29-Jul-2012 Dear Friend,
It is in the nature of things that human beings get fascinated by novelties and run after them for some time, but we soon get tired of them and return to the good old favorites. We may claim to be progressive people but deep down we are traditional. Deep down in our hearts we may know what is good for us in the long run but we still prefer things that give us momentary pleasure rather than lasting happiness. God wishes to give us the best in life, but are we ready? Have a nourishing Eucharistic weekend! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Eighteenth Sunday: “He gave them bread from heaven to nourish them” 5-Aug-2012 Readings: Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15 Eph.4: 17, 20-24 John 6: 24-35 The first reading from the Book of Exodus describes the journey of the Israelites through the desert towards the Promised Land. Moses had led them out of slavery with the assurance that the Lord would provide them with the land he had promised. But they had an arduous journey across the desert and the Israelites began grumbling against Moses and complaining about the difficulties they faced. The reactions of the Israelites are often our own when we are faced with new challenges and unknown situations as we journey through life. We prefer to retreat, we prefer ‘the flesh pots of Egypt’ our past addictions and habits even though they may have kept us in bondage. Instead of surrendering to God and putting our life in his hands, we let our feelings and desires and the past control our lives. Led by the horse One of the truly great masterpieces of fiction was the satirical story of Don Quixote, by the Spanish writer Cervantes. In it we read how the absurdly chivalrous hero, followed by his squire Sancho Panza, set out to find adventure, to perform deeds of bravery and win the admiration of all those close to him. He had such an open mind on his quest that he decided to go wherever his horse Rosinante would lead him. But the horse, having found itself given free reign, naturally returned to the place it knew best, its own stable. Too often perhaps we humans find ourselves going the same way, doing the same thing, returning to the same sinful habits again and again, sometimes drifting aimlessly, sometimes lured on by the novelty of sensationalism, sometimes a prey to the enticements of others, or carried away by the latest fashion in religion. John Walsh in ‘A Time to Speak’ Today’s gospel reminds us that the following day the people came to the place where Jesus had multiplied the loaves and the fish and fed the multitude, but Jesus was not there and they went in search of him. When they found him they said, “We were looking for you?” At face value it would look commendable that the people were looking for Jesus. But Jesus confronts their searching. “You were not really interested in me, you wanted bread! Jesus then adds. Do not look for this food that perishes but look for the things that will really satisfy you!” Like the crowds searching for Jesus, in many moments we too are searching for Jesus. But are we really searching for Jesus or for the things that he can give us? The test is whether we keep searching, when we do not get what we want from God. Are we looking merely for the blessings of God or are we satisfied with the God of all blessings? When Jesus confronted the crowd, the crowd went on the defensive. When he tells them that he can give them food that never perishes they question his credentials. “What sign are you going to give us, so that we may see it and believe in you?” They remind Him that their leader Moses fed the people in the desert, can he do something like that? Can he feed them as he fed them the previous day? That would really be a great sign and they would believe in him. Jesus in response reminds them that it was not Moses who fed them but His Father in heaven. But Jesus wants to give them something even better than what Moses gave his people. He is ready to give them the bread that satisfies, not earthly bread but spiritual food. He is ready to give himself. But they have to believe, they have to let God into their lives, instead of acting like God and deciding how God should act in their lives. Jesus is trying to raise their minds to higher realities but they prefer to satisfy their mundane desires. He wants God to be their food, they prefer food to be their God. Jesus desires to raise them to the level of God but they prefer to bring God down to their level. They said to Jesus: “Give us this bread to fill our stomachs, always!” But Jesus says: “I want to give you something even better, the bread that will fill your heart forever.” Instead of telling God how he should act in our lives, can we let him be the God of our lives? God’s abundant answer to prayer Years ago I lived in a small country town where I could never get anything that could fit me. I used to write occasionally to a large mail order house, and it would send me printed forms or order blanks. At the bottom of the order blanks were such words as these: “If we do not have the article you ordered in stock, may we substitute?” Once I wrote, “yes,” and the store sent me something that was double the price of the article I had ordered. I found out that this particular firm made it a rule, if it could not supply the article ordered, to substitute one of much better quality. Ever after that I printed out boldly so that they would understand it –“YES.” -When we pray to God we had better put on that form that we are quite willing to let him substitute. For every time He does, He sends us something far better than what we asked for, or thought we needed. Bruno Hagspiel Food and Us Every time we eat food we do something that no scientist has ever been able to do: we take into ourselves something dead and give it life. Food becomes part of our body. Many times our health depends on food. There is an old proverb that says: “You are what you eat.” Eat rich food and you get fat; eat junk food and you get malnutrition. Give a patient with scabies the correct food and his skin clears up. Whenever we have a big job to do, we get ready by eating good food. Knowing all this Jesus decided to hide inside bread with all his power and become the food for the souls of his followers. Christopher Notes Praise the Lord! A man in the Bible Belt owned a remarkable horse which he had trained to go only if the rider said, “Praise the Lord”, and stop only if he said, “Amen”. The man decided to sell the horse, but when he explained the horse’s peculiarities to the prospective buyer, the buyer said, “That’s ridiculous. I have been raising horses all my life. I’ll make him go my way.” So he jumped on the horse and kicked him until he started to run. The horse ran faster and faster. Worried the rider reigned back and yelled, “Whoa!” But the horse would not stop. Suddenly the man realized they were galloping towards the edge of a cliff. Desperately he yelled, “Oh, all right, Amen!” The horse screeched to a halt just in time. Peering down over the edge of the cliff, the man wiped the perspiration from his brow. “Whew”, he said, “Praise the Lord!” And…-As we think of God do we, like the buyer of the horse, try to make Him in the image of ourselves or do we truly understand that we are made in the image of God? If we are not God-man, then we are man-God; what word comes first is important. Harold Buetow in ‘God Still Speaks: Listen!’ A greater Fool! The story is told of an English nobleman of tremendous wealth who gave his jester a wand, saying “Keep this wand until you find a greater fool than yourself.” The jester laughingly accepted the wand and used it on festive occasions. One day the nobleman lay dying. Calling the jester to his bedside he said “I am going on a long journey.” “Where to?” asked the jester. “I don’t know.” Came the reply. “What provisions have you made for the trip?” the jester asked. The nobleman shrugged his shoulders. “None at all.” “Then” said the jester, “take this.” and placing the wand in the nobleman’s hands, he added, “it belongs to you. You are a greater fool than I.” Benedict Auer O.S.B. Pursuing a full life….? In one of his talks, Bill Glass tells the story of a multi-millionaire Texas oil man. He wanted to be buried when he died in a solid gold, custom-made Cadillac surrounded by all his wealth. At his funeral, a vast crowd assembled to pay their last respects. The dead man was dressed in his fine glittering apparel and was propped up in the front seat of his gold Cadillac. As the car was lowered into the grave a young boy in the crowd said: “Man, that’s really livin!” Bill Glass goes on to emphasize the point saying, what we often think of as ‘really livin’ is actually ‘really dyin’. What we often pursue as a ‘full life’ leads only to an 'empty grave'. Anonymous God’s Coffee A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee! "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything." Anonymous May we discover that God always gives us the best even when it does not seem so! 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.
