Blessed rice pots

17 July 2017

Kuanhsi, Formosa

By Sister Imelda of the Eucharist, m.i.c.

 

Lei Chao Mei no longer walks in the darkness. Thanks in part to the good offices of her best friend, Chen Sieou Kiu, the light of Truth now illumines the pathway of her life. Chao Mei’s strong, magnetic personality is awakening her parents to the fact that this fair daughter of theirs knows exactly what she wants and will not allow anybody to make up her mind for her.

Even as a toddler, when her devout relatives took her along to visit some renowned Buddhist shrine or other, evading their watchfulness, she would noiselessly slip out of the gloomy temple to play in the courtyard, chasing sunbeams and butterflies. If papa or mamma ventured to scold her for her irreverence the lovable little rascal would turn upon them the charm of her bewitching smile and leave them utterly powerless to punish.

When she was sweet sixteen, her parents noticed with growing concern her assiduity at the Catholic Mission. They tried to remonstrate with her for thus forsaking the religion of her ancestors. Chao Mei listened respectfully but presented no excuse; she was far too clever to directly oppose their will. Instead, with a wonderful spirit of adaptation, she endeavoured to
translate into her daily life the lessons of Christian ethics learned in the catechumenate. Soon the atmosphere of hostility melted to one of easy tolerance. This state of affairs became even more evident after Chao Mei was the occasion of saving her father’s face, some time ago […]

 

(The Precursor, Vol. XX, November-December 1955, p.588)