Halos All Around Me

                I don’t believe in coincidences.  The topic of our RCIA class this morning was “Mary and the Saints.”  You know, all the folks you see in Christian art with the halos over their heads.  Saints are important to Catholics because they’re our role models; our heroes, if you will.  Not all Christian faiths venerate the Saints the way Catholics do, so it’s important for those seeking to join the Church through our RCIA program to understand what Catholics believe (and what we don’t believe) about the Saints.  At the end of the class, Anne, our catechist extraordinaire, made an impromptu change to her presentation.  She had intended to share a prayer with the class, but instead she shared a beautiful piece about the saintliness of everyday people who touch our lives in so many ways.  I don’t have the text to share with you, but it basically said that there are halos all around us.  This piece really resonated with me because I had just spent my whole weekend bumping into everyday Saints.  The topic of the day and Anne’s change of plans was no coincidence.

                It started on Friday night in a conversation with Bob at our Parish staff Christmas party.  Bob was telling us about the challenges he and his wife dealt with when they were adopting their daughter from Russia.  The waiting, the run arounds, the legal bureaucracy and the cost seemed overwhelming to say the least.  But they persisted, so a young girl who would've grown up in an orphanage now lives in a happy, healthy home with a loving family.  How about a halo for Bob and his wife?

                When I got home from the party, I decided to do a quick Facebook check before going to bed.  My friend Kelly had posted a link for a hat company called Halo Hats.  For every hat purchased, Halo Hats donates a hat to a cancer patient at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or at other hospitals treating children for cancer.  I needed a hat, so I thought I’d check it out in the morning.  A hat for me and a halo for Kelly.

                I woke up early Saturday morning, because I’m now officially old, and decided to check out Halo Hats right away.  When I went back on Facebook to get the link, I was greeted with 14 birthday wishes from friends and family, old and new.  And the birthday greetings just kept pinging in one after another the entire time I was on Facebook.  I note, for the record, that the “Happy Birthdays” that greeted me on Saturday morning were sent by people who were up earlier than I was, so they must be even older than I am.  Halos to the left of me; halos to the right of me; halos all around me.

                When I got to the Halo Hats webpage, I learned that the company was founded by Carlos Raymond Saavedra, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of six.  Carlos knows what it’s like to be bald and the comfort that a good hat can bring during chemo and radiation treatments, so from his personal experience and the inspiration of his guardian angels, Halo Hats was born on October 11, 2013, the same day as Carlos’ cancer diagnosis 17 years earlier.  Did I mention that I don’t believe in coincidences?

  After wiping away a tear or two, I found a great assortment of really cool hats on the Halo Hats webpage.  So I bought five – two for me and one each for my wife and two daughters.  (Don’t tell them, it’s a Christmas surprise.  They only know that they’re getting a special gift where for every one I bought, a child with cancer gets the same thing).  That purchase led me to Linda, who, I later realized, is Carlos’ mom.  Linda confirmed my order and told me that since I ordered on my birthday, they were going to send me a birthday hat – I’m not sure exactly what that is, but I’m guessing a crown with streamers, because that would totally scream me.  Linda asked how I’d heard of Halo Hats, so I told her about Kelly’s Facebook post and that I purchased the hats for my family.  She shared a little of her experience with Carlos at Saint Jude’s and spoke of what a thrill it is to see the kids light up when Carlos presents them with their hats.   Then Linda offered to share that thrill with my family and me – she’s sending us “Halo Head” hats for each of us to present to a cancer patient or survivor that we know.  What a gift!  Hats off and halos on for Carlos, Linda and all the great people at Halo Hats!

We’re all called to be Saints, so following the path of the righteous who've gone before us is a great way to kick off our own journey toward sainthood.  Fortunately, there are lots of people doing just that every day in ordinary and extraordinary ways.  I was blinded by all of the halos I bumped into this weekend.  From the gifts, phone calls, texts, personal messages, birthday dinner and cake from my family and friends, to my introduction to the great folks at Halo Hats, I am truly blessed to have halos all around me.  And I know it’s no coincidence.

Every mention of Halo Hats in this post is hot-linked to their webpage.  Check them out!  You'll be glad you did.