Two Copper Coins, and the Least of God's People

This is from almost two months ago, but after re-reading it, I realized that I'm still affected by the story, and so here it is:

Last night, I learned some really incredible things about the Church in China. It's similar to the Church in all it's aspects of doctrine and theology, yes, but it's the Chinese Catholics who really make it shine. At the Newman Center Tuesday dinner, the guest speakers who came were a family from Silver Spring, MD, and they had an amazing story to tell about some truly singular people.

In this country, we are almost bound to take for granted all the freedoms we have by birthright. It seems one of the hallmarks of the American situation, that we must be reminded occasionally how fortunate we are to live in this country and to call ourselves its citizens. One of the first rights we are guaranteed by our government is the right to practice any religion we choose, as freely and openly as we want, provided we're not breaking any laws. In China, where atheism is the enforced belief system of the state, there are no other alternatives, and the state will not hesitate to punish anyone who disobeys it. The government also enforces a One Child Policy, with exceptions for the poor, rural families, who may have two children only if their first is a girl.

Last night, we were told by the speakers who visited us about a woman named Li Xiang, who lived in the countryside and gave birth to a son as her first child. By mandate, then, he was to be the only child she ever had. And he was, for a while. Her next two pregnancies ended in abortions, which were performed by her mother. Her fourth pregnancy, however, she chose to bring to term, and the baby, once he was born, was registered as her brother's son. She got pregnant again some years later, but this time she could not pretend the child was someone else's, so she went into hiding. Li Xiang went to live in a halfway house far from home that took care of women who were pregnant in violation of the One Child Policy, and there she gave birth to a daughter, shortly after converting to Catholicism. She had to hide her daughter from her family and her village to keep from being discovered by the government, and having the baby taken from her and killed. Meanwhile, she got pregnant again, and gave birth to another son, whom she has also had to hide away.

The prospects for Li Xiang's children are not very good. While her older sons have been able to receive healthcare and education from the government, they have suffered from the stress of their parents' situation with the two younger children. The younger children, however, have seemingly no good future ahead of them. Neither can be registered with the government, because their mother already has one child registered, so neither of them will receive healthcare or education. There is very little hope for these children who cannot even earn a wage or go to school without the Chinese government's say so. Li Xiang has hope for their futures, though, even though she knows realistically that they are not bright futures.

As we looked at the slides of this Maryland family's visit to China, we were told that the halfway house that sheltered Li Xiang has the women who stay there make Rosaries that can be given away with the request for a $25 donation. Our chaplain graciously offered to make a donation for each Rosary a student took, though there wasn't enough money to make the full donation for each of us. For our parts, we did each make whatever donation we could, and some of us were even able to make the full $25. I however, only had $1.19, which I sheepishly handed over, ashamed of the fact that I could give so little. I told our chaplain about my embarrassment before I gave the money, and he kindly consoled me with the story of the widow in Luke's gospel, who gave two copper coins, all she had, to the temple. He told me that I would be the student they told others about, giving what little I had to support the shelter and the mothers. I doubted it, but I was consoled when the mother of the family told me that even my meager donation would be able to feed a family for a week, such is the exchange rate now.

It's situations like these that sometimes make me wonder if God doesn't give us these circumstances to remind us that, even in what we perceive as poverty, even when we think that there is nothing we can do to help other people, there will always be some good which we can contribute to others. In this case, it was whatever money we students had, as even the full $25 doesn't get much here in Washington. But to these women at the shelter, and to Li Xiang and her children, this money will make a huge difference. In this case, it wasn't only about giving money to a good cause, but giving to our Catholic sisters in China and their children, and hopefully being able to save a few lives before they are born.

Someone who knew Li Xiang sent an email to the father of the MD family, also a professor at my university, and in it, she wondered what would become of Li Xiang's youngest son, Ping-ping. Would he live very long? Would he grow up to make a difference? Would he become a priest someday? It's heartbreaking to think of him in that way, but I do hope he makes a difference when he grows up. I hope he is able to aid women in finding the shelter that aided his mother, and that he is able to pay forward the gift of life he received from God through his amazing mother.