By Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
LEAVENWORTH — Patti Davis, a member of Immaculate Conception-St. Joseph Parish here, has a habit of blessing people, even when they don’t sneeze.
“I’m a third order Carmelite,” she said. “Our charism is contemplative and in the world.”
One of the ways Davis lives that charism is by encountering people, engaging them in genuine, caring conversation, and blessing them.
“One day, I thought to myself, ‘Why should I wait till somebody sneezes to bless them?’” she said. “So that’s how it started. And I do it to every single person I talk to.”
Davis thinks of it as a walking prayer. And she’s been walking this prayer for 12 years now.
“We have a riverfront here in Leavenworth,” she said. “Lots of people walk right here. And so I try to walk on that several times a week.”
When she encounters someone, she stops and asks them how they’re doing — and she does so with genuine interest.
“I’ll ask, ‘How are you doing?’ and have a little conversation,” she said. “So many people have problems in the world.
“We all need to take a few minutes to talk to our fellow men and women.”
Before she walks away, Davis always says, “God bless you.”
“One man said, ‘Gosh, I can’t think of the last time anybody blessed me — and I really needed that,’” she said.
Davis believes in showing compassion and kindness toward all people. She knows not everyone she encounters is a Christian, but most everyone believes in God.
“So ‘God bless you’ includes everyone,” she said. “People don’t always want to hear preaching — they just want to hear kindness in somebody’s voice.
“And maybe they’ll take it from there, and be kind to the next person.”
