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Sign the Petition requesting The Honble Minister of State for Environment
and Forests (I/C) to maintain the moratorium on issuing further
environmental clearances for mining activities in Goa
http://goanvoice.org.uk/miningpetition.php
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29-Mar-2010
Dear Friend,
How do we react to suffering? Most people try to avoid it all at costs. But if
it is unavoidable, how do we cope with suffering? Some prefer the Spartan way:
with courage and will power, believing that they have the power within to do
it. Others try to reason and rationalize suffering and by this way they believe
they can face the enigmas and struggles of life. The Christian way does not
exclude the other two but focuses on dependence on God and his power. God gives
us the power to endure all things. Have a ‘Good’ Friday contemplating how Jesus
loved and saved us through the Cross! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Good Friday ‘The sacrifice of love, giving till the very
end!’ 2-Apr-2010
Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Hebrews 4:14—5:9 John 18:1-19: 42
The first reading is a passage about the humiliation and suffering of the
Suffering Servant of Yahweh. Israel contemplates the mystery of suffering as
seen in the fate of the man on whom rests the hopes of Israel. The innocent and
unmerited sufferings of the Servant of Yahweh expiate for the sins of others.
The Servant of Yahweh was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he was
despised yet he bore silently the sufferings inflicted on him. Harshly dealt
with, he bore it all humbly and never opened his mouth. He accepted it all as
coming from the Lord’s hands. But it was not pointless suffering, for through
his wounds we are healed and justified in God’s eyes.
The Cross And The Crown
There is strange legend of a monk who was walking in the monastery garden
alone, thinking of the Passion of our Lord, just before Holy Week. As he slowly
paced along, he saw something lying in the path, and picked it up. It was the
crown of thorns which our Lord had worn for our sakes, and he reverently
carried it to the little chapel, and laid it upon the altar. Never had Holy
Week been so well kept, for the sight of that crown of thorns made them realize
the sufferings and the love of Jesus more than they had ever done before. At
last Easter Sunday dawned, and the monk rose early for his Easter preparations,
and came to the chapel. As the sun shone through the window, it lighted up the
altar, it touched the crown of thorns, and there in the Easter sunlight the
thorns had blossomed into the most beautiful flowers. It is a little parable.
For it is suffering and sacrifice which bring forth the most fruits.
Anthony Castel in ‘Quotes and Anecdotes’
The Passion of Christ according to St. John is highly dramatic in as much as he
presents the passion as a triumph of the Son of God. Throughout John’s passion
we see Jesus always in command, never the victim who is made to suffer
unwillingly but one who goes to the bitter end of his own accord. At his arrest
his adversaries fall prostrate before him, illustrating what he himself said:
“No one takes my life from me. I have the power to lay it down of my own
accord.” He is the master of his fate. We see the same self composure of Jesus
at his trial. His enemies bring him to trial on false charges but it is they
who are judged rather than Jesus. His fearlessness and silence confronts them.
The theme recurring during this section is that of kingship. He claims that he
is king and for this he came into the world, yet he is a different kind of
king, whom few will understand. He reigns in men’s hearts not by dominance and
fear but by love. The Jewish
leaders are determined to get rid of this king, they reject him: “Away with
Him!” But he cannot be ignored. Scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked and
arrayed in a purple robe, he is saluted as ‘King of the Jews!” Pilate
ironically says “Behold the man! You have nothing to fear from this helpless
man.” But John sees the Son of Man as the judge of this world and of all man.
Although Pilate has found him innocent he has no courage of his convictions and
he yields to political pressure and blackmail. The way of the cross then
becomes a triumphant procession. In contrast to the other synoptics there is no
Simon of Cyrene who needs to help Jesus to carry his cross to the very end. In
John’s Gospel the cross is the throne of this King. “And I when I am lifted up
will draw all things to myself. The passion of Christ ends on a triumphant note
not a whimper. “It is finished! The task you have given me is accomplished!
Therefore the story of the
passion does not end with his death on the cross for John sees the deeper
reality symbolized by the resurrection. The death-resurrection comprises one
event, and for this reason John characterizes the death of Jesus as his
‘glorification’. And so the blood and water that flow from his pierced side
take on a new significance: blood and water stand for the Eucharist and
Baptism, the new life that Jesus gives. Now the Spirit is given because Jesus
is glorified.
“Today marks the final sitting in the old dealings of God with his people – the
final episode in a drama played by actors who have been overtaken by the
reality of what they portray. John’s gospel shows this clearly. From the moment
the Lamb, the servant, came, the apparent harmony of the world broke down, man
is divided against man, all is naked confrontation! The best witnesses to this
crisis are those men who in the act of condemning Jesus pass judgement on
themselves. How has he come to the cross, this Innocent One whose origins are
not of this world? He has set everyone against him; he stands before a
foreigner, accused by his own people; he has been judged, condemned by the Jews
and by a pagan, each citing their own laws and he has been crucified. But this
has involved a double betrayal. The Jews betray their faith in appealing to
Caesar, and Pilate the sceptic betrays his own conscience in condemning one who
is innocent. But Jesus, a king
despised and disfigured, the victim of a corrupt justice, symbolising in his
state of abandonment the degradation to which man can reduce man, yet remains
all the while, in God’s view, the ‘Man for others’ whom we are called on to
imitate. At the very hour when Jewish priests are sacrificing their paschal
lambs in the temple, God himself suffers and dies. But from the pierced side of
this ambassador in chains, that love with which God so loves the world is pored
out even to the last drop. The grain of wheat fallen into the earth has already
begun to produce the fruit of salvation. The liturgy of Good Friday gives full
expression to this attitude of faith with which the Church looks on the Lamb
sacrificed since the foundation of the world. He, indeed, is worthy to receive
the Book and to open for us the sealed pages. This perfect High Priest prays
with us on that mountain where ‘God provides’ (Gen 22:14) the victim for
sacrifice. Come, let us
adore the Lord raised up between heaven and earth.”
-Glenstal Bible Missal
That’s The Man Who Died For Me!
A mother living in a tenement house went shopping for groceries. While she was
in the store, a fire engine raced by. She wondered, “Is the fire engine going
to my home?” She had left her baby asleep at home. Forgetting about the
groceries, she ran toward home. Her building had fire hoses aimed at it. It was
burning like a matchbox. Rushing to the chief, she cried out, “My baby is up
there.” He shouted back to her, “It would be suicide for anyone to go up there
now; it’s too late.” A young fireman standing by volunteered, “Chief, I have a
little baby at home, and if my house were on fire, I’d want someone to go up to
save my baby. I’ll go.” The young fireman climbed the stairs; he got the baby,
threw her into the rescue net and just as he did, the house collapsed and he
was burned to death. The scene is 20 years later at a graveside. A 20-year-old
woman is sobbing softly. Before her, at the head of this grave, is the statue
of a
fireman. A man stopping by asks respectfully, “Was that your father?” She
replies, “No.” “Was that your brother?” “No,” she says. “That’s the man who
died for me.”
Ronald J.Lavin in ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life’
‘Who Are You? What Is It You Want From Us?’
William Blatty, author of The Exorcist, has written another novel called
Legion. In one scene in Legion, Lieutenant Kinderman, a Jewish detective, is
standing alone in Holy Trinity church in Washington; D. C. A priest had just
been brutally murdered while hearing confessions. Kinderman looks down at the
blood on the floor. It has trickled from under the confessional door into the
aisle of the church. He sits down in a pew and shakes his head. Then he slowly
lifts his eyes to a huge crucifix on the wall. As he gazes at it his face
softens and a quiet wonder comes to his eyes. He begins to speak to Jesus on
the cross: “Who are you? God’s son? No, you know I don’t believe that. I just
asked to be polite. . . I don’t believe that. I just asked to be polite. . . I
don’t know who you are, but you are someone. Who could miss it? . . . Do you
know how I know? From what you said. When I read, ‘Love your enemy,’ I tingle.
. . .No one on earth could
ever say what you said. No one could even make it up. Who could imagine it? .
. . Who are you? What is it that you want from us?”
Mark Link in ‘Journey’
Cut Away The Bundle
In the movie, The Mission, one of the leading characters is converted from
being a slave-trader of Brazilian Indians to be a Jesuit priest. But he insists
on doing penance, dragging a heavy bundle through the jungle back to the
Indians he used to enslave. One day, in a dramatic, cliff-side scene, where the
bundle threatened to make him fall, the Indians cut away the bundle. The people
he had formerly enslaved forgave him and set him free. We have the power to do
that for each other. - As Martin Luther pointed out centuries ago, we are a
priesthood of believers who are to be priests for one another, forgiving one
another as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. We do have the power to
forgive as God’s sons and daughters. Or as Jesus said even centuries earlier,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if
you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Maurice A. Fetty in ‘The Divine Advocacy’
The Traveller
Richard Matheson wrote as science - fiction story called “The Traveller”. It’s
about a scientist called Paul Jairus, who is part of a research time that has
developed an energy screen to permit people to travel back into time. The first
trip is scheduled to take place a few days before Christmas and Jairus has been
picked to make the trip. He decided to go back in time to the crucifixion of
Jesus on Calvary. Jairus is a non believer and anticipates finding the
crucifixion different from the way the Bible describes it. When the historic
moment comes, Jairus steps into the energy screen and soon finds himself
soaring back into time-100 years, 1000 years, 2000 years. The energy screen
touches down on target and Calvary is swarming with people, everybody’s
attention is focused on three men nailed to crosses about 100 feet away.
Immediately Jairus asks the Command Centre for permission to move closer to the
crosses, they grant it, but tell him to stay
inside the energy screen. Jairus moves closer and as he does, his eyes come to
rest on Jesus. Suddenly something remarkable begins to happen, Jairus feels
drawn to Jesus, as a tiny piece of metal is drawn to a magnet. He is deeply
moved by the love radiating from Jesus; it’s something he’d never experienced
before. Then contrary to all his expectations, events on Calvary begin to
unfold exactly as the Gospel described them. Jairus is visibly shaken. The
command centre realizes this and fears he’s becoming emotionally involved. They
tell him to prepare for immediate return to the 20th century. Jairus protects,
but to no avail. The trip back goes smoothly. When Jairus steps from the
energy screen, It’s clear he’s a changed man.
Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
May our drawing closer to the Crucified lead us from death to life!
Fr. Jude Botelho
judebote...@yahoo.co.in
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.
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