Goanetters annual year-end meet is on Dec 27, 2010 (Monday) from 4-6 pm at Institute Piedade (near Hotel Mandovi, opp Bread & More) in Panjim. Do come along. RSVP via SMS 9822122436, [email protected] or 2409490 (after 2 pm).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 27-12-2010 Dear Friend, All of us have moments of inspiration and insight sometime or another in life. In these moments we see things clearly, we are inspired and uplifted as never before, our life is energized and we can accept new challenges and move forward. The wise see ‘stars’ and follow them, stepping into the unknown. Life and faith are an adventure and only the bold and the persevering are rewarded. May God and His light lead us! Have an enlightened weekend! Lead kindly Light! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: ‘Feast of the Epiphany –God’s revelation to the world! 2-Jan-2011 Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3: 2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12; The first reading from Isaiah reminds us that light shines in and through the darkness. Christ as light is the fullest expression of God’s work in the world. Therefore, “Arise, shine,’ cries out Isaiah, “for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. The prophet foresees the manifestation of Jesus Christ in the darkness of the world, calling all humankind to come and bathe in the light. “The nations come to your light and kings to your dawning brightness. All those who search will find the light and God reveals himself to all who honestly search for him. We are given the assurance that we will find God on our journey in life. The First Step to Enlightenment The Guru promised a scholar a revelation of greater consequence than anything contained in the scriptures. The scholar was eager to know. The Guru said, “Go out in the rain and raise your head and arms heavenwards. That will bring you the first revelation.” The next day the scholar came to report: “I followed your advice and water flowed down my neck and I felt like a perfect fool.” “Well,” said the Guru, “for the first day that’s quite a revelation isn’t it?” “Feeling like a perfect fool is the first step to enlightenment. Wisdom comes from realizing one’s inability to understand the mysteries and intricacies of the creation of the universe.” Humility is the beginning of enlightenment. G. Francis Xavier in ‘The World’s Best Inspiring Stories’ The Gospel of the Epiphany tells us about the Magi, the wise men from the East who, guided by a star, came to Bethlehem. There “they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage.” In the stable, having taken on our humanity, God reveals himself to us in the garb of a helpless little child. God opens himself to us. We in turn are to be opened to him. Epiphany is a feast of ‘openess’, God’s revelation of Jesus to the whole world. The Epiphany is the gentile Christmas. How did these wise men or astrologers from the East regard Jesus? What was their view of this child born under such remarkable circumstances? Matthew seems to have the same question in mind when he enumerates the gifts the wise men present to Jesus. “Then opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Ancients regarded gold as the king of metals. Therefore it made an ideal gift for a king. Christians interpret the gift of gold as standing for the kingship of Christ. The second gift presented by the Magi was incense. Ancients used incense for worship. The aroma and the smoke rising heavenwards spoke to them of God and divinity. Christians interpret the gift of incense as standing for the divinity of Christ. The third gift given by the Magi was myrrh. Ancients used myrrh to prepare the dead for burial. Christians interpret the gift of myrrh as standing for the humanity of Christ. – Today we not only thank God for revealing His son to us but we remind ourselves that it is our mission and duty to continue to reveal Jesus to all nations by our lives of faith and love. God’s Living Word “The wise men from the East listened to an inner divinely inspired voice inviting them to search for a new presence of their creator among his people. Their courage and tenacity led them to Bethlehem and to Jesus. They were able to bring the good news of the birth of a divine king back to their own people. A similar opportunity is ours every time we sense an impulse to goodness or greatness in our hearts. The easy option is to ignore it, knowing that the pressures of life will quickly crowd it out. To follow that route is to live an impoverished life forever. The alternative is to be ever alert to the inspirational moments of our lives and to follow our star with courage, determination and joy. It will lead to similar fulfilment for us as it did for the wise men from the East.” Tom Clancy in ‘Living the Word’ Film: The Fisher King Jack Lucas is a ruthless radio personality who not only disparages his audience, but spews out extreme ideas. One day, a listener follows Jack’s rhetoric literally and massacres a group of diners in a yuppie restaurant. Full of guilt Jack opts out of life. He moves in with Anne his girlfriend, and works in her video store. One night when Jack is drunk, he heads to the river to kill himself. Some thugs accost him and try to set him on fire, but he is saved by a group of homeless people. Their leader is Parry, who believes he is a ‘knight’. Jack discovers that Parry is a former professor of medieval history, who was placed in a mental hospital following his wife’s tragic death. Parry now lives in a fantasy world. To atone for his own sins, Jack helps Parry by giving him money. Jack watches over the awkward and unaware Lydia, the woman Parry is infatuated with, his ‘fair maiden’. Jack listens as Parry tells him the tale of the ‘Fisher King’. Parry shows Jack a picture of a cup owned by a billionaire. Parry envisions it to be the Grail. Jack and Anne set up an encounter between Lydia and Parry in the video store. All goes well and the two couples go out for a meal together. Jack begins to feel better and wants to go back to work. He leaves Anne. Parry is mugged and the incident causes him to relive the trauma of his wife’s murder; he goes into a catatonic state. Jack visits Parry in the hospital and then decides to retrieve the Grail; through it he is able to revive Parry. Anne and Jack are reunited, and Parry and Lydia are together. They have fulfilled the fable of the ‘Fisher King’. -The Fisher King is an old myth about a hero’s quest, which the film interprets for modern audiences. A parallel can be drawn in some ways between Jack and the mythological king. He is the doomed Fisher King who does not realize he is on a journey in search of grace and goodness. The Magi were also on a quest for wisdom and for the child who would show them the meaning of their search. When the Magi reach their goal, they offer gifts. Jack and Parry have gifted each other. Jack atones, Parry is healed, and both receive grace. Peter Malone in ‘Lights Camera…. Faith! “I have a dream…..” On August 28,1963, before a quarter million Afro-Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. thundered, “I have a dream that former slaves and slave-owners will sit together at the table of brotherhood…I have a dream that little black boys/girls will be able to join hands with little white boys/girls as sisters and brothers… I have a dream that my four children will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.” Likewise, Mahatma Gandhi envisioned “The India of my dreams.” Luther King and Gandhiji have left their footprints indelibly on the sands of human history. Ignatius of Loyola spent much time stargazing before birthing the Society of Jesus. Rabindranath Tagore’s prayer, “Amidst thy numberless stars, let me place my own little lamp,” is a must-say for modern Magi who leave familiar shores and follow stars. Remember, as you strip stars from your Christmas trees and cribs, ask yourself: “Who, and what, is my star?” Start this New Year with some dream and some star that will guide you towards Jesus Christ, Superstar, The Light of all nations. Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for daily Deeds’ Looking at the Stars It was a hot day in July 1969 on board an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Sailors with binoculars were searching the sky above the carrier. Suddenly they let out a yell. There orange and white parachutes exploded and bloomed in the blue sky. Dangling from them was a ball-like shape. It was the Apollo II space capsule. Minutes later the capsule plunged into the warm water of the Pacific. The splashdown climaxed a voyage that had put three men on the moon. When the smiling astronauts emerged from the capsule, President Nixon danced a little jig on the carrier deck. He had flown halfway around the world to witness this history-making moment. He said the splashdown climaxed the greatest week in the world since creation. In the exciting months ahead, the three astronauts made a good will tour around the world. They visited 23 countries in 45 days. One of the “most striking moments of the trip,” said Astronaut Ed Aldrin, was to visit the Vatican. The astronauts were especially moved by the unusual gifts presented them by Pope Paul VI. Writing in his book Return to Earth, Ed Aldrin says: “His Holiness unveiled three magnificent porcelain statues of the Three Wise Men. He said that these three men were directed to the infant Christ by looking at the stars and that we three also reached our destination by looking at the stars.” Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’ We Have Abundance Yet Live Poor Lives There is a story about a man. One night, before Christmas, he had a massive quarrel with his wife. His wife started complaining – “There is no food in the house; Christmas is approaching and there are no clothes for our kids; no money for doing up the house…” And the man expressed his helplessness- “What am I to do… I don’t waste any money… whatever I earn I give it to you… The only problem is that I don’t get proper jobs.” “If you can’t afford to look after us why did you get married and have children?” ‘The quarrel went on till midnight. He got up and went out of the house. He aimlessly walked. As he walked, he reached a mighty river. He sat on the riverbank. The river flowed with a mighty gush. He sat there quietly. He tried to calm himself. All his woes, he thought to himself, were because of lack of money. If only he had money, his family would be a happy one. As he sat in the darkness in such a melancholy mood, he found a sack of pebbles next to him. He picked up the stones, and began playfully throwing them one by one into the mighty river. This went on till the morning. As the sun was rising, he had mentally calmed down, and he had almost emptied the sack of pebbles. He had one last pebble in his hand; just before throwing it into the river, he had one look at it in the bright morning sun, -to his great misery and dismay, he discovered that it was a precious stone. “What an unfortunate man I am,” he thought to himself, “God had given me such wealth in my hands. If only I had realised it, all my woes would have gone.” - Thomas Merton is a famous Christian writer. He got converted to the Catholic religion, and later became a Trappist monk. He is an author of many books. In one of his books, he says that he once met a Hindu sanyasi (ascetic). The sanyasi said to him that he loved two lovely Christian books; The Confessions of St. Augustine and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis. He suggested Merton to read these two Books. What an irony? A non-Christian recommending two great Christian classics to the Christian. This is the paradox in life, -we have such wealth, yet, because of our ignorance, we live like beggars. John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’ May we discover Jesus revealed to us and in turn reveal Jesus to others by our Godly lives! 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.
