----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 1:30
AM
Subject: [Goanet] Let's Be More Than Just
Sunday Catholics
LET'S BE MORE THAN JUST SUNDAY
CATHOLICS
by Basilio Magno (Spain)
You all must be knowing that the
Holy Father visited Spain early in May this year to canonize five
Spaniards. The Spanish
Television beamed all day the movements of Pope
John Paul II.
What struck me the most in his homily is
what he said over and
over again, that we must pray daily and, in
particular, we must
recite the holy Rosary.
I have been pondering on those
words, not that it affects me
personally, for I and my wife Rosi say our
morning prayer, recite
the rosary in the evening and say our night
prayer together before the family altar. We don't have our breakfast
before saying our morning prayer standing together before the holy
picture of the Last Supper that hangs on the wall
in the kitchen.
When we go out in the evening
to a Party or a Movie and
return home late tired, we won't go to bed
straight away;
we will first say our Rosary and the night
prayer. Our reasoning
is, if we have time for pleasure, we can stay
awake for another
fifteen minutes to say the rosary and three
minutes to say our
night prayer, and then go to bed.
We look forward to our
prayer-time together. Standing before the altar or the holy picture
togther helps to strenghten the bonds of love between a husband and wife
because you receive
daily the blessings of God. After saying
our morning and night prayers we kiss each other tenderly cementing daily our
love.
But how many of our Goan
Catholics out in the western world, settled with good jobs, good houses, cars,
etc. think of God or the Virgin Mary on daily basis? Most of them are
content to rank among the Sunday Catholics, who go to churh
once a Sunday, and that's all. The only
other time they rush to say extra prayer is when someone in the family is sick
or is
in trouble.
If that be so, is it the way
to live as a good Catholic? I presume that most of the netters om Goanet
are Catholics or Christians. But daily prayer, is part of the Catholic
culture, or
for that matter of any religion. And it
gives you such a good feeling to be communicating with God on daily basis, and
not
just when you are in need. Prayer is
nothing but talking with God in your own words in your own way.
I was brought up in a Catholic
culture. As children we were
taught to be back home by 8 O'clock in the
evening to pray
together the Rosary, and dinner was never served
before the
rosary was said. And before we went to
sleep, mother would ask: "Have you children said your night prayer?" It
is what you
learn as a child that you don't forget
easily. Are today's parents
teaching their children the culture of
prayer. As Konkani language is our cultural heritage, our Faith is our
religious heri-tage, be it Christian or Hindu.
I had the good fortune of
meeting with the Rosary Crusader
Fr. Peyton in Bombay in 1958 (I think), where I
interviewed him as the Correspondent for The Herald -a Catholic weekly
in Calcutta. After finishing my interview, he put me a
question:
"Son, do you say daily your rosary?" I
replied: "Yes,
Monsignor." He told me: "Never
miss an occasion to crusade
for the Rosary. Don't write about me, write
about the rosary."
Today, as I was thinking of the
Pope's message to the Spanish people, I remembered of my meeting with Fr.
Peyton
and of the great impact he had made on the people
with his
slogan" A Family that prays together, stays
together." My prayer now is may more Goan families the world over,
pray
together and stay together happily. And
don't forget to teach that culture to your children too.
END
