“Jesus, send me your best friends.” I hear this prayer often, especially from parents who pray that Jesus would send his best friends to their kids. I’ve prayed this prayer, too.

Naturally, God answered my prayer. But, not in the way you’d think.

He sent the spiritually needy, the physically hungry, immigrants in need of clothing, those in the hospital with no one to visit them, the imprisoned, and souls who’ve died, without anyone to attend their funerals.

Suddenly, I saw the face of Jesus all around me. Those who feared God’s judgment were in my midst, so I whispered his mercy. Some souls God placed on my path had never even considered a relationship with God in their lives. All the while, God was growing my gift of faith and giving me the wisdom to see that nothing in the spiritual life was a coincidence. What could I share? How could I be a better friend by opening my heart and listening? How could I encourage? The call to serve is deep and powerful.

My morning commute is filled with the most beautiful people; each having a story of their own to tell. Let’s face it, no one sets a life goal of homelessness. We have so much to learn by opening our hearts to those in need. I see men desperately searching trash cans on the street for something to eat. I see women lined up in alleys waiting for shelters to open. I see crowds in need of assistance outside the Cathedral. LInes at food pantries are growing. How can I see them more intimately? How can I know them by name? What can we learn from one another ? We are all just people. “We all belong to one another,” Mother Teresa once said.

When I hear of a need for a translator for refugees from Afghanistan, I realize God placed me at a university for a purpose, and my Jesuit training has taught me to be resourceful and to activate when I see a need. I’m so grateful to have colleagues fluent in other languages! It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We can find the needy among us, right in our immediate proximity. Even sending sanitary supplies to women in prison is within our range of possibilities. Every act of kindness will make a difference in the lives of others.

Today, I had the opportunity to attend a dignified burial ceremony to honor and pay respects to five unaccompanied veterans. I was so moved to think these veterans had fought for my freedom but had no living relatives to attend the memorial service. I felt called to be present and I was pleasantly surprised to find the ceremony so well attended.

These are such small acts of kindness: distributing donuts to the hungry, water bottles to the thirsty, donating clothes to immigrants or others in need, giving shelter, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead. In the Catholic faith, these are the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy. I’ve learned these simple acts of penance are gifts in disguise and I can’t help but share this reminder that within us we have the power to give life and love in the smallest of ways.