Several days ago, I was in the kitchen whipping up a pot of pumpkin chili, (recipe included below!) while reflecting on some thoughts regarding faith. Earlier in the day, when my daughter was sitting at the kitchen table working on her Catechism lesson, the subject of faith came up. My daughter wanted to know if everyone who believes in Jesus is a Christian.

When I was four years old and living in the Philippines, there was an elderly man who would come around our street once or twice a month to beg for food. He was ill and had a difficult time speaking. Nobody in the neighborhood seemed to know his name. Every time he came, my Lolo, or grandfather, greeted him with a hearty "Hello My Friend!" From then on, all of us children called him "My Friend".