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Thanksgiving 2022
There is a song that my Mother used to sing to us when we were growing up that my brothers and I will never forget.
Whenever we would try and tell her that she owed us money for the chores we had to do around the house, she would simply say the words: “NO CHARGE” to us!
But now, whenever I hear this song, it brings tears to my eyes:
My sister’s little boy
Came in the kitchen one evening, while she was fixing supper
And he handed her a piece paper, he had been writing on.
And after wiping her hands on an apron, she took it in her hands and read it
And this is what it said:
For mowing the yard $5, and for making up my own bed this week $1
For going to the store $.50, playing with my brother while you shopped $.25
Taking out the trash $1, And for getting a good report card $5
And for raking the yard $2
Total owed; $14.75
Well, she looked at him standing there and expecting, a thousand memories flashed through her mind.
So, she picked up pen and turned the paper over and this is what she wrote:
For the nine months I carried you, holding you inside me - No Charge
For the nights I sat up and doctored you, and prayed for you -No Charge
For the time and tears, and the costs through the years,
There is No Charge.
When you add it all up, the full cost of my love is
No Charge
For the nights filled with grey, And the worries ahead
No Charge,
For the advice and the knowledge
And the costs of your college,
No Charge
For the toys, school, and clothes
And for wiping your nose
There’s No Charge, my son
When you add it all up the real cost of my love is - No Charge
After that mom finished talking to her little boy
He looked up at her great big o’ tear in his eyes
And he said “Mama, I love you”
And then he reached out he got the letter and turned it over
and he wrote in great big words
Paid In Full
When you add it all up
The real cost of my love is No Charge
Song written by Harlan Howard
The real cost of love – God’s love, our love for each other, the love we have for
those who have less than we do is – No Charge.
Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, a time for refl ecting on the love we are freely given by God, our families, and friends. It’s a time for refl ecting and then giving back in gratitude for all we have received from so many in our lives
This Thanksgiving, when we reflect on the words of the mother in this song, and the implications it has on each of us and all we have been given, please consider helping others to remember love with no charge.
Help us to help the hundreds who come to the Franciscan Friars in desperate need of food, clothing, shoes, socks, medical attention, and simple companionship during this Thanksgiving time.
The only thing worse than no food on Thanksgiving is having no food and being alone.
There are so many who come to us who are poor. Please, help us to help them. Help us show them your care and love – NO CHARGE.
Fr. David Convertino, OFM
Executive Director,
St. Anthony's Guild
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of The Franciscan Friars
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