27-Dec-2016 Dear Friend, As believers we feel that if God were to tell us exactly what He wanted of us and how He wanted us to act we would gladly do His will. But are we doing His will in our daily life? Are we collaborating with His plans? Yes, we profess to be ready to do God’s will but we want to do it according to our plans. We pride in doing things ‘Our way’. God’s word proposes Mary as the model for preparing ourselves for the New Year by blessing God and asking for His blessing for the year. Have a ‘thanksgiving’ weekend! -Fr. Jude Sun Ref. New Year: ‘O God, Be gracious and bless us, like Mary our Mother!’ 1-Jan-2017Num. 16: 22-27; Gal. 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 16-21;
In the first reading there is the triple blessing imparted to the people by the temple priest. Yahweh’s name three times invoked marked 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 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 blessingsI 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 Bowery 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, we see the response of Mary and we read of the circumcision of Jesus when he was given the name Jesus. We believe it was easy for the shepherds to believe for they were present there when these events took place. But did it make things easy? In fact seeing might have made believing more difficult! What they saw was a frail, little child in need of being fed and clothed, dependant 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 they 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. They told Mary what they had heard and went back full of joy 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 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, and she praised and worshipped this infant Son of God. The last part of the Gospel tells us that on the eight day, Jesus was circumcised and given the name Jesus. Jesus is as close as the mention of his name. Calling his name is a great blessing! A pretty crib or…Once there was a parish which had a beautiful crib. The parishioners, who for the most part were white and well-off, were very proud of it. Mary was depicted as a handsome young maiden, and Joseph a strong man with a serene expression. The infant had the face of an angel. The shepherds were dressed as gentlemen. The background consisted of low hills with a gorgeous castle perched on the summit of one of them. The star-strewn sky completed the idyllic picture. Then a new parish priest was appointed to the parish. One of the first things he did was to change the crib. Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus were now coloured, as were the shepherds. The backdrop consisted of a shanty town with rows of impoverished shacks. The scene spoke of poverty and deprivement. The devout parishioners took an instant dislike to it. They insisted that their traditional crib be put back. -When we look at the crib, everything seems so pretty, so peaceful so orderly; not a cry is heard from the child, not a sound from the donkey or the oxen, not a smell of any kind. The subdued lights add a surreal quality to the whole scene. With our inward ear we hear the singing of the angels, and with our inward eye we see the star which led the Magi to Bethlehem. We have a tendency to pretty up the Christmas story. But in doing so, we distance it from ourselves. We empty it of much of the meaning it carries for us.Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ The blessing of presenceSt. 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 a 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’ A great blessing –the Search for GodYears 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. He had even waited for ghosts in darkroom séances. “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, he said, 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’ All is well! All things shall be well!They say Robert Louis Stevenson told this story first. It seems a storm caught a sea faring vessel off a rocky coast. The winds and the waves threatened to drive the boat to its destruction. In the midst of the terror, one daring passenger, contrary to orders, made his way across the ship. Grouping along the passageway, he found the pilot house. Then he beheld an intriguing sight. The ship’s pilot was lashed to his post. Secure against the raging elements, he held the wheel fast, turning the wheel inch by inch once more out to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled. The daring passenger found his way below deck where the other passengers were huddled. Encouragingly, he said, “I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All is well.”Frank Michalic in ‘Stories You can Use’ Be with us Mary along the Way, and all will be well! 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.
