Dear Josun, That was a beautiful sharing - must have been a great experience for you to be there and witness it. There is also a book 'Burnt Alive' coauthored by Vijay Martis, Radha Samuel, Vishal Mangalwadi which describes the lives of the Staines family and those of a few other Christian missionaries. It describes the call of these missionaries, the unbelievable sacriifices made by them, the obstacles they faced during their work among the leper communities in India.. There is a also a section on the comments of contemporary writers, leaders, bureaucrats on the murder of Graham Staines and another on the Christian attitude to persecution and suffering -a very inspiring book, do read it if you get a chance. The poem you mentioned is a very old, beautiful and touching one - it is also sung - the Celebrant singers have it in 'Still Standing' - one of my treasured albums.
Thanks again for putting it down for all of us to read. LnP, Christopher, Chennai/India [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Dear friends, > > Yesterday evening 3rd February was truly a moment of truth for me. I was > privileged to attend a lecture on the Christian Virtue of forgiveness. The > meeting took place at the Diocesan community center in the Cathedral > Campus. > > The key speakers for the occasion were Mrs. Gladys Staines, the wife of > the Late Rev. Graham Staines and mother of Timothy and Philip all three of > whom were burnt up in a jeep by miscreants in Mayurbanj, Orrisa about 4 > years ago. The other speakers were Sr. Selmi Paul FCC, the sister of the > Late Sr. Rani Maria who was brutally stabbed to death in Madhya Pradesh > some years ago and Swami (Fr.) Sachidanand, CMI. > > As the speakers were sharing their experiences I made a few notes so that > I could share with all of you, my beloved joynetters some of the pearls I > managed to pick up. > > His grace Archbishop Vincent Concessao in his short message quoted from > one of the encyclicals of Pope Paul the sixth on Evangelization. “These > days what the world needs is not teachers. It needs witnesses, people tend > to follow witnesses, not teachers, and if they do follow teachers, it is > because they are witnesses” I don’t know the exact phraseology but that’s > the essence. He went on and honored all three for living out their > Christian faith. He shared something he had read recently in a book “we > are not anxious about setbacks and failures, about tragedies, hurts and > apparent defeat, because we that know that the ultimate victory is ours in > Jesus.” That is what gives us hope to keep running with perseverance the > race set out before us. > > Mrs. Staines began her talk by sharing with us how she was interviewed > earlier that day by a journalist, what he wanted to know was, “how is it > that she was able to forgive? To forgive when your husband and two > children are brutally killed is virtually ‘beyond human capability’ he > said. Mrs. Staines said she agreed with him that it is difficult. But she > went on to explain what God’s grace did in her life. It is Jesus who gave > her the grace to forgive. > > She was sharing how God was preparing her for this happening in her life > thru many preceding incidents. She used to ponder a lot on Abraham of the > Old Testament, how when the lord asked him to sacrifice his only son, he > willingly agreed. Today if God tells us he wants our dearest ones will we > be able to willingly give like Abraham did? > > Oh! For me it was a shock! My dear parents, my precious siblings, Oh! > Honestly as of now I find it very tough to say yes to that! > > She went on to elaborate, “If we want to follow God, we have to say a > wholehearted YES! Regardless of what it will cost us” > > She said forgiveness is a decision, not an emotion. “I choose to forgive > regardless of whether I’m pained or hurt”. The choice to forgive is what > starts the healing and grace of God to flow into our lives. > > She told us that we must learn to forgive in small things. That’s where we > all tend to fail. To forgive the people who are not at all close to us may > be easy. But to forgive those who are very dear and near and close to us > could sometimes be a Himalayan task. > > She shared how a few months before the incident she read an article about > how when the communists took over in China they persecuted the Christians > a great deal. But the major factor that contributed to the growth of > Christianity in China was because the persecuted Christians chose to > forgive their persecutors. Persecution will not have its desired effect > (conversion of hearts) if we do not forgive those who harm us. Retaliation > only shows that there’s no difference between them and us. They persecute > us because they do not know Jesus. The only way they can know Jesus is > when we love them in return. Jesus never asks us to do anything that he > himself has first not done. Dying on the cross he said “Father forgive > them for they know not what they do” > > Mrs. Staines shared about how when she broke the news to her daughter > Esther (then 13 Y.O.), between sobs she said “mummy we’ll forgive them. In > Jesus name we’ll forgive them”. She said they both continue to pray for > the perpetrators of the act that they may one day know the love of God and > the person of Jesus and that they are forgiven, because Jesus has already > forgiven them. > > She told us a small story of a young girl who was losing her eyesight and > was admitted in a hospital. She was visited by a pastor and lying on the > bed, she told the pastor. “pastor, the Lord is taking my eyesight away” > and the pastor replied, “Don’t let him take it away! Give it to him!” She > urged us to give our ALL to the Lord. > > She asked us to reflect on what we say when praying the Lord’s prayer. > “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” do > we really mean what we say or are we just spewing out some verbal garbage. > (that’s my way of putting it) > > She ended her talk with a beautiful poem that I requested her to give me a > copy of, after the seminar. The title of the poem is “He Giveth More > Grace” I forgot the name of the poet. > > My eyes welled up when she was reciting it, there was such grace on her > face and no trace of bitterness. Truly its remarkable what the Grace of > God can do to a person yielded to his will. > > He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, > He sendeth more strength when the labors increase, > To added affliction He addeth His mercy, > To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. > > When we have exhausted our store of endurance, > When strength has decline ere the day is half done, > When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, > Our father’s full giving is only begun. > > His love has no limit, His grace has no measure, > His power no boundary known unto men, > For out of His infinite riches in Jesus > He giveth and giveth and giveth again. > > Beautiful isn’t it? Keep a copy for each of yourselves ok. > > My next mail is on the sharing of Sr. Selmi and Swami Sachidanand. Its > really long. Read it if you care to ok. > > Love always in Jesus, > > Josun Jose/New Delhi/India > > ----------------------------------------- > > This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail. > Please tell your family, friends and children about COL Webmail! > http://webmail.catholic.org/ > > During the Lenten Season, please help support the mission of > Catholic Online by purchasing goods and services from our sponsors > at http://www.catholic.org/clife/lent > > =============================================================================== > This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. > For more info on the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet > To unsubscribe from the list send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To subscribe to the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet/join > In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > =============================================================================== =============================================================================== This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. 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