Noah's Ark

"The woodpecker must go!"

I heard there is a good movie about Noah's Ark coming out soon. Incidentally, everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark...
One: Don't miss the boat.
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with  the job that needs to be done.
Six: Build your future on high ground.
Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The  snails were on board with the cheetahs.
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the  Titanic by professionals.
Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with  God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

The world and the church

On this week of prayers for church unity, I shared this reflection in yesterday's homily - and as a response to the overwhelming appreciation from many parishioners, I share it with visitors to this blog today.

For a world at its worse, we need a Church at its best.
For a world full of sadness, we need a Church full of gladness.
For a world that’s going down, we need a Church that’s going up.
For a world that complains, we need a Church that cares and comforts.
For a world full of war, we need a Church full of peace.
For a world that cries vengeance and hate, we need a Church that forgives and forgets.
For a world full of impatience, we need a Church full of tolerance.
For a world full of heartache, we need a Church that’s full of good news.
For a world that believes in “playing”, we need a Church that’s committed to praying.
For a world full of defeat, we need a Church full of victory.
For a world that’s pessimistic, we need a Church that’s optimistic.
For a world that is crying, we need a Church that smiles and rejoices.
For a world that’s out of tune, we need a Church that’s filled with harmony.
For a world that’s falling apart, we need a Church that keeps us all together.
For a discouraged world, we need an encouraging Church.
For a world that is full of compromise, we need a Church that stresses commitment.
For a world that is going through a period of darkness, we need an enlightening Church.
For a world that’s rebellious and vindictive, we need a Church that is truly compassionate.
For a world that is creating stumbling blocks, we need a Church that is placing stepping stones of hope.
For a world that is stressful or tense, we need a Church that is calm and peaceful.

For a world that insists on gossiping, we need a church that focuses on being sincere, committed and that sees everyone working together.
This is the kind of Church we all have to strive for.
This is the kind of Church we at St. Francis of Assisi in Bend are working together to be, one happy, harmonious, faith-filled and united family.

What if ?

What if, GOD couldn't take the time to bless us today because we couldn't take the time to thank Him yesterday?
What if, GOD decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today?
What if, we never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when GOD sent the rain?
What if, GOD didn't walk with us today because we failed to recognize it as His day?
What if, GOD took away the Bible tomorrow because we would not read it today?
What if, GOD took away His message because we failed to listen to the Messenger?
What if, GOD didn't send His only begotten Son because He wanted us to be prepared to pay the price for sin?
What if, the door of the church was closed because we did not open the door of our heart?
What if, GOD stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others?
What if, GOD would not hear us today because we would not listen to Him?
What if, GOD answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service?
What if, GOD met our needs the way we give Him our lives???

Strange Definitions

CHICKENS: The only creatures you eat before they are born and after they are dead.
ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.
BEAUTY PARLOR: A place where women curl up and dye.
CANNIBAL: Someone who is fed up with people.
COMMITTEE: A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
DUST: Mud with the juice squeezed out.
EGOTIST: Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.
GOSSIP: A person who will never tell a lie if the truth will do more damage.
INFLATION: Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
MOSQUITO: An insect that makes you like flies better.
RAISIN: Grape with a sunburn.
SECRET: Something you tell to one person at a time.
TOOTHACHE: The pain that drives you to extraction.
TOMORROW: One of the greatest labor saving devices of today.
YAWN: An honest opinion openly expressed.
WRINKLES: Something other people have. You have character lines.

No more teenagers

Baby Peter in early 1994

It’s a milestone day for our family as my last nephew Peter turns 20 today, and so there will be no more teenagers in my family. He was of course born on January 17, 1994 and I baptized him a few weeks later in his home parish at Birkirkara. Peter grew up to be a very smart, friendly, happy-go-lucky, fairly independent type of person, with a charming personality that endears him with everybody who meets him . 

In 2008, myself, Julian Jr, Peter and my brother Marcel

He looks up to his older brother Julian to such an extent that he will be following the same career, having started medical school last September. And I presume he may be going through some tough exams already at this time, and so there won’t be much time for him to celebrate his passing from a teenager to an adult. And yet another milestone will be reached on January 25 when his father, my brother Marcel will turn 50, and so no more quadragenarians in our family. But such is life. Time waits for no one. Happy Birthday Peter.

Julian and Peter in 2010, both still teenagers

How would you know?

If you never felt pain, then how would you know that I am a Healer?
If you never had to pray, how would you know that I am a Deliverer?
If you never felt sadness, how would you know that I am a Comforter? 
If you never made a mistake, how would you know that I am a forgiver?
If you never were in trouble, how would you know that I will come to your rescue?
If you never were broken, then how would you know that I can make you whole?
If you never had a problem, how would you know that I can solve them?
If you never had any suffering, then how would you know what I went through?
If I gave you all things, how would you appreciate them?
If I never corrected you, how would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, then how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, then what would you need me for?
Love, Jesus.

Some curious facts

The first published novel "Tom Sawyer"

 - The first novel ever written on a typewriter: “Tom Sawyer.”
 - Coca-Cola was originally green.
 - Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.
 - The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
 - Men can read smaller print than women; but women can hear better.
 - The city with the most Rolls Royce's per capita: Hong Kong.
 - State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.
 - Percentage of Africa that is wilderness:  28%
 - Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
 - Cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400
 - Average number of people airborne over the US any given hour:  61,000.
 - Each king in a deck of playing card represents a great king from history.
               Spades - King David,
               Clubs    - Alexander the Great,
               Hearts   - Charlemagne,
               Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

 - If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if  the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse  has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
 - Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
 - The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
 - The only food that doesn’t spoil is honey.
 
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

Q. What trivia fact about Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny) is the most ironic?
A. He was allergic to carrots.

Messages in my room

In my room in our home in Malta, a few years ago

One morning I woke up and I asked myself – what are some of the secrets of success in life? And I found the answer in my own room.
 - I looked at the fan in front of me telling me “Stay cool, don’t get hot under the collar.”
 - I imagined the ceiling telling me “Aim high!”
 - I imagined the window telling me “Open me wide and see the world in front of you.”
 - I imagined the clock telling me “Every minute is precious – don’t lose any of them idling or doing nothing.”
 - I looked at the mirror and she told me “Reflect carefully before making any important decisions.”
 - I imagined the calendar hanging on the wall reminding me ”Stay up-to-date!”
 - I could see the shower informing me “Wash off old stains, guilt feelings and move on, with a clean heart and a better disposition.”
 - I imagined the door challenging me “Push me open and start working, doing the things and projects you had planned to do and never got to doing them.”
 - I looked down at the carpet on the floor and I received the message loud and clear “Get down on your knees and pray!”

19 new Cardinals

Card Loris Capovilla, secretary to Pope John XXIII

Pope Francis named his first batch of Cardinals on Sunday, choosing 19 men from Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere, including the developing nations of Haiti and Burkina Faso, in line with his belief that the church must pay more attention to the poor.
In a sentimental touch in Sunday's selections, one of the Cardinals too old to vote for the next Pope include 98-year-old Monsignor Loris Francesco Capovilla, who had served as personal secretary to Pope John XXIII. That late Pontiff will be made a saint along with John Paul II in a ceremony at the Vatican in April. 

These are the names of the 10 new prelates:
Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State (Italy)
Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops (Italy)
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Germany)
Archbishop Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy (Italy)
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster (Great Britain)
Archbishop Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano of Managua (Nicaragua)
Archbishop Gérald Cyprien Lacroix of Québec (Canada)
Archbishop Jean-Pierre Kutwa of Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
Archbishop Orani João Tempesta, O.Cist. of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Archbishop Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia-Città della Pieve (Italy)
Archbishop Mario Aurelio Poli of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo Jung of Seoul (South Korea)
Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello SDB (Chile)
Archbishop Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI of Cotabato (Philippines)
Bishop Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes (Haïti)

...and the three cardinals-designate over 80:
Archbishop Loris Francesco Capovilla (Italy)
Archbishop Fernando Sebastián Aguilar, CMF, emeritus of Pamplona (Spain)
Archbishop Kelvin Edward Felix, emeritus of Castries (St Lucia/Dominica)
 

Our Baptism

Ending the Christmas season today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of Christ, which actually took place when he was 30 years old, at the Jordan River by St John the Baptist. It is an ideal opportunity for us to ask ourselves a few salient questions about our own baptism.
- how proud are we with the decision our parents took for us when they baptized us?
- how faithful have we been to that decision, and did we ever regret it?
- do you know which church you were baptized in?
- do you know the name of the priest who baptized you?
- do you know the date when you were baptized?
- do you know the name of your godparents?
- how close are you to our godparents, if they are still alive?
- do you participate in baptisms in your parish, especially by renewing your baptismal vows?
- do you try to live an unblemished, pure life symbolized by the white baptismal robe you wore on that special day?
- do you follow the light of Christ symbolized by the Paschal candle which was present on that special day?
- do you commemorate your baptism day in any way?

St John's Cathedral, Valletta, Malta

Gossip - nobody's friend - and everybody's enemy

Norman Rockwell's famous painting of gossipers

My name is gossip. I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody’s friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses. I am called gossip. I make headlines and headaches.

So, to avoid becoming my next victim, before you repeat a story, ask yourself:
Is it True ?
Is it Helpful ?
Is it Important ?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind ?
(That’s an acronym for THINK)
If it isn’t, don’t repeat it !

Hello God

Hello God, I called tonight to talk a little while…
I need a friend who’ll listen to my anxiety and trial…

You see, I can’t quite make it through a day just on my own…
I need your love to guide me, so I’ll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep, my family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence for whatever fate they’re bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things I can’t change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home and listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice when I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one that answers every time.
I never get a busy signal, never had to pay a dime.

So thank you God, for listening to my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, dear God, I love you too, and I’ll call again tomorrow.

The Monstrance

Our beautiful Monstrance was displayed yesterday for the first time. I used it during our school Mass and in the evening, ending our Faith Formation classes with Adoration and Benediction. I showed the children and youth up close the Monstrance, which was purchased thanks to the generosity of a few parishioners, along with two new chalices.

It has the symbols of the 4 Evangelists, as well as a symbol of the Holy, Spirit, the Lamb of Gd and the Sacred Heart. Underneath it has the Latin words, “Verbum caro factum est” - “And the word was made flesh,” a quote from the Gospel of St. John. The Monstrance will be used for perpetual adoration Monday to Friday at the historic church in downtown Bend, usually from 7:30 AM until 6 PM.

If dogs were teachers

IF  A  DOG  TAUGHT  A  CLASS, YOU  WOULD  LEARN  STUFF LIKE  . . .
“ When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
* Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
* Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
* When it's in your best interest - practice obedience.
* Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
* Take naps and stretch before rising.
* Run, romp, and play daily.
* Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
* Avoid biting, when a simple growl will do.
* On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
* On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree.
* When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
* No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...run right back and make friends.
* Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
* Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.  Stop when you have had enough.
* Be loyal.
* Never pretend to be something you're not.
* If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
* When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

The other side

When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. From the underside I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop she held in her hand. I once complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat.
She smiled at me, looked down and gently said, "My son, you go about your playing for a while and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side."
I wondered why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes passed and then I heard Mother's voice say, "Son, come and sit on my knee." This I did only to be surprised and I thrilled to see a beautiful flower. I could not believe it because from underneath it had looked so messy.
Then my mother said to me, "My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a set plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing."

Many times through the years I have looked up to God and asked, "Father, what are You doing?" He has answered, "I am embroidering your life." I say, "But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can't they all be bright?"
Finally the Father seems to tell me, "My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on My knee and you will see the plan from My side.”

Anagrams

An anagram, as you all know, is a word or phrase made by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. The following are exceptionally clever. Someone out there either has way too much time to waste or is deadly at Scrabble.
 
Word                                      When you rearrange the letters

Dormitory                             Dirty Room
Desperation                          A Rope Ends It
The Morse Code                   Here come Dots
Slot Machines                       Cash Lost in 'em
Animosity                              Is No Amity
Mother-in-law                      Woman Hitler
Snooze Alarms                      Alas! No More Z's
Alec Guinness                       Genuine Class
Semolina                                Is No Meal
The Public Art Galleries      Large Picture Halls, I Bet
A Decimal Point                    I'm a Dot in Place
The Earthquakes                  That Queer Shake
Eleven plus two                     Twelve plus one
Contradiction                         Accord not in it
Astronomer                            Moon Starer

Epiphany traditions

Today the three Kings or Magi arrive in Bethlehem and present Jesus with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. There are two traditions held on this day, both of which come to us from the Eastern European tradition. The first is when families write the names of the Three Kings on doorways of their homes as the head of the house goes around the house saying prayers and chanting various hymns. 

Chalk blessed by the priest on the feast of the Epiphany is given to the faithful to mark their entrance door with the current year and with the inscription C+M+B, the initials of Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, the traditional names of the Magi. The entire phrase would read    20 + C + M + B + 14. In addition to remembering the Magi, the inscription means the Latin phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means “Christ, bless this home.”

The cross is retrieved from the bottom of the sea

The second tradition is repeated in Greece and Greek communities around the world every January 6 or the feast of the Epiphany when dozens of teenage boys or young men jump into the murky, chilly and sometimes frozen water and dive for a wooden cross tossed in by a priest. The one lucky enough to surface with it earns instant celebrity status, a ride through the streets on the shoulders of his peers and – the Greek-American boys believe – the favor of God in the coming year.

Remembering my father

My father John as a policeman, 1955

It was 12 years ago today that my father left us suddenly - yet his spirit remains in my life and in the life of my siblings and nephews. His example of dedication to his family, his commitment to his faith and everything religious, his hard-working ethic and his devotion to his duty as a policeman and as father, have always been the norm by which I measure my own life. I remember him writing to me one day in New York and telling me that the best thing that ever happened to him was meeting my mother, who became his wife for 54 years.

A family photo from 1963

In this post I share some photos which I never shared before, showing my father and family over the years. May he rest in peace, as he is united with my mother and my brother Paul in their new heavenly home.

In 1983 by the Big Ben in London, en route to New York

July 24, 1998 - their 50th wedding anniversary

In 2001 with my mother and nephews Peter and Julian

A Prayer for Children

We pray for children who give us sticky kisses,
who hop on rocks and chase butterflies,
who stomp in puddles and ruin their math workbooks,  who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those who stare at photographs from behind barbed wire,
who never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,
who've never "counted potatoes", who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world

We pray for children who bring us fistfuls of dandelions and sing off key,
who have goldfish funerals, build card table forts, who slurp their cereal on purpose,
who put gum in their hair, put sugar in their milk, who spit toothpaste all over the sink,
who hug us for no reason, who bless us each night.
And we pray for those who never get dessert,
who watch their parents watch them die, who have no safe blanket to drag behind,
who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren’t on anybody's dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for those who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub,
who get quarters from the tooth fairy, who don't like to be kissed in front of their friends,
who squirm in church and scream when you're on the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.
And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried, and for those who must.
For those we never give up on, and for those who don't have a chance.
For those we smother, and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer.

Something to think about.....

Somebody has well said that there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning."

A father was approached by his small son, who told him proudly, "I know what the Bible means!"  His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you 'know' what the Bible means?" The son replied, "I do know!"
"Okay," said his father. "So, Son, what does the Bible mean?"
“That's easy, Daddy. It stands for Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.”

A little boy was attending his first wedding. After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?"
"Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he had an answer so quickly. "How do you know that?" "Easy," the little boy said. "All you have to do is add it up, like the Priest said: 4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."

People want the front of the bus, the back of the church and the center of attention.

A New Year - new beginnings

Though even thinking on the subject of time may prove discomforting, it is not a bad idea - especially at the beginning of a new year. As we look into “year” we look at a block of time. We see 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds. And all of it is a gift from God. We have done nothing to deserve it, earn it, or purchase it. Like the air we breathe, time comes to us as a part of life. The gift of time is not ours alone. It is given equally to each person. Rich and poor, educated and ignorant, strong and weak—every man, woman and child has the same twenty-four hours every day.
Another important thing about time is that you cannot stop it. There is no way to slow it down, turn it off, or adjust it. Time marches on. And you cannot bring back time. Once it is gone, it is gone. Yesterday is lost forever. If yesterday is lost, tomorrow is uncertain. We may look ahead at a full year’s block of time, but we really have no guarantee that we will experience any of it. Obviously, time is one of our most precious possessions. We can waste it. We can worry over it. We can spend it on ourselves. Or, as good stewards, we can invest it in the kingdom of God. The New Year is full of time. As the seconds tick away, will you be tossing time out the window, or will you make every minute count? Make this simple resolution this year - make every minute count!
I wish all visitors to this blog a healthy, peace-filled, joyous and harmonious New Year!