One of the nicest surprises I received as a young priest came from a parishioner I had visited in the hospital. A few days after she returned home, she and her husband stopped by the rectory with a gift for me—a brand-new piece of luggage. I was very touched by her thoughtfulness and generosity, not having expected anything in return. Such visits were part of my job as a priest in her parish. She had other ideas. God bless her.

The bestowal of her gift taught me many lessons, including the importance of visiting the sick. This spiritual work of mercy, when performed by a priest, is especially meaningful because the priest represents Jesus Christ. His visit is a reminder to those suffering illness that indeed God is not absent from their lives.

I was touched that the woman I had visited went to the trouble and expense of buying something that would be useful to me. She showed exquisite Christian charity at a moment when she had to focus on her own recovery. The material item I received was appreciated, but the lesson in Christian charity I learned remains with me long after the well-worn suitcase was discarded.

Our life on earth involves fulfilling many duties that benefit other people with no expectation of receiving anything more in return than a smile and a thank-you. How wonderful it is when someone shows how much they value you by going beyond the expected.

Gratitude is an attractive virtue because it recognizes that what others have done for us is good and deserves to be reciprocated in some way. A gift, be it a material item or simply taking the time (sometimes at great cost) to listen to someone’s problems, is a sign that God is working through our humble efforts to do good in His sight.

The story is told of Justice Antonin Scalia praying in church one day. When he got up to leave, he encountered a man sitting in a back pew who began recounting his difficulties to him. After listening for a while, Scalia gave the man a big hug. That is Christian charity. That is how we are to live. God was clearly at work in the lives of both Justice Scalia and his new friend in Christ at that moment.

Gifts and hugs are signs of love. So is steadfast dedication to speaking out for those who have no voice. Callous disregard for the right to life of those in their mothers’ wombs is cloaked under the false banner of an alleged right to freedom and self-determination. Our response to this ongoing national shame can take inspiration from my parishioner in a hospital and from a Supreme Court justice in church: We must be prepared to bring the love of God to others in whatever way we can at any given moment. God’s work is done when God’s law is lived and defended.