Yesterday, I was visiting those places affected by the rain in São Gonçalo-Rio de Janeiro. The damages were great and are still visible.

However, I was told of the example of solidarity  in the middle of that rain of persons who were capable forgetting themselves in order to save lives. Persons who in order to save clusters of children ultilized the water to remove the same areas affected, persons that ran the risk of being attacked by alligators-but that did not prevent them from doing whatever they needed to care for the major number of people from this place.

Before the witness of those persons a question grew in my heart: How valuable is one life?

And immediately an answer sprang up inside of me: one life is the value of another Life: the Life of the Son of God. He gave His life in order that we may have life. “I came that all may have life and in abundance” (John 10:10) Only the example of Jesus that gives his life for us can give the strength to persons as those that I encountered and were  those who risked their life to save another life. Jesus is in fact always and continually that reference.

This remains for me a reflection: And what have I done with my life?

Padre Antonio Aguiar

Translated from Portuguese