29-Dec-2013 Dear friend,
In the Bible both blessing and cursing are said to be passed down to others, sometimes to two or more generations! 'To bless' can mean: to make holy, to consecrate, to ask God's favour for, to wish good for, to make happy or fortunate! As we begin a New Year can we seek God's blessings daily? We become people of Good News if we invoke blessings on people and wish them well always! Maybe we can share our devotion to Mary with others. Wishing you a New Year Full of God's abundant Blessings!! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: New Year's Day "Hail Mary, Holy Mother of God, You are our greatest Blessing!" 1-Jan-2014 Numbers 6: 22-27; Paul 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 16-21; In the first reading there is the triple blessing imparted to the people by the temple priest after the sacrifice was offered. Yahweh's name is three times invoked and the triple invocation was reserved for priests alone. It marks the plenitude, perfection and the solemnity of the formula. Three was a sacred number among the Jews just as it was among the pagans. The petitions reach a climax in the prayer for peace; peace included everything they could desire. To let His face shine on one, meant that God was well disposed to one. To let his face turn to one or uncover his face to one, meant expressing his benevolence in an even stronger way. The Israelites were asked to call down God's blessings on one another; others could invoke God's blessings on us. We need others to be blessed by God. Count your blessings I was walking along a back street in New York City when I noticed what I thought was a beggar sitting along the footpath. I was about to shake my head and pass by when I realized that he was not drunk, but blind. Wondering why he should be competing with the bums for alms, I said, "Don't you think you would be doing something better in some place like Park Avenue?" I shall always remember his reply, "Yes, I guess I could take in more money up there, But I'd rather stay here. When poor people see someone worse off than themselves, it makes them feel better. So I know I'm not just taking people's money. I'm giving them something in return." W. M. Chambless in '1000 Stories you can use' In today's gospel we see the reaction of the shepherds to the good news given to them, we see the response of Mary and we read of the circumcision of Jesus when he was given the name Jesus. We are often tempted to envy the shepherds because they saw Jesus with their own eyes. We believe faith was easy for them and are convinced that it would be easy for us if we were present there when these events took place. It is true that they had the privilege of seeing Jesus but did it make things easy? In fact seeing might have made believing more difficult! What they saw was a frail, weak little child, perhaps crying and in need of being fed and clothed, totally dependent on others. Could this be the Son of God? There seems to be nothing extraordinary about him. He was in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, both signs of poverty and want. Yet the shepherds believed that this was the Son of God. They not only believed but acted on the message they had heard. They journeyed and found the child, and worshipped him, and they shared the good news with anyone who cared to listen. They told Mary what they had heard and went back full of joy praising and thanking God for the privilege of seeing the incarnate son of God. Faith is one of the great blessings that believers receive from God. Without faith we look at life missing what God is doing for us in the world around us. Faith makes us see things differently. It is faith that fills us with joy as we can see beyond the ordinary, to God acting in all things. We see this in the reaction of Mary, she pondered all that she saw and heard and experienced in her heart. She could see the hand of God working through all the happenings there. She had no complaints, no dissatisfaction, it all fitted in His plan and she praised and worshipped this infant Son of God. The last part of the Gospel tells us that on the eight day, as was the Jewish custom, Jesus was circumcised and given the name Jesus. Jesus is as close as the mention of his name. Calling on the name of Jesus is a powerful blessing! A great blessing -the Search for God Years ago Fulton Oursler was the editor of a highly successful national magazine. The story behind his rise to success is fascinating. But even more fascinating is the story of his search for God. As a reporter for the 'Baltimore American', Oursler had covered Methodist meetings, Baptist Conventions, and outdoor revivals. "Out of all of this" he says, "I emerged at the age of 30 a self-styled agnostic." But instead of finding peace, his unbelief left him totally empty inside. Eventually the emptiness and the unhappiness turned into a gnawing depression. Then one day serious trouble threatened his family. He needed help. But the kind of help he needed was not the kind of help his friends could give. There was no one to whom he could turn, not even God, for he did not believe in God. One windy day in New York he was walking down Fifth Avenue. He came to the Cathedral. He stopped, looked at it and thought. He was desperate. Minutes later he found himself walking up the steps, going inside and sitting down. After a few minutes of collecting his thoughts, he bowed his head and asked for the gift of faith. He sat there a while, then got up, and walked over to the Chapel of Our Lady in the cathedral. He went inside, knelt down, and prayed the following prayer: "In ten minutes or less I may change my mind. I may scoff at all this and love error again. Pay no attention to me then. For this little time I am in my right mind and heart. This is my best -take it and forget the rest, and, if you are really there, help me." At that moment, there began a remarkable transformation in his life. The transformation ended in his becoming a deeply committed Christian. Fulton Oursler's search for God ended in the House of God. And his spiritual birth into a new life began in a chapel dedicated to Mary the Mother of God. Mark Link in 'Sunday Homilies' The blessing of presence St. Anthony's is a home to a small number of endangered boys. The boys had to be removed from their own homes, or have run away from their homes, because of difficult situations. Not surprisingly, they are not the easiest of kids to deal with. The home is staffed by qualified social workers, who in the circumstances do a very good job. They work shifts and do not live in the home. Brother Aidan also works for those boys. But unlike the paid staff, he lives on the premises. It is his home too. He tries to be father figure and an elder brother to the youth. It is not the easiest or quietest place to live. But Aidan likes it. And the fact that he lives on the premises makes a big difference to the kids. Aidan tells how one day he met one of the kids on the street. The kid greets him warmly and in the course of a chat said, "You're different Brother Aidan. The staff go home every evening, but you live with us." Brother Aidan knows all the youth by name. He eats and drinks with them, listens to their stories, lets them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that he truly loves them. Presence is very important. Our presence with others is the deepest expression of our love for them, it is the best gift we can give others. -Mary was present to her son in life and as he died on the cross. She is present to us as well, our greatest blessing. Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies' The Name Game In his book'The Name Game', author Christopher Anderson claims that our name can make us a success or failure, a winner or loser. Anderson's book is based on the results of polls he took to determine what qualities most Americans associated with various names. On the one hand, he found that people are most likely to trust and relate to people with common names such as Kathleen or Edward. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine some like General George Patton as a presidential candidate because of his nickname of "Old-Blood-and Guts." -One of the themes of today's feast of Mary's Motherhood is that of the name given to Mary's son, the name Jesus. The name Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means 'The Lord is Salvation.' The holy name of Jesus has two-fold power, to bless and to save. Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds' May the names of Jesus and Mary be a constant source of Blessing for us! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
