Giving Voice To A Kind Gesture

(My sister has just come out as gay, which is difficult as most of our family is Catholic. While I’ve left the church, she is struggling because her faith is very important to her. We decide to go to mass on Christmas Eve, seeing as that would hopefully be the one day politics are kept out of the service.)

Priest: “Now, on this day, it is important to remember what makes us good Catholics regarding the topic of marriage…”

Me: *to my sister* “You have got to be kidding me.”

(The priest goes on a long diatribe not about the joy of Christmas but about the laws of being a Catholic, including being anti-gay marriage, pro-life, and anti-birth control. By this point, my sister is squeezing my hand tightly, trying not to cry.)

Sister: “I want to go home.”

(Before we leave, however, we stand up to sing a hymn. My sister and I are both singers, so we go at it with gusto, trying to recover from the homily. Suddenly, a man turns around and looks at me.)

Man: “You have an absolutely beautiful voice.”

Me: “Oh, uh, thank you.”

Man: *looks at my sister* “So do you. You both sound beautiful.”

(We resume singing for a while, and then, as we sit back down, the man turns back to me.)

Man: “Your voices are so lovely. I want to give you this. I know it’s not much, but please take it.”

(He hands me a plastic, blue ring with the word “LOVE” inscribed on it. I thank him, but he disappears from the service after the Eucharist. About five years later, my sister is engaged to the love of her life, and while both of us have permanently left the church due to the conflict of our beliefs, I still have the ring and will never forget that man for basically saving Christmas for both of us.)