The Catholic Leader - 7 May

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The Catholic Leader, May 7, 2017
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Prayer reflections for the week
The following prayer thoughts for the
week are from Br Brian Grenier’s book
Attend Unto Reading.
May 7 – Jesus and Women
Careful reading of the four gospels reveals that, at a time when
women had a very restricted role in Jewish society, Jesus never
treated any woman as inferior. There was room in his compas-
sionate heart for all women, but especially for the marginalised
– pagan foreigners, schismatic Samaritans, widows, sinners, the
ritually unclean and the poor. He included them
among his closest friends and, contrary to rabbinic
strictures, among his disciples. Violating the law,
he was prepared to speak to them in public and
even to make physical contact with them. He
directed his teaching to women as well as to men.
May 8 – Women and Jesus
In considering the attitude of women towards
Jesus, we should note their courage and fidelity.
Jesus himself contrasts the faith of poor widows
and despised women with the superficial faith
of the religious establishment. In contrast to the
pusillanimity of Jesus’ male disciples, women (as
all four evangelists attest) stand by him on Calvary,
and they are present at his burial. They are also the
first witnesses to his resurrection and the first to
bring the Good News of Easter to the other disciples. A Samaritan
woman held her own with him in Jesus’ longest recorded one-on-
one conversation in the gospels (John 4).
May 9 – Costing Not Less Than Everything
When rich people were ostentatiously contributing to the temple
treasury, Jesus drew his disciples’ attention to a poor widow whose
offering was but two small coins. He praised her saying, “All of
them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her
poverty has put in everything she had to live on” (Mark 12:38-44).
This woman calls to mind the widow who shared her last measure
of flour and oil with the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:10-16). It has
been well said by one spiritual writer: “To offer God less than
everything is to settle for less than God.”
May 10 – Memorial of St Damien de Veuster of
Molokai
Nine years after arriving in Hawaii as a missionary, Belgian-born
Fr Damien de Veuster went to live with the lepers living in abject
poverty on Molokai. There he built a church and homes for them
and encouraged them to sing. He ate with them, shared their life,
dug their graves and fought with the government on their behalf for
better conditions. In time he contracted the dreaded disease; but, as
he wrote to his bishop, “I am calm and resigned and very happy in
the midst of my people.” A “martyr of charity”, he
died on April 15, 1889, and was canonised in 2009.
May 11 – Inculturation: Remembering
Matteo Ricci
“Whatever is received is received after the fash-
ion of the one receiving.” Respected by every good
teacher and preacher, this philosophical axiom
guided the endeavours of Jesuit Matteo Ricci (d.
May 11, 1610) in China. Sadly, not all missionaries
in foreign lands have taken account of the customs
and traditions of the people they served. The missi-
ologist Wahlbert Buhlmann OFM (Cap.) lamented
the fact that some of them on the African scene
sought to sow the seeds of the Gospel by trans-
planting the tree of European culture. In a global
Church the dialogue between faith and culture
must be on-going, not least in Australia.
May 12 – Remembering Irena Sendler
Irena Sendler, a nurse and social worker in the Polish Under-
ground, smuggled 2500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto,
providing them with false identity documents. Eventually captured,
tortured and sentenced to death, she evaded execution and died
on May 12, 2008, aged 98. If asked why she risked her life almost
daily to save these children from annihilation, she might have
replied as another Polish woman did, “Because the time is now; and
I am here”. For her the question requiring an answer was not “What
will happen to me if I assist them?” but “What will happen to them
if I don’t?”
May 13 – Perseverance
When the musician Orpheus came to the underworld to plead
with King Pluto for the release of his departed wife Eurydice, the
king agreed on the condition that he should not look back. He did
so and Eurydice was lost to him forever. Lot’s wife suffered a
somewhat similar fate. As Christians, we are called to keep our eyes
constantly on the goal and, like Paul, to persevere in the faith to the
end (see 2 Timothy 4:7). Jesus said, “No one who puts a hand to the
plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
Careful reading of the
four gospels reveals that,
at a time when women had a
very restricted role in Jewish
society, Jesus never treated any
woman as inferior.
The unforgettable look of love
Gold in the dawning sun By Terry Lees
Terry Lees is a member
of the Mount Isa Catholic
parish.
by Terry Lees
Unforgettable: “The look in Pattie’s eyes – sheer love – was something I’ll never forget. Our
daughter Nyree Justine had arrived into our lives.”
THE time arrived and I rushed Pattie
to hospital for the birth of our first
child.
She was scared, but only seemed nervous.
“Mr Cool, Calm and Collected” was churning
up inside!
We held hands and all the while I tried to be
encouraging and reassuring.
They took us to the delivery room which was
my cue to leave.
It was uncommon, in those days, for fathers to
attend for births. Pattie had other ideas.
She had an iron grip on my hands and wasn’t
letting go.
I was given a medical gown and invited to stay.
The pain, the effort, everything Pattie went
through was incredible.
I recall telling her I’d never put her through
such an experience again.
As the baby began to appear, I was asked to
step back, but not before I caught a glimpse of a
tiny head, covered in thick black hair emerging
into the world.
When the baby arrived, the doctor said, “You
have a beautiful daughter”.
And she was … wrapped in linen, she was
given to Pattie to hold.
The look in Pattie’s eyes – sheer love – was
something I’ll never forget.
Our daughter Nyree Justine had arrived into
our lives.
Jesus said, “When a woman is in labour, she
is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but
when she has given birth to a child, she no longer
remembers the pain because of her joy that a
child has been born into the world” (John 16:21).
Our baby daughter didn’t come with an
instruction manual; she did come with something
much better – she came with a mother.
It was as if I witnessed two miracles that
amazing day.
The first was the miracle of birth; the second,
the miracle of transformation.
Before my eyes the beautiful woman I married
was transformed from a wife to a mother.
An innate knowledge, instincts, skills and
understanding kicked in, as if everything in her
life had prepared her for this new role – a natural
mother.
I was in awe.
“… Children are a gift from the Lord, the fruit
of the womb, a reward.” (Psalm 127:3)
Over the next five years our family grew with
another daughter and two sons – despite my ear-
lier statement that I wouldn’t put Pattie through
such a painful experience again.
It wasn’t all easy sailing.
There were numerous speed-bumps along the
way, interspersed with seemingly insurmountable
obstacles and no shortage of hazards and detours.
We made mistakes – too many to count – and
certainly did things, with the benefit of hind-
sight, that might have been done differently.
Yet, as a loving, caring family unit we met all
challenges, including a few relocations, health
matters that tested us, financial hardship, dilem-
mas and experiences with potential to tear us
apart.
There was also the agitation as each of our
children became teenagers.
Bringing up teenagers is a major challenge in
itself.
The growth though wasn’t just in the size of
our family; there was also the growth within Pat-
tie and me and in our relationship.
Love as a force of nature is bigger than us; it’s
all of those things St Paul says: “Love is always
patient and kind; … never jealous … not boastful
or conceited … never seeks its own advantage ...
does not take offence or store up grievances …
does not rejoice at wrongdoing … finds its joy
in the truth ... always ready to make allowances,
to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.
Love never comes to an end” (1 Corinthians
13:1-13).
There’s something about loving God with
our whole hearts that naturally flows into loving
others.
Perhaps because God has created us in his own
image, there’s a picture of him, a treasure from
him, in each of us.
When we see each other, we see a reflection of
the Lord.
The love you crave is already in your heart.
You are love and can radiate love to others.
Because I am love I can choose to show love.
Acknowledge the great love God has for
you by sharing it with each person whose path
crosses yours.
My greatest teachers about love, apart from
God, are my loved ones.
As one of my precious memories, I can look
back to the birth of our daughter and see, through
the eyes of my heart, the look of love of a mother
for a child, and I still feel the awe.
Have a golden day and treasure life!