. thinking “This is going to disappear fast.” Well, guess what? I experienced a miracle. She tore it open, broke it, and began to share it with the other children. There were about 12 or 13 eager faces. They all got a small piece, and I saw those faces change into growing smiles. What happiness she shared, with such a tiny piece of chocolate!
Those children showed me the growing face of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is present when we share our life. Life can often be a little gift of chocolate.
I came back to my place with a smile and a tear, because I had experienced God's love from the children.