Sacrifices For Us

We are social creatures. We depend on one another. We cannot achieve our goals
without the help of others. Yet, others have their own agendas, goals, and interests. So,
how can we work together without compromising? To succeed, we need to learn that we
have to let go of one thing to gain another. We have to understand that sacrifice, or doing
what we don’t want to get what we do want, is inexorably enmeshed in life. As you read
this story, keep in mind that the word ‘SACRIFICE’ is made up of SACRI and FICIO, which
means TO MAKE HOLY.
“Can I see my baby?” the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her
arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor
turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without
ears.
Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was
marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother’s
arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks. He blurted
out the tragedy. “A boy, a big boy … called me a freak.”
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might
have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and
music. “But you might mingle with other young people,” his mother reproved him, but felt a
kindness in her heart. The boy’s father had a session with the family physician. Could
nothing be done? “I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured,”
the doctor decided.
Whereupon the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young
man. Two years went by. Then, “You are going to the hospital, Son. Mother and I have
someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret,” said the father. The
operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into
genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.
Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. “But I must know!” He urged his
father, “Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.” “I do not believe you
could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know … not yet.” The
years kept their profound secret, but the day did come … one of the darkest days a son
must endure. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father
stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to reveal that the mother
had no outer ears. “Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut,” he whispered
gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?”
Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in
what that can be seen, but what that cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done
and known, but in what that is done but not known. While we can rightfully be proud of our
many accomplishments because of the sacrifices we have made, let’s not forget the
sacrifices made for us by others.
Today is Palm Sunday and marks the first day of Holy Week. Jesus resolutely made
the decision to do the most loving act in all of history. On the Cross, Jesus took our
punishment; He made the supreme sacrifice, so that we might be reconciled to our Father
in heaven. The whole of the Old Testament leads toward this great act of self-forgetful
love. The turning point in the Father’s love story is like the turning point in so many great
stories—it is an act of sacrificial love. Today, we can do that by loving others. Call
someone and tell them you love them.