It happens a lot. Deacon Andy Heinsohn saw a man outside the Father Jack Jones Food Pantry, which had been closed for hours. He was roaming, looking a little lost and a lot in need. When Andy asked if he could help him, the man said he needed food, and Andy headed down the steps into the pantry to get him some. When he returned, the man started to weep.

Through tears he talked about his wife who had died two years earlier. He spoke of how much he missed her, how lost he is without her. He described her personality, her beauty, her quirks, her passion for gardening and her love of butterflies.

Deacon Andy led him to the other side of a tall brick wall where they had been standing to a small grotto just outside of the Holy Name Church that houses the food pantry. There among the flowers were a multitude of butterflies.

“Oh,” the man exclaimed through even more tears. “Oh, she would have loved this.” And then, as if directed by the very hand of God, one butterfly flitted onto the statue of Mary, where it remained. “I believe her spirit is with us,” the man said softly. They stood there in silence, soaking it in.

In a few moments, the man left with his heavy bags of food and a lighter heart of peace.

“He didn’t need food,” Deacon Andy said. “He needed to cry.”

As is so often the case, food for body and soul was provided that day.