Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

• Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Ambrose of Milan,

Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397; born probably 340, at Trier, Arles, or Lyons; died 4 April, 397. He was one of the most illustrious Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and fitly chosen, together with St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Athanasius, to uphold the venerable Chair of the Prince of the Apostles in the tribune of St. Peter's at Rome. (Source: Catholic Encyclopedia)

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

THE BURDENS WE SHARE

As a youngster, I had a paper route like many other young men. Every morning at the crack of dawn I was on my bike delivering my papers to a sleeping neighborhood. It was a great way to earn money, with a small caveat, if the patrons paid their bill on time. Sometimes I had a hard time getting up in the winter, but when the warm mornings came I looked forward to the work, especially because it meant that school end was near, and in Cleveland, baseball season was near.

In doing my monthly collections for the papers, I got to meet some of the customers in their homes. While most of the people tried to avoid me when they knew I was there to collect, I used to struggle with myself to knock on the door when I knew they were unfriendly and had given me a hard time, or just an excuse not to pay when I came by before. They treated me as though I could come back just any old time to be paid. When I learned to be firmer, and would not accept lame excuses my percentage of collections improved. Naturally, my manager who delivered my papers to me was very strict and if I was short he always threatened to not leave my papers, but I soon realized that he would always leave them whether I had all of the cash or not.

I made it through a whole year, and I think it was one of the best lessons I had learned about business, and collections. My parents were unsympathetic about my plight, and so it was with the Lord that I had to share.