Reflection by Fr. Greg

Being back in the Enchanted Mountains is a very good blessing. I am so grateful to be here.  I first lived here in 1983 when I started as a student at St. Bonaventure University. Like most folks who come here, I quickly fell in love with this area. There is such incredible beauty. 
 
And it is not just scenic magnificence.  I experience a sense of joy every time I smell that unique, sweet grass bouquet that arises after the lawn at Bonas has been cut.  It is a pleasant aroma that I only experience here and this fragrance has become comforting. The sensual beauty in the Enchanted Mountains reflects the Love of God made known to us in God’s creation. It is easy to see the Love of God in this locale.  
 
But I had another experience here years ago that more deeply reflected the beauty of the Love of God.  I was finishing up my senior year of college and had been procrastinating filling out an application for a scholarship for my upcoming graduate studies. My folks had sent down from our home in suburban Buffalo copies of their financial records that I needed to fill out this scholarship application. The deadline was quickly approaching for this scholarship, so my Dad drove down from Buffalo to make sure I would fill it out on time. 
 
When he got here on a Saturday afternoon, we decided to first go for lunch at Burger King on North Union (I think it was the only Burger King in the area at the time). Our plan was to eat and fill out the forms while at the restaurant. We ate and chatted, but unfortunately, we did not fill out the application for the scholarship. We got back to my room at Bonas to finally sit down and fill out the application. It was then I realized I had left the copies of all my family's financial records back at the restaurant. In a panic we hurried back. The copies of the financial records weren't at the table where we had been sitting. No one had turned them in at the counter. We looked in the garbage cans inside as well as outside of the restaurant and we looked all over the parking lot. The financial records were gone. My Dad turned to me and said, “Don't tell your Mom.”
 
This was back in the mid 1980s and it wasn't the same as today where identity theft was so rampant.  Even the Internet was still years away from being available to people like ourselves. My Dad didn’t think anyone could do much harm with the lost copies.  But nevertheless, he didn’t want to upset my Mom.  I went home to Buffalo with my Dad and filled out the application using the original documents my Dad had there.  I just hoped for the best that nothing sinister would come from the missing documents that I had lost in Olean.
 
About a week and a half later, a large envelope with substantial postage was sent to my sister at my parents’ house. When my sister opened it up, it contained all the missing financial documents that we had left at the Burger King in Olean. My sister was perplexed as to what it was and why these copies were sent to her.  My Mom was questioning it as well. My Dad explained what had happened to them and then he called to tell me. To say that I was relieved would be an understatement.  But more than being relieved, that action was something that I never forgot. 
 
A stranger--a neighbor, who did not identify themselves, who did not ask for anything in return, and using their own money and taking their time--made sure these arguably important documents were returned to us.  It was humbling.  And it spoke to me of the goodness, generosity, and kindness of the people who call this area their home. 
 
From that day on in the late 1980s, these Enchanted Mountains, and more importantly, the good people of this area have held a special place in my heart.  Someone I did not know and will probably never know, because of their good character and possibly their faith, reflected the goodness and generosity of God's Love to my family and me. 
 
I still don't know who did this act of goodness--and I'm not even sure if they'll even read this or if they are still alive--but I will always remain most grateful for them. And I am thankful to be in this community where people have that kind of good character and values that guide them to do good for others. 
 
It's not just the beauty of the scenery and the fragrant smells of the sweet grass that make this place so beautiful and sacred to me. It is you in your goodness--who continue to reflect the Love of God. Thank you and thank God. 
 
May God bless you with Peace and All Good, 
 
Fr. Greg Jakubowicz