“MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB …

… its fleece was white as snow; and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.” So ran the Nursery Rhyme. Many readers must recollect their childhood days, singing at the top of their voice this popular rhyme. I wonder what the poet, Sarah Josepha Hale, had actually in mind. I mean who was Mary? What, or rather who was the white-fleeced lamb ?

I feel convinced that the poet had in mind Mary of Nazareth, she did have a lamb, and a pure fleeced one. The cue was given by the teacher herself when the children at school asked: “Why does the lamb love Mary so?” The teacher answered: “Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.” Reciprocal love; love can’t be called ‘love’ if it is not shared with others.

Now, God has the blue-print prepared of each and every human being on earth, from the first created man, till the last baby yet to be born … God knows when. HE has my blue-print; how HE dreamt Tony should be, but, alas, when God compares my present image with the original blue-print, He might find that it is hardly recognizable (God forbid) through sin and human weaknesses.

The only blue-print, of a human being, which was adhered to, kept strictly to the original must have been of Mary of Nazareth. No wonder God has chosen her to be His Mother. We find Mary at the very heart of the Mystery of Salvation, and she has done this out of her free will. For this reason, we can’t see Mary apart from the child, and we can’t see the child apart from His Mother; “Ad Jesum per Mariam”.

The mystery of the Incarnation only yields its full meaning, through the full cooperation and humble willingness of her, whom Tradition calls “Theotokos”. Today’s world needs to rediscover the face of its Saviour and of His Mother. The world is glutted with philosophies and ideologists which, no matter what they have to offer, do not answer its most vital need, its most fundamental questions.
To our contemporary world Mary offers the living and vibrant reality, the Incarnate Saviour of the world. She offers overwhelming proof that Christ is not, as some imagine, a ‘part God and a part man’, but He is wholly divine and totally human. Mary is the safeguard of the realism of the Incarnation. (L.J. Suenens)

As a Historical Note we have in this Gospel Text, Jesus as a baby undergoing three ancient rites which every Jewish boy had to undergo, namely Circumcision, Redemption of the Firstborn, and the Purification. These three ceremonies are strange old ceremonies, but all three have at the back of them the conviction that a child is always a gift of God. As parents we are all answerable to God for the ‘gift of every child’.

“ROSES, ROSES ALL THE WAY, THEY ARE WITH US HERE TO STAY …..

… in the merry month of May.” So goes the poem I wrote when I was young. Those were the days when I used to imagine that life was a bed of roses. But I was in my teens and feeling like standing on top of a mountain, I believed that I was Master of all I surveyed.

But life has taught me ‘the lesson’; that there is always the ‘last rose of summer’. Life, like the legendary tapestry is full of pin-holes, stitches, holes, knots, criss-srossing twine … but only from the back side, whilst looking at it from the face, the result is a work of art.

If God had wanted He could have given His beloved Mother and foster-father, Joseph, an easy way of life. Yet both were hand-picked from eternity because of their Faith in the Lord. And the testing continued all their life. Both must have had natural doubts. Let’s not take the ‘Annunciation’ of Mary lightly. Imagine your 14/15 year old daughter receiving the news that she is going to have a baby … without ever having contact with any man.

Every step of Mary’s life was guided by Faith, imagine her informing her mum and dad, her spouse about her being pregnant. Every Jewish girl wanted to get married and give birth to a boy, wishing and wanting that her boy would be the prophesied Messiah. But Mary felt she was unworthy of such an honour and instead offered to the Lord her virginity. If that is not humility, what is?

Volumes could be written about Mary, likewise about Joseph. He must have been chosen for a specific role; to be foster-father of the Son of God, Joseph was the father of the Most Sacred Heart, the father of the new Adam, Mentor of Jesus in his boyhood and teens. He accepted his role, not without doubts, but with Faith.

Both Mary and Joseph are Masters of Faith; they have no University degrees added to their name, they were poor, simple people. Joseph, one would expect, to have a Doctorate in Administration or even in Theology, as he was dealing with God-man.

Personally I believe that of all the virtues, they were endowed with, the outstanding virtue was ‘humility’. Jesus must have attended, and followed a course at the University of Nazareth, (which did not exist), and he specialized with First Class Honours in Humility, submitting Himself to a father-carpenter-builder and to a simple maiden … for thirty whole years, in an out-cast village.

He even carried this honour to the very end of His life, the Certificate was nailed above His head on the cross. No, for Jesus it was not ‘Roses, roses all the way.’   His foster-father is barely mentioned in the Holy Bible, the last reference was when the twelve year-old Jesus was found at the Temple, but then, Joseph, seems to walk out unobtrusively and quietly.

Mary, the world’s first love, it’s interesting to note that in the Liturgy of Mary we find writings about the creation of the world, and that Mary was present during the work of creation. For God there is no past and future, there’s always a ‘present’. Mary, the perfect human person, has always been ‘present’ in God’s mind and heart. 

The presence of Mary should be for us, “Roses, roses all the way , they are with us here to stay.”

THE CAVE-MAN, WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, IS BORN

We read, according to St. Luke: “In those days, Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole world.” Caesar ordered. But, actually and unknowingly, mighty Caesar, was himself being ordered by One mightier than he. No man can change God’s Divine Plan. God uses man’s pride, avarice and apparent power, to realise His Plan.

Have we ever stopped to think that the whole Roman world was affected, because of the census? The whole Roman Empire was in turmoil, and the one reason, was a Divine reason; Christ had to be born in Betlehem of Juda, according to what the prophets had spoken of, years before.

I believe it was Gilbert Keith Chesterton (G.K.C.), a convert to Catholicism, who once said ‘The human story began in a cave: the cave which popular science associates with the cave-man, and in which practical discovery, has really found archaic drawings of animals. The second half of human history, which was like a new creation of the world, also began in a cave. Incidentally (?) animals were present, for this cave was a stable in the uplands of Betlehem.’

It was here that a homeless couple had crept underground with the cattle when the doors of Betlehem were shut in their faces. ‘There was no place for them at the inn, ’ so goes the Gospel narrative.
And it was here beneath the very feet of the passers-by, in a cellar under the floor of the world, that Jesus Christ was born. We can say that God-man was also a ‘Cave Man’. A mass of legend and literature have been written and spoken of about ‘those hands’ that created the stars and sun, and yet were too small to reach the huge heads of the cattle.

The first act of the Divine Drama was enacted, not only on ‘NO stage set’ above the sightseers, but on a drab curtained stage sunken out of sight. But this indescribable thing that we call the Christmas atmosphere only hangs in the air as something like a lingering fragrance or fading vapour from the exultant explosion of that one-hour in the Judean hills, circa two thousand years ago.

There is in this buried divinity an idea of ‘’undermining” the world; of shaking the towers and palaces from below, even as Herod, the great king felt that earthquake under him and swayed with his swaying palace.

To this very day if you want to visit the place where Christ was born, you have to bow low to enter the cave through the main door and the cave itself. And is that not a gesture of submission, a giving of homage to the Creator made-man? God’s Plans have been drawn up like an architect’s blue print, since eternity.

God-man was born like a Cave Man, under the earth, and died on top of the earth on top of a mount. But in the process of travelling from under the earth to the top of the mountain, HE did shake the whole world, and is still doing it. Whether you believe in Him or not, you must believe that the world is in turmoil until We all accept Him as Lord of the earth.

May I wish all readers a Blessed Birth of the Lord of the Universe in our poor but warm heart.

A 14 YEAR-OLD JEWISH GIRL CONDUCTS A NEW SYMPHONY

“And God saw that all was good”. So goes the Genesis narrative. So, all was good. That is, everything worked shipshape and in perfect harmony. Until, one of the musician played a ‘false’ note. Actually it was a ‘duet’. The only feminine participant took the liberty of ‘playing’ what was not on the ‘original’ manuscript. The male part followed suit. All this happened at the magnificent ‘Eden’ Garden.
That false, errant note, kept travelling into space for thousands of years. As we know sound waves never stop, they keep on travelling into space, God knows where. Science might one day come up with an instrument to catch Christ’s words still travelling about.

But the Creator, in His great wisdom, had planned from eternity, a destination for that ‘false’ note. One day it landed in the lap of a fourteen-year old maiden, Mary of Nazareth, whilst praying. It was a great day for Mary, and for the whole of humanity, when Mary accepted the offer of becoming the Mother of the Son of God.

Mary took hold of that ‘false’ note, after travelling for thousands of years. Thus, she was totally responsible, she was charged, to create, to compose a new Symphony, starting with that ‘false’ note. The new composition was called ‘The Symphony of Love’. So Mary was the ‘maestro’ to conduct a great orchestra in playing and ‘interpreting’ the new symphony.

The orchestra, which Mary conducts, is composed of her children, all those who offer freely to participate. I am proud to form part of that orchestra, and I believe, you are one of us. We all play different instruments, according to our God-given talents. As is expected, every player must do his utmost to interpret the score, whilst very often looks up at the conductor to read any messages, which every expert maestro passes on with facial expressions.

That ’false’ note must have disappointed the Creator, He saw that that was not what He had in mind, was not pre-planned from eternity by Him. But the master of ‘lies and mischief’ being envious and angry at man, hated, and still hates, all that is good. He wants others to be like him, damned in hell. So God led that ‘false’ to be the first note of a new beginning with the help of Mary.

We celebrate the Annunciation of Mary, when she received her heavenly mandate from Gabriel, the messenger of God. Mary accepted with the simple words of, “Thy Will be done”. Mary remained a maiden, a girl, yet, she became a mother. But the beauty of this mystery lies in the fact that Mary retained her purity, simplicity, the freshness and virginity of a maiden, and besides added the virtues of motherhood, the dedication and love of her offspring.

Mary still conducts her orchestra, and quite often she reminds us of the words of the Master composer Himself: “Do what He says.” She is responsible to lead us, her musicians, without losing sight of her for a moment, but she refers us to Him, the Composer, the Planner of all our dreams.

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

‘ The Sound of Silence’ might be beneficial, from a positive side it could serve as a therapy; stillness, peace, awareness of sounds you don’t usually notice, even coming to terms with oneself.
But, it could have a negative effect, sort of ‘when the cat is away the mice come out to play’. When the guiding light stops showing us the way, we end up groping in the dark.

And just that happened when the last prophet, Malachy, died, till the arrival of John the Baptist, there was the ‘complete silence‘ of four hundred years. People got used the sound of silence, with no Prophet to show them the way. Until the time came for the arrival of John the Baptist.

The Gospel speaks about the success of John, by mentioning that the whole of Judea went up to him to repent and be baptized. Yet in next Sunday (Third in Advent) Gospel we meet another difficulty. How is it that the Evangelist seems to underline every time he mentions the Baptist as if he is playing second fiddle.

Recall: “He is NOT the Light, he came to give witness to the Light.” (1:8) The Evangelist puts on the Baptist’s lips the declaration: ‘One mightier than I will come.” Again : “I am not the Messiah, not even the Prophet promised by Moses.”(1:20)

Yes, John the Evangelist knew what he was doing and for historical reasons. The Baptist, notwithstanding his being a Jew, caused a tsunami amongst his fellowmen, Jews like him. Let’s not forget that every Jew believed that he was promised Heaven by right, being a son of Abraham. And now comes along this other Jew like them and asks them to repent and be baptised to be saved.

There was a strong ‘movement’ to declare the Baptist as their Messiah, because that is what they believed. But he certainly knew what his position and duty was. And so did the Evangelist. That is why John insisted so much in his Gospel version in such declarations made by the Baptist, and for no other reason.

We have to recall that the Baptist came after that long fast of four hundred years, years of spiritual decadence. We all remember the death of Socrates in those days, he drank poison to end his life, and Socrates knew what he was doing. And Socrates represented the majority of the people. To that extents was the effect of the ‘silence’.

But the Baptist, though he was murdered, succeeded in influencing and convincing the people that he was only a messenger. There was mightier than he who had to take over. The people themselves declared and admitted that the Baptist could never do what the Christ was doing. That’s a clean and clear certificate to the Baptist’s success.

SUSAN IS PREGNANT, CONGRATS.

“Susan is pregnant, she will soon be a mummy.” Such news is common in our culture. Parents rejoice because they are going to add stripes to their grandparenthood, and so is Susan and her husband.
We would have expected St.Luke to do likewise when writing the history of Jesus; Mary is pregnant and she will soon deliver. But he did not follow suit; Luke was not content to even start by mentioning John the Baptist, he went further back in years. To be exact, 700 years before.

He quoted the prophet Isaiah and indicated that the news about the birth of a baby boy was in the plan of God, not 700 years before His birth, but since eternity. As Marcus Aurelius has said:”The things of God are full of foresight. All things flow from heaven.”

Our God is the God Who is working His purposes out. History is not a random kaleidoscope of disconnected events; it is a process directed by God Who sees the end in the beginning. We form an integral part of a ‘process’, in which we can, if we may, participate.

John the Baptist, was announcing a ‘baptism of repentance’. Now, as we know the Jews were used to ritual washing. Tertullian tells us “that the Jew used to wash every day because every day he is defiled.” But a Gentile was necessary ‘unclean’ for he never kept the ‘law’.

But the amazing thing about John was that being himself Jew was asking the Jews to submit themselves to what was expected from the Gentiles. This went against their belief that being ‘sons of Abraham’ their place in heaven was guaranteed, by right. That was a trememdous discovery.

A man had to admit to ‘himself’ that he was a sinner. Just like the younger son in the Prodigal Son parable did. The next thing was to admit his wrong doings to those he had wronged. And the final step was to confess to God and say: “I have sinned. I’m sorry.” Then God says: “I forgive you, son.”
We must admit that, John’s Ministry was very effective. The whole of Judea went out to be baptised. But what was the reason for his success ? First of all, John was a man who lived his mission. His whole life and style of living was witness to what he preached.

He did not live in palaces, in mansions, not even a two-roomed flat, he lived in the Judean Desert. Who has travelled to this desert must have a vague idea of the place. It was called ‘Jeshimmon’ meaning ‘Devastation’. John was man who had given himself a chance to hear the voice of God.
He did not own a wardrobe, with clothes for the different seasons; he wore a garment woven of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. Jesus Himself gave witness to John: “Whom did you go out to see?”

Regards his food, no dinners, or feasting in general. He ate ‘locusts’ which might mean certain small animals allowed by the law. The honey mentioned could have been ‘sweet sap’ that comes out of the trunk of trees. John believed in what he preached and lived what he preached. That is the reason for the success of his ministry. The message is clear.

A REAL STATESMAN MUST BE A MAN OF GOD

B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, founder of the Scout Movement and first Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association. Though he died in 1941, he must have read the Holy Bible, especially the pages which we are reading during these days, at the beginning of the Liturgical Year.

Had he lived in the days of Jesus he would certainly have been a popular follower of the Rabbi from Nazareth. Why do I say so? Because of the motto he applied for the Boy Scouts Movement. ‘Be Prepared’ is a maxim which applies to all alike; being a Boy Scout, a Girl Guide, a Cub and what not.

It surely applies to us all; to each and every believer and non-believer in God. BUT, here’s a special message to all world leaders; political leaders all round the world, ministers, senators presidents or the like; be they leading countries as powerful as China, the U.S.A., Russia, and others, and be they as small as S.Marino, Malta or Dark Sky Island.

This is the message. This Text (Matthew 13: 28 – 37) tells us, that only the man of God can see into the secrets of history. Jesus saw the fate of Jerusalem, although others were blind to it. A real statesman must be a man of God … (repeat) A REAL STATESMAN MUST BE A MAN OF GOD.
To guide his country a man must be himself God-guided. Only the man who knows God can enter into something of the Plan of God. (W.Barclay)

It tells us that it contains a fact we forget or DISREGARD … at our peril. The imagery in which it is clothed is the imagery of Jesus’ own time, and that to speculate on it is useless, when Jesus Himself was content not to know. The one thing of which we can be sure is, that history is going somewhere; there is a consummation to come.

It tells us one last message. That the wise man is he who never forgets that he must be ready when the summons comes. If he lives in that memory, for him the end will not be eternal terror and damnation, but eternal joy. BE PREPARED.

One last point to think about. When we are ‘face to face’ with the Divine Judge, we shall be alone; no lawyers to help us, no husband or wife, no children, no political leaders, for whom we have fought to defend, absolutely ‘no one’. I, myself, unaided, have to give account for all my misdoings. Food for Thought.

A friendly TIP to ALL world leaders … DO read and DIGEST today’s Reading (Thursday) from Revelations 18, 1-2, 21-23; 19: 1-3, 9a. Do not disregard a friendly tip, one day you have to answer to the Almighty Judge why you have ignored such an advice. You are the ‘agents’ who have rendered, changed the world (including Europe) into a Babel. To sin it’s human but to repent it’s divine.

GOD SAVE OUR GRACIOUS KING / QUEEN

How often are these, or similar words sung out, loudly and clearly, during the year, by one and all, throughout the world? “God save our gracious king, send him (her) victorious and glorious.” We hope in God they are victorious and glorious … and ultimately ‘saved’.

Yet, though kings and queens do come and go, life for their subjects remains the same. Important things do not change; sickness, ailments remain, the poor are always with us, those who suffer injustice still cry out. Why? Because those, to whom we give this ‘honour’, are human beings just like us, they are not infallible. They themselves depend on ‘someone’ else who is above human nature.
Was it not that Jewish Rabbi who lived over 2000 years in Palestine, who gave the really ‘good news’ to the all who wanted to follow Him? He called ‘blessed’ the poor, those who mourn, the humble, those who suffer injustice, those who love and work for peace. He gave them the true solution… yet!

He also gave us His assurance on what He had promised, because He did in fact give ‘proof’ that He had meant business. The wonderful thing about Him is that His promises, offers, are still ‘valid’ today, for those who want to follow Him. He never published any programme, no political manifesto full of lies and gimmicks simply to impress people to make them follow Him. He certainly gave us ample, solid proof of His love, of His sincerity.

As a true ‘leader’ he gave up his life for His subjects; for those who followed Him, and for those who did not; even for His enemies. He gave up His life as a Sacrifice on the high altar of Golgotha. Love was sacrificed, and its ashes were blown away with the winds to the four corners of the world. But, where they settled, abundant, luscious fruit abounded.

How stupid, how ’naïve’ we must be to believe all those who offer us wealth, health, stability, jobs for all; be they, any world leaders; politicians, presidents, senators especially those who say they represent the ‘people’. Have we ever read in the annals of History of any world leader who gave up his life for his subjects? A far cry.

It has happened, only once in History; by a humble, lowly carpenter from a remote part of Israel, Nazareth to be exact, an outcast of the Roman occupation. He changed World History. Though he was of royal lineage, from the House of David, yet He never called Himself king.
What in fact constitutes a ‘king’? What are the terms of reference? In any dictionary we read the definition of ‘king’: ‘ a person invested with supreme authority over a nation’. Yes, by popular acclaim which, by time, was inherited by the children. BUT, Christ is not the ‘King of kings’. Certainly not of this class of kings. He is THE King of the universe. I consider ‘King of kings’ as an offence, a grievous offence.

For why should we relegate Christ’s kingship to the human level, by popular consent? Christ IS KING, because He was invested as such by the supreme authority of God, from eternity … and certainly not by popular acclaim. That oft-used phrase, King of kings, should be eliminated once and for all. Christ is our King because He is our loving, merciful Creator, our Redeemer.

Let us offer a gift to Christ the King, in appreciation of His redeeming us, especially on the Feast Day of Christ the King. What better gift could there be than offering ourselves, our actions, our words and thoughts, our strength, our ‘all’? That, in other words is the meaning of ‘full participation in the Sacrifice of the Eucharist’, the Mass. That means we have to live Mass every single second of our life.

COME FILL THE CUP  (33rd. Sunday)

What is the difference between a genius, like Leonardo and John, my gardener, who all he can do is turn up the soil and take care of the garden? It seems a silly question.  Or, is it? I wish I were a Leonardo, so does John, and, so many people round the world. Many do envy him; a scientist, a painter, an inventor … just to mention some. John might feel so insignificant, compared to him … and so would I. But comparisons are odious.

No, I don’t feel insignificant, because I know that what I do, though my work will not be recorded in History, like Leonardo’s, yet, I know that whatever I strive to do, I do it with love. It’s the effort that counts. John knows this as well. Even Leonardo might have known this, and I believe he has. The great Renaissance master must have been given many talents, a huge container and I was given a ‘tot’. 

But the test comes in the effort we put in to fill our container, irrespective of the size, as long as we fill it to the brim. The chap who is entrusted with the huge container carries such a great responsibility on his shoulder. The Lord in His good judgement knows the ability of each and every one of us. He knows John’s, mine and Leonardo’s. He knows how much I can contribute and that with great love and effort, I can fill my tumbler, my tot.

God is the universal Lord of all, He distributes His talents amongst us all (otherwise He would not be just) according to His good pleasure and judgement, because He knows our worth. We have nothing, except what He gave us. Irrespective to the amount we receive, our reward will be equal, if we make proper use of them.

That is why the Lord gave each and every one of us different talents, different containers … even a tot, or less. The chap in the Parable ‘who knew how strict the Lord felt so terrified that he could not act, he seemed helpless. I’m not excusing him, but he certainly lacked the love and effort to fill his share, to do his bit.

But that shows lack of trust in the Lord; in His mercy, in His help, in His compassion, and in His planning. This servant’s idea of the Master was that he was perfectly just and strict, but he has overlooked the fact that the Master must have been also perfectly merciful and compassionate. His inability to use his talents served as a condemnation to himself. He missed being one with the universal, eternal incomprehensible Good.

MENDELSSOHN’S WEDDING MARCH / HERE COMES THE BRIDE

Pa–pa-pa-pam, pa-pa-pa-pam, pa-pa-papa-pa-pam-pam … so goes the tempo of the opening theme accompanied by the organ swell of the magnificent church organ, as the organist interprets Mendelssohn’s  Wedding March. The signal has been given. The bride is entering the church in the company of her father. Emotions run high at that moment. I remember leading my only daughter to be given in marriage.

But I don’t remember who was present because my eyes were soaked with tears; of joy and partial loss. Yet, these are treasured moments for the bride and the groom, and their respective families.

There were no Mendelssohn or Wagner Bridal Tunes in the days of Jesus, and even if there were, traditions and customs were so different in those days. To begin with the groom would send word to one and all that he is to going to meet his bride to lead the bridal procession. But no specific day and time was given. In our culture we receive the wedding invitation three weeks before the occasion.

In those days you have to be on the ‘alert’ for when the ‘groom’ arrives; it could be late at night, early in the morning, at any queer moment. You had to ‘be prepared’. And that goes for the bride herself, for all the close friends, for the guests, and for all the people of the village.

This was the culture 2,000 years ago, and it still is in certain parts of Israel. So Christ’ parable was not completely fictitious, it was based on actual happenings. Each and every guest had to carry a light; an oil-filled lamp and a wick, or a stick with a rag dipped in oil tied to it. But when the oil ran out, it had to be replaced.

The important thing was that they had to be ‘on the alert’ and ‘prepared with a light’ to meet ‘the groom’ on his arrival. Why were ten virgins mentioned and not six, nine, thirteen, or …?  Because ‘ten’ is a symbol of God’s Laws, and those called by Him are expected to follow God’s Laws. And why five? Because five in the Bible is a symbol of ‘grace’. So, notwithstanding ‘that many are called’, but ‘few are chosen.’

Symbols are always used in story-telling or in parables, that is the oriental culture in folk and classical literature. That is why Jesus used symbols in parables. In this case the ‘groom’ is Jesus Himself, Who might arrive at any moment of the day. That is why we have to be always ‘on the alert’. The ‘light’ represents the Word of God (Psalms), which has to replenish us and encourage us on the way forward.

Once He arrives He expects us, for our sake, to be ready, waiting. Once we are in the ‘doors are shut’. Miserable is the man who will be left out, through his own fault. And worse still is the fact that the ‘groom’ will tell him ‘I do not know you’. He will then be thrown into eternal fires where there will be tears and gnashing of teeth.

Hope in God to see you all at the Wedding Feast even though there will be no fanfare of the Bridal Theme.