The Pastor of a large Parish
in a big city was bothered by the absence in church of his friend, a wealthy
business man who owned the soap manufacturing company in the city. For several
Sundays the Priest noticed his friend had not been going to church so he paid
his friend a visit.
After the greetings the
Priest got directly to the point of his visit. He asked the businessman why he
stopped attending church.
The wealthy soap
manufacturer was likewise direct in his response. He said, “What good is religion? What
good is my faith? Father, look around, we see trouble, misery, violence, wars,
wickedness, injustice, greed, and all these years of your preaching and
teaching haven’t done anything good. What good is it when evil still exists?
The Priest remained quiet
for a long time. He had no ready answer.
Then he saw a child playing in the gutter . The child was filthy,
covered with dirt and mud. The Priest said, “Look at this child. You are proud
of the soap which your company produces, but I say soap is useless. This child
is still filthy. What good is soap, it doesn't do any good. With all the soap
in the world this child is still dirty,
so what good is soap after all?”
“But Father”, the
businessman exclaimed, “Soap can’t do its job unless it is used.”
“Exactly my point,” the
Priest replied, “The same is true with our faith.”
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