Nona and the accidental Miracle

So at Mass Nona tried not to get distracted as the priest spoke of the importance of charity, but the thought that charity begins at home, would keep interposing itself. Hadn't she seen with her own eyes how those international types funded by heaven only knew who had lorded over villages like hers during the reconstruction after the war. Also father Pezo was a fine man in many ways , but it was hard to escape the thought that a less practical man would be hard to imagine. The only man , his housekeeper joked , so incompetent that instead of putting up shelves the shelves might put themselves up rather than face his incompetence . So if he managed the money from any charitable collection something was sure to go astray. To say nothing of the involvement of the criminal element - The chance of achieving a good end from good money it seemed was fraught with practical difficulties, perhaps she wondered finally this is what our lord meant when he said 'don't let the right hand know what the left was doing'. . Lastly Nona thought - weren't all these very reasonable points just an excuse not to do the right thing! What was she to do ?

Nona as a rule was not one for philosophical speculation - but this conundrum stayed with her till the following Sunday mass , her sleep on Saturday night disturbed by a ferociously stormy autumn night and entering the church buckets had been laid out to catch the rain the church roof. Father Pezo impressed upon the congregation that the collection tin was going round to fund the necessary work . But of course no one would give! Nona put something in but she knew why . Mr Brigio Rossi the builder would undoubtedly get the work as he was the only builder in the vicinity but status as a drunkard was the stuff of legend and of course he never even came to church. The congregation must have decided that giving him the money was a sure way to lose the it or worse for Brigio to end up harming himself , in any event any money destined for the fixing of the roof would end up down his throat.

These troubling thoughts played on Nona's mind as she saw Our Lady whose expression seemed to say , it always fall to us, and following Our Ladies gaze Nona saw Maria Rossi the long suffering wife of Brigio sitting alone with her thoughts, Maria knew better than anyone why the tin was so empty.

Outside at the end of mass Nona made a beeline for Maria, the poor woman was stood ashamed in the explicably strong sunlight outside, not able to either leave not able to stay. Nona made to say something but the words of consolation wouldn't come. Maria broke the silence
"he's a good man, really he is , its just ...."
Nona thought better of saying anything, as Maria continued
"but as he says - no one gives him a chance"
Nona fashioned her most sympathetic look, and in the pause the Father Pezo was walking over to them. And then the strangest thing happened.
"Mrs Brigio I was wondering if we could prevail upon the services of your fine husband' The father said.
"why of course, I'll go and fetch him right away' And off the confused Maria ran off to fetch him.
Nona couldn't believe that the tin hadn't suddenly filled from some unseen hand at the end of the collection, and though Our Lady of the Blessed Saints church had seen its fair few miraculous happenings, but such things hadn't happened in living memory.
The truth Nona learned was both more prosaic and yet still miraculous . Father Pazo had simply assumed that the collection tin had sufficient money, and so had asked Mrs Rossi to fetch her husband. But because he wouldn't be able to be paid in advance, as there was no money then Brigio wouldn't be able to spend it on drink. It was a miracle of sorts , presumably once the Brigio had completed the work then the parishoners would be only too pleased to pay for essential work and the miracle of a lost sheep in Brigio returning to the fold.

But Nona wasn't prepared to leave things entirely to the almighty - she needed to act fast - first catch up with Maria and explain that she needed to convince her husband that it was money on completion, but what to do about paying for building materials? as luck, or something more? would have it she had catered for the building merchant's wedding and she hadn't yet been fully paid, so when she explained the problem she agreed that as it was for a good cause she'd wait to be paid if they could extend credit to Brigio the builder for the work on the church roof.

So lets try this with an ECRL lens.

1. Clear Goals & Policies (The "Kitchen" for the Fund):
   • The goal is defined: "Repair the Church Roof."
   • The "Kitchen" is the ad-hoc village fund
   • Kitchen Policy (what it takes to unlock giving/funds): "Funds will only be released for attested progress/completion of specific, pre-agreed tasks related to the church roof repair."
2. Defined Work/Plan (The "Meal Kit"):
   • Brigio Rossi or perhaps Maria (the service provider) would need to submit a "plan" or "proposal" (the Meal Kit).
   • This MK would detail:
     • Materials required (with estimated costs).
     • Phases of work (e.g., "Phase 1: Secure leaking area, replace damaged rafters"; "Phase 2: Re-tile northern slope").
     • With Maria there to provide attestation
     • What constitutes "completion" for each phase (the "definition of done" for that part of the recipe).
3. Verifiable Milestones & Attestations (The "Pass" at Each Stage):
   • Instead of one final "pass," there are multiple.
   • Attestation for Materials: A receipt from the timber merchant for an agreed-upon list of materials. This attestation unlocks funds to pay the merchant directly.
   • Attestation for Labor Phase 1: A signed statement from Father Pezo and, say, two impartial villagers (the "auditors") confirming "Phase 1 work completed satisfactorily according to the plan." This attestation unlocks partial payment to Brigio for his labor for Phase 1.
   • This continues for each phase.
4. "Ready Meal" (The Attested Outcome):
   • The fully repaired roof, with a final attestation: "Church roof fully repaired as per plan, attested by Father Pezo, Village Committee, and photographic evidence. Total funds X disbursed against Y attested milestones."
   • This final "Ready Meal" outcome is what the initial donors were aiming for.