29-Dec-2017 Dear friend, On this the first day of the New Year we are reminded of the numerous blessings that God showers upon us and today, in particular, we are reminded of Mary the Mother of God, who is our greatest blessing. We know we can get used to the blessings we receive and either take them for granted or feel that we have a right to them. May Mary teach us to ponder all these things in our heart and appreciate all that God does for us. Have a Blessed and Happy New Year!–Fr. Jude Sunday Ref. New Year “O God be gracious and bless us! Mary, Mother of God pray for us! 01-Jan-2018Numbers 6: 22-27; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 16-21; The first reading from the book of Numbers strikes the right note. The New Year is a blessing from the Lord, one more year to live, one more year to grow, one more year to love! We are called to bless God, to praise Him and we in turn are blessed by God and reminded that we should bless one another. “This is how you are to bless the sons and daughters of Israel. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.” Appreciating our blessingsTwo old friends bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?" The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars." "That's a lot of money." "But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear." "Sounds like you've been blessed...." "You don't understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million." Now he was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?" "This week... nothing!" It’s the same way with the blessings God gives us every day. I don't deserve the comfortable home I live in, the beautiful scenery around me, the clean water that I drink. But after receiving these gifts (and a multitude of others) for years, I sometimes fail to be grateful. I've come to expect these good things. And when one of them is removed I get upset.Alan Smith In the Gospel we have the story of the shepherds who come to see the newborn king. The Israelites were waiting for the Messiah, but when he did come into the world few recognized him. It is only the simple shepherds who are blessed with the gift of seeing the Messiah. To meet the Lord, to receive his blessing, we have to be simple, like the shepherds, who believed the good news. They listened, they obeyed, they believed. They saw a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, a very ordinary sight, yet they believed that this was the Son of God! It is faith that helps us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary events of life. This is the greatest blessing that we can receive - the gift of faith. It will help us to see the hand of God in all that happens in our life and to discover His presence in the very ordinary events of the new year. Mary too experienced the events taking place and pondered them in her heart. Her faith moved her to believe that this simple, homeless infant, lying in a manger, was the Son of God. Her faith made her share this gift of her child with the shepherds, the wise men and with all those who down the centuries have believed in him. Mary listened, she obeyed, she believed. Following the precepts of the law, she takes him to the temple to be circumcised. He was given the name “Jesus”! In whose name we are blessed each time we utter that name. Like Mary we could begin the New Year by blessing God and blessing everybody. It does not mean that we have to necessarily go on saying “God Bless you”! “God bless you!” but rather that we should be positive towards others, accepting and loving in our words and in our deeds. Everything, every time, and everyone is truly a blessing from God for those who believe! Calling Him by name!Sometime ago I attended a funeral of an elderly lady who had several children all well settled in life, one of whom was deaf and dumb. I was happy to see that they had a person brought in to translate into sign language whatever was said during the mass. After the funeral service the whole family gathered for a little get-together in the parish house and it was good to see all the family members really making an effort to reach out to their dad who was in his 80’s, and would now be alone. After a while the deaf and dumb daughter spoke in sign language which the interpreter translated for us. She said she was grateful to her mum who made her feel special in spite of her difficulty. She shared how one day when she was seven she came home and tried to call her mother, ‘Mum’ which she had never done before because she was dumb. This dumb girl made an effort and finally got the sound ‘Maam’ with great effort on her part. She shared that when her mother heard her dumb daughter say ‘Mum’ for the first time, it brought tears to her eyes and she embraced her. Only then did the dumb girl realize what a joy she had brought to her mother by calling her ‘Maam.’ Have we, who are believers, realized what a joy we give to our God when we call him ‘Abba Father’, and what a blessing it is when we say the name ‘Jesus’?Anon. The big differenceA shoeshine boy was plying his trade in New York’s Grand Central Station. A silver medal danced at his neck as he slapped his shine cloth, again and again, across a man’s shoes. “Sonny,” said the man curiously, “what’s the hardware around your neck?” It’s a medal of the mother of Jesus,” the boy replied. “Why her medal?” said the man. “She’s no different from your mother.” “Could be,” said the boy, “but there’s a real big difference between her son and me.” The boy’s devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, invites me to ask: What role does Mary play in my life? How might she play an even bigger role?Mark Link in ‘Vision 2000’ Life is what you put into it!A son and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" Curious, he yells: "Who are you?" He receives the answer: "Who are you?" Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!" He receives the answer: "Coward!" He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?" The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention." And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!" The voice answers: "I admire you!" Again the man screams: "God Bless you!" The voice answers: "God Bless you!" The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is Life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life will give you back everything you give to it."- Unknown Being given a nameIn his book Roots, Alex Haley tells how his African ancestors name their children. Eight days after the child’s birth, the father took the child into his arms whispered its name into its ear. That night the father completed the ceremony. Carrying the child out under the stars, alone, he lifted the baby up to the sky and said, “Behold the only thing greater than yourself.” This naming rite helps us appreciate better the two rites that surrounded the birth of Jesus: circumcision and presentation. Circumcision initiated Jesus into the community of God’s chosen people. Presentation consecrated Jesus to God.Mark Link in ‘Daily Homilies’ Back door entryOne day God made a tour of heaven to check out the recent arrivals. He was shocked by the poor quality of many of those allowed in to live in heaven. So God went out to confront Peter about it. “You have let me down again.” He told Peter. “What’s wrong now?” Peter asked. “You have let a lot of people in that shouldn’t be here.” “I didn’t let them in.” Then who did?” “I turned them away at the front gate, but they went around the back and your mother let them in.” This story tells us that Mary is the Mother of God and our mother too and like any mother, her only interest is the happiness and salvation of her children.John Pichappilly in ‘Ignite Your Spirit’ Same One?One of my favourite stories is the one of about the sisters who were captives of the Japanese in the Philippines in World War II. They were allowed to have their services. They were celebrating a novena leading up to Christmas, bringing up the infant in procession and placing him on the altar. The Japanese guard watched all this with great interest. About the fifth day he figured it out and asked Mother McCarthy a question. “Same one?” he asked, pointing to the infant and the crucifix nearby. “Yes,” she replied. “Same one, and he said: “Sorry.” The story shows the intimate connection between Christmas and the cross. Perhaps only when she sees her son die on the cross that she realizes the full meaning of her title: Mother of God. On this special day, we give thanks to God for Mary’s inspiring example and ask for her intercession for peace in our world.John Pichappilly in ‘Ignite Your Spirit’ May we be blessed today and everyday of this New Year! 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.
