8-Apr-2015 Dear Friend, We like to believe that faith is an acquisition that we can hold on to once we have it. Yet the reality is that faith is totally a gift that has to be constantly cherished and nurtured or else we lose it. We also like to believe that faith is my personal relationship with God, something dependent on me alone, which is not affected or conditioned by my dealings with my community. Yet we are confronted today with the realization that our faith is very much dependent on and fostered in and through the community. We are in it together! May we have a faith-sharing, faith-affirming Divine Mercy weekend! Fr. Jude Sunday Ref. Divine Mercy "One in mind and heart they testified to the Resurrection" 12-Apr-2015 Acts 4: 32-35; John. 5: 1-6; John 20: 19-31;
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles has an apt description of the ideal Christian community, a community gathered around the risen Lord. There are two characteristics pointed out in this community. Firstly, there was a tremendous unity and secondly, as a result of this unity there was a generous sharing of all that they had, out of concern for others. It is good to remind ourselves today that if we are truly Christians, then our communities should have the same characteristics. Today we are reminded that if we are an Easter people we have to share our lives and in the measure we care, in that measure we grow as a Christian community. Uplifting One AnotherHave you ever watched geese fly in V-formation? While a thing of beauty to watch, the formation is essential to the geese for survival. If you listen, you can hear the beat of their wings whistling through the air in unison. And that is the secret of their strength: the lead goose cuts a swath through the air resistance, which creates a helping uplift for the birds behind it. In turn their flapping makes it easier for the birds behind them, and so on. Each bird takes its turn at being leader. The tired ones fan out to the edges of the V for a breather, and the rested ones surge towards the point of the V to drive the flock onward. If a goose becomes too exhausted or ill and has to drop out of the flock, it is never abandoned. A stronger member of the flock will follow the failing, weak one to its resting place and wait till the bird is well enough to fly again. Together, cooperating as a flock, geese can fly at 71% longer range, with up to 60% less work.Phillip Yancy, in 'Benedict Arnold Seagull' In the Gospel, Easter Peace is very much linked with our readiness to forgive and to receive forgiveness from others. We are all called to be witnesses of His Peace and His forgiveness. The Gospel adds a little detail that Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came and when the others told him that they had seen the Lord he refused to believe. He demanded proof that would satisfy him. "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." We have people who are believers and people who are doubters; people who are ready to accept the word of others as gospel truth and people who question even those in authority. Apparently, the apostles let Thomas be part of the group in spite of his doubts and questions. Equally, it must be said, that in spite of not believing their testimonies, Thomas did not walk out on them, but rather, stayed with the community. His perseverance was rewarded with the second appearance of Jesus to him. Jesus on his part is seen to be patient and tolerant of Thomas and takes the initiative to meet him on his terms and conditions. "Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Doubt no longer but believe." The gospel concludes with those reassuring words for many of us, who have our doubts, who have not seen and are struggling to believe. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Don't be crying! It's Ok! He is alive!"I remember one occasion when I led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the young men in the group was quite mentally limited, although his grasp of God, of Jesus, and the events of the gospel were uncanny. We arrived at the tomb of the basilica, and we joined the long line, waiting our turn to enter. One lady came out of the tomb, and was obviously deeply touched by the experience of her visit to such a sacred spot. She sat down outside the entrance, took out a tissue, and began wiping her tears. My friend, who was back in the line, spotted what was happening, and responded instantly. He ran straight up to her, put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't be crying, it's ok. He's alive; don't you know that?" The whole thing was so spontaneous and genuine that the woman stood up, and gave him a warm hug. The simple fact was that he could not understand how anybody could be crying at this tomb, of all the tombs in the world. - Jesus thanked the Father for giving a message that was so simple and straightforward that the intellectual and the worldly-wise would fail to grasp it, and yet it could be fully accepted by someone with the mind of a child. Happy are they who have not seen yet believe."Jack McArdle in 'And that's the Gospel Truth' Cure for Sorrow There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, "What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?" Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, "Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life." The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, "I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me." They told her, "You've certainly come to the wrong place," and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself, "Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?" She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hovels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so involved in ministering to other people's grief that ultimately she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life.Brian Cavanaugh in 'The Sower's Seeds' Identity IssueThe conversation at a party turned to religion. Many gave their opinion on a whole series of contemporary issues. One person kept silent. Then one of the guests asked him: "By the way, what are you?" In the context it was clear that he was asked what religion he was affiliated with. He said: "Oh, I happen to be a Christian!" You could tell by the way he said it that either he didn't take his religious convictions seriously, or he didn't want to admit it if he did. How different from those Christians from the Acts! They had no difficulty in describing or defining themselves; they had no identity problems. They would say things like: "We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who listen." They didn't just 'happen to be' Christians. They were Christians by conscious choice and commitment. They had opened their hearts and minds to the presence of the spirit of Jesus. They not only witnessed to Jesus by professing what had happened to him; they witnessed to Jesus by living as he lived.Joseph G. Donders in 'With hearts on Fire' Hope for the FlowersA man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then, it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could. So the man decided to help, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!Anonymous Is God Alive?In a philosophy class being taught by a great Master of Philosophy, the issue being discussed was "The Existence of God-Myth or Reality". The professor was very verbose about the folly of the whole idea of "God". While he was thus going on, one of the boys in the class was eating an orange right under the professor's nose while taking in all that the professor was saying. At the end of the discussion, the professor, with a very gleeful look of great satisfaction, asked his students whether anyone had anything to add to what he had said. Very promptly this student, who had just finished licking the final bit of juice off his fingers, popped up and asked the professor: "Sir, wasn't that orange simply scrumptious!". The professor turned all the colours of the rainbow. He was furious and yelled at the student: "How do I know you imbecile, you ate the orange not me. How can I tell the taste of something I did not eat?!!" The whole class laughed- but the student quite undeterred spoke up and said: "Exactly my point sir, how then can you speak of God whom you have never known or experienced, when I have known Him and experienced Him and I can tell you that He is, beyond a shadow of doubt".Anonymous God cannot be separated from our livesAbout two centuries ago, some atheistic scientists in France set out to prove that, if an individual was never told about God, he would never think of the existence of God. And so they devised a strange plan. They made an agreement with the parents of a newborn infant to remove the entire family to a remote region where they could enjoy the very best by way of nutrition and recreation. The little boy was educated by the best of tutors, who were however strictly instructed never to make a mention of God. When the little boy was seven, his nurse found him missing one morning. In a state of alarm, she searched for him until she found him on a little hillock, facing the rising sun. He was on his knees, his hands were reverently joined, his head respectfully bowed and his eyes were closed as though he was lost in prayer. "What on earth are you doing?" demanded the anguished nurse. Without batting an eyelid, the little fellow said: "I am only praising the almighty Person who made that beautiful sunrise!" And there ended the sinister plan of those atheistic scientists and their presumptive objective.James Valladares in 'Your Words O Lord, are Spirit and they are life.' May we believe He is present even when we don't experience Him! Fr. Jude [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.
