Carlos Rodríguez, founder of The Happy Givers nonprofit based in Puerto Rico, shares how he was challenged to be salt and light for an elderly man:
Don Héctor was at the hospital. He had pneumonia and it was terrible… While he was at the hospital, a combination of my fear and my pride led me to not going to visit Don Héctor for a week as he was nearing the end of his life.
Don Héctor was an invitation that I was ignoring, so after a week of this internal struggle—of not being salt, of not being light—I challenged myself with some stern internal pastoring, some loving correction. I felt the invitation of the Spirit, not as accusation, not as condemnation, but as a frustration that became an invitation.
I went to see Don Héctor at the hospital. He was so happy to see us, and he immediately began to share the reality of being an elderly person in a hospital in Puerto Rico where we’re lacking doctors and nurses. The main thing he was frustrated with was the fact that he hadn’t had access to a shower for that whole week, and he took great pride in his appearance. I had this moment where his frustration became my invitation. I thought, “Okay, well, it’s time to give him a shower.” I was not honest with Don Héctor that day. I lied to him, and I said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m a pro at this. That’s part of what we do at the nonprofit.”
I took off his clothes, asked the nurse to show me what to do, and led him to a shower that was available. In what was quite possibly the most beautiful, the most awkward, and the holiest moment of my last year, I gave Don Héctor a shower. From the shame, it moved to a connection that was so meaningful to me. That in his most vulnerable moment, I was able to honor him….
There’s nothing like being salt and light. As Father Richard has said many times, “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the good.” And giving Don Héctor a shower and spending time with him was the good….
We keep finding God in those showers. We keep finding God in these [things] that remind us of our childhood and our brokenness, but that also invite us into generational healing and transformation. There are so many good ethics and teachings and books, and there are so many good people speaking into microphones, but there’s nothing like just being present with the ones who need presence.
And so, for Don Héctor, who passed away a couple of weeks after that shower, and for every elderly person that we serve, and for every person in your community who is marginalized, who has been abandoned, who has been rejected, the invitation is to be salt and light. Salt, which both gives flavor and preserves, and light, which always shines brightest in the darkness.
Reference:
Adapted from Carlos Rodríguez, 2025 Daily Meditations Theme: Being Salt and Light, Center for Action and Contemplation, video, 11:44.
Image credit and inspiration: Zach Lucero, untitled (detail), 2021, photo, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. Like this flame ignites another, contemplative action spreads quietly yet powerfully, igniting hearts to brighten the world with love.
Story from Our Community:
I have been experiencing Fr. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations for many years and after I spend time carefully reading the meditation, I spend a few minutes with my eyes closed, just experiencing God in my heart and mind. These meditations are truly “vitamins” for my spirit and enable me to stay aware of God’s presence during the day. I am grateful to Fr. Richard and everyone at CAC for providing these daily doses.
—Mary W.
