In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.
~ Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
GREENVILLE – Wave after wave of great love is breaking over the St. Philip school and parish community. Phone calls, cards, letters, e-mails and visitors offering prayers and support for Sydney and her family continue to pour in. Sydney, 5, has an insidious form of cancer and she is fighting for her life.
In the living room of the Khoury family home stands an easel displaying a beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A reminder of God’s great mercy and love, the image was given to them by a St. Philip parishioner who was involved in a severe automobile accident and was not expected to live. She attributes her miraculous recovery to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Upon hearing about little Sydney, she asked that this treasured picture be placed in the Khoury home.
The staff at the diocesan Catholic School Office offered their own novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for Sydney. A “chain of rosary beads” has been created among the St. Philip School staff, with people committing to saying a rosary on a particular day of each week to ask for Our Lady of Guadalupe’s intercession for Sydney’s healing. Catholic schools throughout the state have added Sydney to their daily prayers and demonstrated their solidarity through letters and donations. Some have chosen to sponsor dress-down days, with the proceeds going to the Khoury Family Trust Fund.
“Please accept this small monetary donation from our school family to help defray some of your expenses during this most difficult time. Please know that Sydney and your entire family will be in our thoughts and prayers…”
reads a letter from St. Peter School in Warwick.
Kimberly Oswinkle, a teacher from Our Lady of Mercy School in East Greenwich writes, “…the children take turns leading morning prayers and they always include Sydney. On Tuesday we had ‘Catholic Schools Reaching Out to the Community Day.’ We wanted to reach out to Sydney since she is part of our Catholic school community. I had asked that the children make cards and work to earn a voluntary donation that we could offer to the family… The students were very connected to the giving process, and many earned the money doing small jobs or using their own small savings. It is wonderful to see how much pride they have taken in helping and how even being as young as they are. they can make a difference, even if this difference is small…”
Readers of The Rhode Island Catholic and people who have heard about Sydney through word-of-mouth have called the school to find out how they can help.
An 86-year-old woman told the principal that reading about Sydney caused her to search for the prayer missal that was given to her at her own First Communion many years ago. Using a novena that she found inside the old missal, she and some friends have begun to pray for Sydney. Another reader called the school to offer a blessed Precious Blood Cord for the Sick used by Sisters of the Order of Contemplative Adorers of the Precious Blood.
The St. Philip Men’s Club is busy planning its annual Lenten Benefit Supper and Raffle, with this year’s proceeds being earmarked for the Khoury Family Trust Fund. A local businessman has offered to donate all monies needed to defray the costs of the supper so that Sydney’s family will reap the benefit of every penny that is collected. An elderly parishioner went out and bought a 27-inch television and sent it to the school to be used as a prize for the raffle. A school family stepped forward to contribute its one-week ‘time-share’ vacation in Florida to the list of raffle prizes. Other families have also offered prizes and donations and assistance in selling raffle and dinner tickets.
To an unbeliever, the overwhelming response to Sydney’s story might be considered extraordinary. But to the Christian community, to those who look beyond themselves for their purpose in life, to those who believe in the power of prayer, the explanation is simple.
“Mother Teresa was right,” Principal Walsh says of the response to Sydney’s plight. “None of the people who have come forward believe that they are doing something great. Rather, they are doing small things out of great love – love for God and love for one of His children. We have received so many notes that say, ‘I know this isn’t much, but perhaps it will help a little,’ or ‘Please know that Sydney and her family are in my prayers.’ Each person is volunteering to give whatever he or she is able – whether that is prayer or a meal or a financial donation. That’s what God really asks of us, isn’t it?”
A parishioner offered to purchase seeds and materials needed to grow flowers in honor of Sydney, Walsh reported. Seedlings will be cultivated in the school’s greenhouse, and each student will bring home plants to care for as a visual reminder to keep Sydney in their prayers during the summer.
One very special request has left the St. Philip School staff overwhelmed with emotion. A recent dress-down day at the school was held to benefit another family with the expenses associated with their child’s life-threatening illness. That child’s mother called the school to request that the proceeds from that dress-down day be donated to Sydney’s family instead.
“With their own child so very ill and the difficulty and expense that comes from traveling back and forth to the hospital so often, they still wanted to connect in some way and show their compassion for another family,” Walsh said softly. “I continue to marvel at the generosity and love that surrounds us. This is what brings us to our knees in gratitude and thanksgiving.
“Doing small things with great love,” she mused. “That is the kingdom of Heaven right here in our midst.”
Friday, February 22 through Saturday, February 23 there was a continuous twenty-four hour prayer chain at St. Philip’s Church for Sydney. It began with 8 a.m. Mass on Friday and ended after 8 a.m. Mass on Saturday.
Editor’s note: This is the last in a four-part series on Sydney and the remarkable outpouring of support she is receiving throughout the state.
Periodically, we will update our readers on her condition.
Lenten supper, raffle to benefit Khoury family
The St. Philip Parish Men’s Club will hold its annual Lenten Benefit Supper and Raffle on March 6 from 4-8:30 p.m. in the Parish Center at 618 Putnam Pike, Greenville. Donations may be made payable to St. Philip Church with a notation for the ‘Khoury Family Trust Fund’ on the memo line.
