5-Dec-2016 Dear Friend,
All of us want to be happy and wekeep trying to find happiness that seems to elude us. What is it that webelieve would really make us happy? Deep down in our hearts we really know whatwill make us happy but perhaps we are not focused on obtaining that happinesswe crave for. Have we tried finding our joy and happiness in our God? God’sword invites us and challenges us to seek the Lord and find our happiness inHim. Have a joyful discerning weekend! -Fr. Jude Sun Ref. 3rd Sun. of Advent: ‘Rejoice for the Lordis coming to save us!’ 11-Dec-2016 Isaiah. 35: 1-6, 10; James 5: 7-10; Matt. 11:2-11; In the first reading from theprophet Isaiah the people are reminded of the Exodus. It speaks of a hopefulhomecoming, now, not an entry into some Promised Land, but an exit fromBabylonian Exile. There is hope that God is coming to us and for us. Theprophetic words of hope: “Strengthen all weary hands, steady all tremblingknees, say to the faint hearted, “Take courage!” The response psalm is a songof thanksgiving because our God is trust worthy, so we cry out: “Come Lord saveus!” Waiting for God in joyful hope. Ingrid was a South American womanwho was admitted to a Catholic Hospice in the U.S. She has full-blown aids andsteroid-induced diabetes. One day she, not a Catholic at the time, asked thenun why she went to church every day. “Because God loves me and I want toreturn his love.” replied the nun. Ingrid replied, “I don’t think I like God.”Naturally, she wouldn’t. Sister reassured her that while this wasunderstandable, God really liked her. As she grew weaker with each passing day,with the love and care of those around her, she experienced a quiet hope andthen illumination. As the moment of her death she whispered: “I’m so tired; Iwant to go home.” Asked what she meant by that she replied: “I want to go toGod.” She had learned to wait in joyful hope for the coming of her Saviour andLord, Jesus Christ. In all our lives there aremoments of doubt and disillusionment when we wonder: Are we on the right track?Are we backing the right person? John the Baptist also had these moments whenhe needed reassurance. The fiery preacher who challenged kings now wonderswhether it was all in vain. Did he back the wrong person, and give his life toa foolish cause? From his prison John sends his disciples to Jesus to interveneand reassure him, to restore his peace and renew his hope. “Are you the one whois to come, or do we look for another?” Jesus moves to do just that. He sends theBaptist reports of his own life style with its care for the sick and the poor,its miracles of healing with its preaching of God’s kingdom of forgiveness andnew beginnings. Perhaps it was not what John expected from a Messiah butit was what God intended the Messiah to be. John understands, accepts and isrenewed even to the heroic surrender of his life. All of us have such Baptistmoments and some people have them often over the years. The certainties offaith give way to doubt in a changing world. Who will confirm our faith andrekindle our hope? From the prisons of fear, and failure and sin and doubt, wemust send word to our brother Jesus that we need him to reassure us, to come tous with his healing love. That he will come to us is as certain as the dawn.Prepare the way together. FacilitatingGod’s Coming – Will you hold me? A soldier was on duty oneChristmas morning during World War II. It had been his custom to go to Churcheach Christmas with his family, but now stationed in an outlying district ofLondon, that was impossible. So with some of his soldier buddies they walkeddown the road as dawn was breaking. Along the way they came upon an old greystone building over the main door were carved the words, “Queen Ann’sOrphanage.” They decided to enter to find out what kind of Christmas might betaking place. After knocking the soldiers went in just as the orphan childrenwere tumbling out of bed. There was no Christmas tree in the corner. There wereno presents. The soldiers went around the room wishing the children ‘MerryChristmas,’ and giving them whatever they had in their pockets: a stick of gum,a piece of candy, a nickel, a dime, a pencil, a pocket knife, a good luckcharm. Then the soldier who had gotten his buddies together noticed a littlefellow alone in the corner. The little fellow looked an awful lot like hisnephew back home, so he approached him and said, “And you, little guy, what doyou want for Christmas?” The child replied, “Will you hold me?” The soldier,with tears in his eyes, picked up the little boy and held him in his arms, veryclose. The soldier experienced the joy that love and Jesus brings into ourlife, no matter what the situation is around us! William Bausch in ‘The Word –Inand Out of Season’ Finding God… There is a story about a man whocame home one day to his daughter crying bitterly. He asked her what the matterwas. She said she had been playing hide-and-seek with her friends. But when itwas her turn to hide, she had hidden so well that they had given up looking forher and had gone off to play another game. She waited and waited for them tofind her, but they failed to do so. When she finally came out of her hidingplace she found herself alone. Perhaps God sometimes feels lonely. He hashidden himself so successfully in his creation that some people are unable to findhim. And eventually they give up looking for him, and go off in anotherdirection. Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies’ Be a lamplighter Several parents were sitting on aneighbour’s porch discussing their children. They were talking about thenegative environment in which their kids had to grow up and were wondering howthey could bring any light into their children’s world since it seemed so darkand hopeless. Could they be enough of a positive influence to change the worldaround them? One of the parents, a science teacher remarked, “I think we canmake a difference in our children’s lives if we become lamplighters.”“Lamplighers? What do you mean?” the others asked. She explained. “Around theturn of the century a lamplighter went around the streets lighting the streetlamps. He carried a long pole that had a small candle on top with which hewould reach up to light the kerosene-fed lamps, “she said. “But from a distanceyou could not see the lamplighter very well. The light from one small candlewas not very bright in the surrounding darkness of night.” “However,” shecontinued, you could follow the progress of the lamplighter as he went along astreet. The presence of his candle was barely visible until it joined with theflame of the street lamp being newly lit. A radiant glow erased a portion ofthe darkness and looking down the street, you could see the light from theglowing lamps made the entire street bright as day. The darkness was held atbay.” “That’s it” exclaimed the parents. “We’ll be lamplighters for ourchildren. We’ll share from our own flame in order to light each child’sindividual lamp of wisdom. Brian Cavanaugh in ‘The Sower’sSeeds ‘The one who is to come’ Once a group of salesmen wereattending a sales convention. They had assured their families that they wouldbe home in time for dinner. But the meeting ran overtime so they had to run forthe train. Tickets in hand, they dashed along the platform. One of them knockedover a table supporting a basket of apples. But neither he nor any of hiscompanions stopped to help the boy who staffed the apple stand. All reached thetrain and boarded it with a sigh of relief. But then one of them felt a twingeof compassion for the boy whose apple stand had been overturned. He immediatelydecided to do something about it. Saying good-bye to his companions, hereturned to the scene of the accident. He was glad he did so. He discoveredthat the boy was blind. The salesman began to gather up the apples. As he didso he noticed that some of them were bruised. He took out his wallet andhanding the boy some money said, “Here, take this for the damage we did. I hopewe didn’t spoil your day.” As he started to walk away, the bewildered boycalled after him, “Are you Jesus?” - Are you Jesus? In a sense he was.Because he acted like Jesus. So where is Jesus to be found today? In hisdisciples. Blessed are we if we do not lose faith in Jesus. And twice blessedare we if, like Jesus, we are able to show forth our faith in deeds of love andmercy. People will encounter Jesus in us. Flor McCarthy in New Sunday &Holy Day Liturgies’ Imprisoned in our own prisons! John the Baptist exemplified howwe can be imprisoned in our own perception of God’s plan, our own schemes, ourown memory of the golden past. We may be resisting the new order. The presenceof the Spirit, however will always be shown in new life, fresh vitality andgrowth. But where is the evidence of the Spirit? Many can see signs of springalready in the church. And in abundance. But others seem to be asked by God tostay some time longer in winter. – When the ways of the past have lost theirvitality and no longer attract the young..... we must wait. –When the presentvision is very unclear and we feel very insecure..... we must wait. –When theway forward cannot be seen.... we must wait. –Advent spirituality develops thestrength to wait: to wait with patience: patience that is born out of hope.“Blessed are those who do not lose faith in me.” Sylvester O’Flynn in ‘The GoodNews of Matthew’s Year’ May our every action enlightenthe way for His coming! Rejoice! He arrives! Fr. Jude Botelho botelhoj...@gmail.com 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.
