19-Jan-2014 Dear friend, Normally, we wait for the light and long for light when the light fails. In the light we can see where we are going and can comfortably carry on our work, that can get disrupted when the lights go off. But if the darkness continues for a while we can get used to the darkness and may even prefer to live in darkness. Faith is an enlightened journey! God is light and he enlightens and dispels darkness. God invites us to live enlightened lives bringing light in darkened lives! Have a great weekend enlightened by God's call! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Third Sunday of the Year "Repent for the kingdom is at hand! Follow after Me!" 26-Jan-2014 Isaiah 9: 1-4 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17 Matthew 4: 12-23 The prophet Isaiah was living in Jerusalem more than seven hundred years before Christ and during his time the Assyrians raided northern Palestine and destroyed everything. The prophet saw this misfortune as a thick cloud, as a darkness that had enveloped the entire land. All of a sudden the prophet saw a brilliant light in these regions and prophesied the coming of a great light, the Messiah, who by his birth and preaching brought salvation to humankind. This would be the mission of the Messiah, and also the mission of all those who followed him. Have we seen the light in the darkness? Have we heard his call? Lead kindly light... A young man who later became a Cardinal was returning by sea from Italy to his native England. While the boat was detained in Sicily, young Newman fell ill and nearly died. During his convalescence, he wrote these words: "Lead kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom," because he believed that the prophecy of Isaiah had come true: "The people who walked in the darkness have seen a great light." We too have our moments of darkness. The death of a lifelong spouse, an unexpected rejection by a loved one, a smashed dream of business success or the loss of good health can throw us into temporary darkness. But in these tragic moments true believers have in the past seen the light of Christ, a light that illumines the shadows of our hearts with the radiance of his splendour, guiding us to travel safely over the tempestuous sea of life. Vima Dasan in 'His Word Lives' In today's gospel Matthew begins the mission of Jesus Christ by using the passage from Isaiah, which forms today's first reading, to show that Jesus was the one that brought light and deliverance to Galilee. Jesus took over the preaching of John the Baptist after he had been arrested and preached the call to repentance, because the Kingdom of God was close at hand. Jesus showed by his preaching and by his deeds that he brought healing, pardon and freedom to those who were in bondage. He revealed signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God being close at hand. The call to repentance is not so much about doing penance but turning towards God, turning towards the light of Christ, so that we might see his goodness and experience his mercy. Normally light is something that we welcome, but sometimes we are afraid of what the light might reveal. The latter part of today's gospel speaks of Jesus calling disciples to follow him. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting nets for a catch and he said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." And they left their nets at once and followed him. Later he saw another pair of brothers, James and John sons of Zebedee who were in their boat with their father and he called them and leaving their boat they followed him. Jesus has not stopped calling people to be his disciples. He has called us to be his followers and every day there is a new call within the calling to be Christian. We are called to be the light and to spread the light of Christ by our lives. Jesus went about preaching and healing people and we are called to do the same. We will accomplish this mission in the measure that we let the light of Christ shine brightly in our lives. Be Light bearers! Their faces said it all A historian tells us that many, many years ago, a group of prospectors set out from Bannock, Montana, in search of gold. For days together they had to endure many hardships and cope with severe weather changes, so that some of them unable to cope actually perished. Undeterred, the rest persisted until one day they ran into a gang of ruthless Indians, who seized their horses and belongings and left them with a few limping ponies. Releasing them, the Red Indians warned them never to return for, the next time, their lives would be at risk. The crestfallen group began their return journey very disappointed. At night they decided to stop by a stream and camp. One of the men entered the stream and noticed something unusual about one stone. So he lifted it up and cracked it open and realized that they had struck gold right there. And so his companions joined and they made a reasonable haul. The next day they discovered even more and were absolutely ecstatic. The following day they returned to Bannock, in order to bring all the equipment and horses necessary to collect their treasure. And they vowed that they would not tell anyone of their extraordinary discovery. When they decided to set out they found themselves surrounded by 300 equally excited gold prospectors. Somebody seemed to have spilled the beans! The fact of the matter is that no one had let out their secret. But the others saw their ecstatic joy on their faces and sensed there certainly was a very good reason. So they decided to join, fully assured that soon they too would be as jubilantly happy as the others. Their beaming faces had literally betrayed their secret! - Do our faces reveal that we have found the greatest treasure -Jesus Christ? James Valladares in 'Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They are Life' Ready to follow, no matter what the cost? Have you heard the story of Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru? The Spaniards came to know that the rivers of Peru were flowing with gold and people could just pick up gold from these rivers. Pizarro got together a band of men who were fond of adventure and eager to get gold. They crossed the Atlantic and crossed the Isthmus of Panama. The travel was not easy and they had troubled times. On the sea there were storms and over land poisonous snakes and wild animals. There was no food and the band of men had to face many difficulties and therefore decided to return to Spain. Pizarro drew out his sword and drew a line on the sand with his sword that separated north and south. Then he said to his band of soldiers, "Comrades, on the south of this line there lies famine, perils, nakedness, trials and death, while on the north there lies pleasure, ease, and comfort. As for me I go south and he stepped over the line on the south." Seven men followed him not for love of the gold but because they loved him and trusted him and wanted to sacrifice everything. That is why we remember them as the seven immortals of Peru. Elias Dias in 'Divine Stories for Families' The Light she lit is still burning. Mother Teresa gives us a beautiful example of a man who was brought out of darkness into the light. One day in Melbourne, Australia, she visited a poor man whom nobody knew existed. The room in which he was living was in a terrible state of untidiness and neglect. There was no light in the room. The man hardly ever opened the blinds. He hadn't had a friend in the world. She started to clean and tidy the room. At first he protested, saying, "Leave it alone. It's all right as it is." But she went ahead anyway. Under a pile of rubbish she found a beautiful oil lamp but it was covered with dirt. She cleaned and polished it. Then she asked him, "How come you never light the lamp?" "Why should I light it?" he replied. "No one ever comes to see me. I never see anybody." "Will you promise to light it if one of my sisters comes to see you?" "Yes," he replied. "If I hear a human voice I'll light the lamp." Two of Mother Teresa's nuns began to visit him on a regular basis. Things gradually improved for him. Then one day he said to the nuns, "Sisters, I'll be able to manage on my own from now on. But do me a favour. Tell that first Sister, who came to see me, that the light she lit in my life is still burning." Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy day Liturgies' May we be led by his light and his love to follow Him!!
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.
