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St. Mary's Convent High school, Mapusa is staging a play titled "Lion King"
December 1, 2007 - Hanuman Hall, Mapusa
to fundraise for a false ceiling for the school hall
& upgrading the school playground
Headmistress Sr. Namika A.C. / Teacher Mrs. Sonia Noronha
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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25-Nov-2007
Dear Friend,
We spend much of our time waiting. We wait for a job, we wait for healing, we
wait for the dawn, and we wait in queues for buses and trains. We wait for
purchases we make, and we wait for surfing the internet. Sometimes waiting can
be boring and frustrating, at other times waiting can be exciting and hopeful,
especially when we know what we are waiting for. Have we waited for God? Are we
ready to wait for Him? Are we prepared to wait for a long time until He comes?
Have an eager and exciting weekend awaiting Him! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: First Sunday of Advent -Awaiting His Coming
2-Dec-2007
Readings: Isaiah 2: 1-5; Romans 13: 11-14;
Matthew 24: 37-44;
One of the key concepts of the Old Testament was the idea of the ‘covenant’ by
which God bound himself to his people, and a visible symbol of the covenant was
the temple in which God dwelt among his people. In the temple was enshrined the
book of the Law which was meant to guide the behavior of the people. Isaiah in
today’s reading looks forward to the time when the covenant between God and his
people will be extended to all people, where the temple will be the worshipping
place for all mankind. He sees Jerusalem as the focal point where all peoples
will come to worship the Lord in the temple on the mountain, the dwelling place
of God. When that happened all people would live in peace and harmony with God
and their fellow human beings.
Towards the Mountain
Alan Paton was a South African writer. Among the books he wrote was the
haunting story, Cry the Beloved Country, which so poignantly described the
situation in South Africa under apartheid. Paton had a dream. He dreamt of a
new day for his beloved South Africa, a day in which there would be justice and
equality for all. For this reason he entered into politics, and fought to end
the iniquitous system of apartheid. For decades he followed his dream, and
worked generously and courageously to make it a reality. It was a dream that
many said would not be realized. Yet it was. Unfortunately, Paton did not live
to see it. He died before the dawn. – The prophet Isaiah had an even bolder
dream, a dream of universal brotherhood and peace. Isaiah’s vision was a
splendid one. It would only be realized by the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is a wake-up call, and
it urges us to turn away from the darkness of sin and evil and walk into the
light of Christ. We can no longer sleep, for though it is not yet full day, we
live no longer in darkness which favours idleness and dishonesty. If we really
believe in Christ, if we are impatient for our hope to be realized, we must act
as people in love with the light and truth of Christ. To be a Christian is to
live in the light and walk in the light, striving to let His light shine in our
lives.
Wake-up call
God’s wake-up call can come to people in different ways, and will mean
different things to different people. In Mexico in the diocese of Bishop Samuel
Ruiz almost 80 % of the population of his diocese was indigenous. The Bishop
has become known as ‘the defender of the Indians.’ But it wasn’t always like
that. In a talk given in Westminster Cathedral in Lent 1996, Bishop Ruiz said:
“For twenty years I was like a sleeping fish. I had my eyes open but saw
nothing. I was just proud to be in the diocese where the churches were crowded.
Then one day I saw an Indian tied to a tree being whipped by his boss, because
he had refused to work an extra eight hours.” That incident opened the bishop’s
eyes and he began to look. What he saw being done to his people spurred him
into action. He got involved in negotiations with the Zapato rebels and the
Mexican government. One of the phrases we often use is ‘it dawned on me’. In
this way we recognize
that it is not enough to be physically awake. We need to be awake socially,
morally and spiritually.
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
In today’s Gospel Christ clearly urges his disciples to stay awake because we
do not know when the Son of Man will return. Each day summons us to awake from
our sleep. Some days we are enthusiastic in anticipating a great day ahead, on
other days we dread the beginning of a new day. Life may be empty and
monotonous for us. We may be unemployed, or retired, sickly or old and there is
nothing to look forward to. No one has a perfect life. All of us have some
difficulty or another. It is how we face life that makes all the difference.
Advent issues a spiritual wake up call for all of us, and has an awakening
power. To be spiritually awake means to be open, receptive, vigilant and
active. To be spiritually awake is to be attentive to God and others. In
today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us that in the days of Noah people took it easy,
they carried on doing the usual things and were caught off guard when the
floods came. Only Noah heeded the warning and built
himself and his family an ark to save them from the flood. We are not being
asked to run out and build a boat to escape, or to buy a parachute, or
construct an anti- raid shelter. We are being asked to listen to the Lord so
that we may walk in his path and live according to his precepts and
commandments. Jesus also talks of the future coming of the Son of man. We
prepare for the future coming by taking responsibility for the present time.
The only way we can prepare for an unpredictable event is to make the present a
time of fidelity.
There is time!
Three devils were sent to earth to tempt and ruin people. The first one said:
“I will tell them that there is no God.” But Satan, the chief of the devils
said: “That won’t do, for the people know that there is a God.” The second
devil said: “I will proclaim that there is no hell.” “That is not good enough
either because man knows there is hell as a punishment for sin.” Then the third
one said: “I will convince them that there is plenty of time, So don’t hurry,
don’t worry.” “That is an excellent strategy,” said Satan, “Go and ruin the
people.”
Anthony Kolencherry in ‘Living the Word’
"The gospel of this Sunday puts us firmly on the alert. It emphasizes the state
of unpreparedness, the sense of false security developed with regard to the
unforeseeable coming of the Son of Man. As in the days of Noah, people are not
troubled, they go about their business. And suddenly the catastrophe will be
upon them: they will be taken, surprised in their torpor, careless as they were
of what mattered. The comparison of the Lord to one coming in the night brings
out clearly the need for constant watchfulness. At every moment of her history
the Church is in constant danger of not hearing the one who knocks at the door,
knocks in order to waken Christians to the calls of the Spirit. In our time the
Church, and individual Christians, still have a prophetic role to play – to
rouse a slumbering world, which is in danger of losing its soul. How are we to
remain watchful, how are we to act so that we live in the generous service of
God’s kingdom? How
are we to go about our affairs so as not to be surprised in the evening of our
lives, in the evening of the world, by the judgement of the Lord?” - Glenstal
Sunday Missal
Awake
A man came to Buddha and asked him, “Tell me Buddha, are you a God?” “No, I am
not a god.” “Are you an angel?” “No, I am not.” “Are you a prophet?” “No, not a
prophet either.” “What are you then?” Whereupon Buddha answered… “I am awake.”
– Most of us are not awake. We are always in slumber. We are not aware of our
own thoughts, feelings and actions. We function most of the time, like an
automaton. The enlightened are those who are aware and awake.
G. Francis Xavier in ‘Inspiring Stories’
Waiting for Godot
Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot focuses on two main characters,
Vladimir and Estragon. They sit around waiting for the coming of a mysterious
person known only as Godot. As they wait for him they try to recall what their
meeting is all about. They know that it is important and that their future
depends on Godot’s arrival, but that is all that they can remember. Then two
other characters appear on the stage. Vladimir and Estragon are not sure if
either one is Godot since they do not know how to recognize him. As the play
ends Vladimir and Estragon are left alone on a dark and empty stage, still
waiting for Godot to come. –Today’s liturgy ushers the season of ‘Advent’
Advent celebrates our Lord’s coming in three ways: first, in past history, when
he was born a man; second, in the present time, when he comes at Christmas;
third, in the future, when he will return at the end of time. In a sense, this
final and future coming of Christ
is a process, one that will begin for us personally when we die and time will
end for us. For the moment, we are still living in a ‘mean-time’. That is, the
time between Christ’s coming in past history to share our humanity and his
coming in the future to lead us into glory. Lest our waiting in this
‘mean-time’ be empty and meaningless, as it seemed to be for Vladimir and
Estragon in Beckett’s play, we celebrate an Advent culminating in a Christmas
each year to recall why we are waiting and for whom we are awaiting. Another
purpose of Advent is to instruct us how to recognize the Lord’s coming – in the
duties we carry out, or the things that happen to us, or in the people we meet.
During Advent we have to discipline ourselves to see Christ in every one and in
every situation. Our waiting then will not be one of frustration, but rather
one of readiness and anticipation.
Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’
May we eagerly wait in anticipation for His coming into our world !
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.
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