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A friendly gesture on their daughter's birthday led Dave and Mercedes Rizzo to ponder how people can touch lives without saying a word.

Preach the Gospel always; use words when necessary.

Those words have been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. When we hear them, we think of our daughter Danielle, who has autism and is nonverbal. We are often amazed at how Danielle touches people without saying a word. A few days ago, we experienced this again when we went to lunch to celebrate Danielle’s birthday. Although we did not know our young waitress, she quickly recognized Danielle.  

She introduced herself and told us that she and Danielle had gone to the same high school, and she was involved in a club Danielle belonged to that works with students with special needs. She told us that she loved being part of this group and that it was one of her best experiences in high school. When she learned it was Danielle’s birthday, she went into the back and returned with a handful of balloons and tied them to Danielle’s chair.

 

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With this story, we are reminded of the importance of inclusion of students with special needs instead of isolating them. For sure, Danielle benefitted greatly from her interactions in high school with her classmates and they benefited from the interaction too.

 

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God’s silence can be a peaceful and transformative experience. Cultivating this silence can be an opportunity to minister to others. #catholicmom

God often speaks to people in silence. The silence of nonverbal people like our daughter, may be a sign of God’s presence in our lives. We like to think that Danielle helps people to recognize this and this was something we felt when we were at lunch that day. When we encounter God’s silence, it can be a peaceful and transformative experience.  Cultivating this silence can be an opportunity to minister to others.

 

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Clearly, Danielle does this. When we left the restaurant, we could tell by Danielle’s smile and laughter that she had a terrific birthday and her mere presence was appreciated not only by us by others.

Preach the Gospel always; use words when necessary.


Copyright 2021 David and Mercedes Rizzo
Images: (top) Canva Pro; all others copyright 2021 David and Mercedes Rizzo, all rights reserved.