PREAMBLE

PREAMBLE

“Teach a child in the way he should go;

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

These words taken from Proverb 22:6 speak loudly of the responsibility of parents and caregivers to the children entrusted to them. In these modern days with the advent of such a large and diverse selection of electronic gadgets, our children are bombarded with so many distractions from every direction that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with their spiritual development.

We as adults, often overwhelmed by the demands for survival, are guilty of neglecting our responsibilities of ensuring our children’s growth. We are losing sight of the fact that at this stage children are at their most receptive phase for absorbing information and unless we make an effort to help them, they are likely to acquire wrong information from other sources.

I believe no one is better equipped or better placed to do the job than the parent or the caregiver. By making use of every opportunity to teach the words of Jesus Christ, to read the Holy Bible as well as by setting personal examples we can build our children’s faith and offer them alternative examples to live by. In this way we can prepare them to deal with the many and varied temptations they will face in life as they go forward.

These stories under the banner “The Old Lady and Ana” grew out of a discussion I had with my cousin Starr Sabga during which we lamented that our children are not being exposed to reading and discussing the bible as we were. We both felt that as a result of this we are missing a very important opportunity to expose them to God’s words and running the risk of losing them.

The stories are strictly my interpretation of selected passages from the Bible based on my Christian education and on my own life experience. They are meant for the younger child, as examples of how we may use day to day experiences to learn about God’s word. They are by no means exhaustive but I trust they may serve to get other parents and caregivers to do the same.

If this happens, then I would consider myself fully rewarded.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

5. THE OLD LADY AND ANA -MATTHEW 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes)

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. little Ana, wearing her pretty blue dress that her mother bought for her, had just returned from attending morning mass with her family. As they entered their home, Ana grasped her grandmother’s hand and gently tugging it, asked her, in all sincerity;
“Gramma why was the priest telling everyone may God bless you?”

The old lady beckoned Ana to come sit at the table next to her and opening her trusted bible at Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 5, she said:

“Listen to what God said when he addressed the people and his disciples from the top of a mountain about his blessings”.

She slowly read:




"Blessed are the poor in spirit,


for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Little Ana looked perplexed and confused,



“What does poor in spirit mean?” she asked.
The old lady replied:


“Poor in spirit refers to people who are humble, gentle and caring. They are the ones who do not hesitate to help others, who give of themselves and do not ask for anything in return. These are the people who will be welcome in heaven”.

Ana seemed to be satisfied with the answer, so the old lady continued reading:



"Blessed are those who mourn,


for they shall be comforted”.



Raising her eyes, the old lady looked at the startled face of the little girl:


“You see Ana, the second blessing is for all those people who mourn or feel sorry for whatever reason. Mourning does not only mean the loss of a loved one. It also includes those who hurt for, or feel the suffering of others or who are sorry for their own sins and transgressions. All of those will receive God’s comfort."

The old lady paused for a second and then continued to read the third blessing:




“Blessed are the meek,


for they shall inherit the earth”.




“I think I know this one gramma”, Ana interjected, “If you are good you will be happy on earth”


The old lady smiled and added:


“Yes Ana, you are correct. But it also includes all those people who are gentle and kind even in the face of adversity. Who live with peace and love for all, friends and enemies alike. These are the people who bring peace to the world.”

Little Ana nodded knowingly and listened eagerly as her grandmother proceeded:



“Blessed are those who hunger


and thirst for righteousness,


for they shall be filled”.




The old lady said:


“This simply says that all those people who spend their lives searching out and doing the right things in life, such as honesty, goodness, truth and love will achieve full satisfaction”.

Reading on, the old lady confidently said:




“Blessed are the merciful,


for they shall obtain mercy”.




"This is my favorite. Being merciful means being willing to show kindness, compassion, understanding and forgiveness to our neighbors and doing everything to relieve distress and suffering. This is the only way to bring peace in your life and God will reward you in kind."

Ana promptly sat up and, as if suddenly inspired, looked intently at the old lady’s face and said:


“Gramma, is that why you always say ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”

The old lady nodded her head in agreement and continued:




Blessed are the pure in heart,


for they shall see God.




“Pure of heart means to be free of any selfish desires or jealousy or scheme to take advantage of others. It means approaching everything with pure love and free from personal gain. In your life you will get to know of a few of these people like Mother Teresa and St. Francis of Assisi and they will inspire you as they have inspired me”.

Ana, jumped up out of her chair, hugged her grandmother tightly and whispered;


"Gramma you are pure of heart, I know that”.

Smilingly gently, the old lady continued:



“Blessed are the peacemakers,


for they shall be called sons of God”.




“Peacemakers are not people who are peaceful and avoid problems. But they are people whose hearts are full of peace and love and who spend there lives bringing peace and love to others. They are doing God’s work and that is why they are called children of God”.

Closing her eyes in silent prayer, the old lady then turned to Ana and said:


“This last blessing is meant for all of us, listen":





Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,


for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.



Ana was confused and baffled and with her hands outstretched, asked:




"But gramma, I don’t understand what you mean. No one persecutes me, why should this worry me?"

The old lady held Ana’s hand firmly and said:


“Ana, throughout your life people will try to ridicule you or embarrass you to make you believe what they want you to believe, or do what they want you to do. They will lie or make up false stories or even persecute you. But you must remain honest and steadfast and stand by your beliefs. Always believe, like the prophets of the past, your final reward is the Kingdom of Heaven. That is God’s promise and his blessing”.


Ana, smiling broadly and visibly relieved, kissed her grandmother and as she ran off, she shouted:


"AMEN! AMEN!, Thank you God for Gramma!”




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