Did The Waitress Receive Enough Gratuity

Fr. Thomas “Darbie” Nash, O.S.A.
1912 – 1983

In 1983, I attended the Funeral Mass for a priest friend, Tom Nash, a member of the Augustinian Order.  In years gone by we met each other while caddying at the same golf course.  About seven years older than myself, I saw in Tom Nash an ideal to be imitated.

Pleasant, good natured, friendly, already then a seminarian studying for the priesthood, Tom showed that one could really enjoy life and still walk in the footsteps of the Lord.  We called him “Darbie” because he always had his hair combed and wore a clean shirt every day, along with a sharp crease in his trousers.  The name stayed with him until his death which came after a long, painful illness.

Father Tom went on to do many wonderful things in his Priesthood, especially in the education of young men.  At the Funeral Mass, Father Dudley Day mentioned all these character traits of Father Tom, but he ended by saying words that I will never forget.

“If Father Nash dined out, he was always concerned about this matter at the end of the meal: ‘Did the waitress receive a sufficient tip, gratuity?’ ” A small thing, a reader might say, but to me that insight into Father Tom’s way of living summed up his whole outlook on life, “Be generous to others.”

As a caddy, Father Nash had received “tips” from his players and so he knew the importance of gratuities being fair and generous.

As we go through life, we can show generosity at almost every step of the way towards others.  The question we could ask ourselves, “Did I show enough love towards all whom I met today?”  Generosity need not be measured only in terms of money, but rather in attitude of mind.

                        Fr. George Mc Kenna