Single-Mindedness

‘Librarian’ by CarolynChip

Single-Blessedness

28 February – This is the pastoral text of Fr Reuter: When a girl remains single, to sacrifice her life to a job that only she can do – she is really consecrating her life to God. And God will be grateful to her, forever. In the Philippines, I would know of several women like that. In my hometown, Asingan in Pangasinan, one would be Manang Bana, who lived a stone’s throw away from our house in the village, who took care of her nephews and nieces. She was rather good-looking, but she never married. I was young and I didn’t know anything about sacrificing and consecrating one’s life, and I didn’t notice what she was doing except only vaguely. Fr Reuter’s words today has given her life meaning that I didn’t appreciate before. To each life some grace must fall.

In Los Baños, Laguna, two friends of my wife, both girls, have remained single, one 60 and the other above. They were both librarians, dedicating themselves to serving readers and borrowers at the IRRI Library. I can’t recall their names now, which is probably just as well, as they never sought recognition beyond what they did, none that I knew of or recall. As I had always been a wide reader, in the days before the Internet, I always got myself acquainted with (almost) all the books in the library at my disposal, with or without getting acquainted with the librarians. So I know librarians don’t impose themselves; they are just there, willing to help when you ask them.

The lovely image of a librarian by Carolyn is a picture of the two librarians I have just told you about: strict and with watchful eyes; but not inconsiderate, not unmindful of the circumstances, or your excuses. As seen through the lens of the camera of Carolyn, librarians do their job by the book watching the commerce of people and publications, but they are people too. They care.