“Everything in God’s plan that makes each of us a priceless and unrepeatable good, a living and breathing asset, must be cultivated and invested in order to grow.”
– Pope Leo XIV
After close to 30 trips to Italy over the last two decades, it’s hard to find a souvenir for my kids that I haven’t already bought. Yet, each time I travel to our ancestral homeland, they still ask for something from my travels, and I do my best to keep my eyes open for something small I can bring home.
Once, on my free weekend, I went to visit my dad’s side of the family in a quaint seaside town on the Adriatic Sea. As I strolled arm in arm with my two older aunts through a little market, the stories of my children were interrupted by the constant question of: “would one of them like this?” As she spoke, each Zia, almost in a pattern, held up a trinket or key chain.
As my attention locked in on buying some little bracelets for all the women in my house, my aunts insisted they buy them. I repeatedly declined. Both my aunts live by themselves, in tiny, simply appointed apartments. They hardly travel outside their town and eat very little. I tried to remind them in my best Italian that I was not the 20-year-old they met so many years ago. “Danny, this is the only way I can hug your kids and they can hug me,” my Zia Clarita said, grabbing my hand. She added: “Let your old aunts hug your children.”
The sisters then began to fight about who would buy which bracelet for which child, and I took a step back, grateful that I get to be the human bridge that connects this family across the ocean. I also couldn’t help but reflect on how sometimes, in life and leadership, there are gifts we receive that we want and need, and other times, there are gifts that must be given. As a leader, father, and disciple, do I recognize the need others have to give to me, even if I feel like I have it all? Do I understand that, while it might be small or random, the significance of what another may “do” or “share” is more than meets the eye? When I dismiss someone’s gesture or service, even if I mean well, have I thought that perhaps I might be preventing what the Lord is trying to do not only through them, but in them?
Returning home to hugs in my household, I made sure to give some extra hugs from Zie Lucia and Clarita. As we begin this next week, let’s be sure to open ourselves to the gifts He is giving us through the seemingly “unnecessary” gifts of others.
Do you want Dan's insights about leadership sent directly to your inbox?
CLI serves Church leaders, helping them rediscover their potential and forming them to be more intentional with those they serve.
CLI helps empower and energize Catholic leaders by providing focus and courage to engage the culture with an apostolic mindset.
CLI provides vision and hope about the future of the Church with a humble, yet strategic approach.
News and updates from Catholic Leadership Institute that highlight announcements within the organization, our team, or our partners.
