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, July 28, 2011

32. THE OLD LADY AND ANA-1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-7 (The Meaning of Love)

Little Ana approached her grand mother, who was just about to sit in her favorite chair after completing her chores, and with a solemn and concerned look, asked her:

“Gramma, can you explain to me what the real meaning of Love is. When I asked Aunty Grace she replied that if I really want to understand what true, genuine love is then I should study the life of Blessed Teresa. Who is Blessed Teresa and what kind of love did she have?”

The old lady sat down comfortably, beckoned Ana to sit next to her and in a tone of voice that indicated sincere, genuine admiration, said:

“My dear Ana, Blessed Teresa was one of the most beautiful persons I have ever known. She devoted her whole life to living and caring for the very poor and indigent population of Calcutta, India. Her whole life was devoted to the service of God and to providing comfort and unqualified love to every one. This is the kind of love that God expects of all of us and the kind that he gives to us all. Let me read to you from the First letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 13 Verses 1-7 in which St Paul expresses in great detail what true love really is and what God expects from us:"

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels,
but didn’t love others,
I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy,
and if I understood all of God’s secret plans
and possessed all knowledge,
and if I had such faith that I could move mountains,
but didn’t love others,
I would be nothing.

“St. Paul wrote in the strongest possible terms that it does not matter how great and successful we become it will be of no consequence without love for others. We could be the greatest and most gifted speakers or the most intelligent and knowledgeable intellectuals capable of moving mountains, but that will be useless without loving others.”


The old lady paused to look at her grand child who was sitting erect and completely engrossed in her words. Ana was obviously fascinated by the extent of commitment expected and beginning to understand the real meaning. The old lady continued her reading of Verse 3:

If I gave everything I have to the poor
and even sacrificed my body,
I could boast about it;
but if I didn’t love others,
I would have gained nothing.

“These words are to me the strongest manifestation of what God expects from us, my dear Ana. I want you to always remember them for the rest of your life. It says that even if you give away everything you have to the poor and even if you suffer and sacrifice, you would have gained nothing if you did not do so with love to others. You see my child, love to be truly meaningful, must come from your heart.”

At this point the old lady closed her eyes and smiling gently, was thanking God for the passage she was about to read. She knew it by heart, for she lived by its precepts for as long as she could remember. It had been and is the cornerstone of her life and prayed that God will help her to pass it on to her grand child. She then continued to read Verses 4-7 slowly and deliberately:

Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
It does not demand its own way.
It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice
but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith,
is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

“You will never ever see the meaning of love so beautifully spelled out anywhere else. Every word has a meaning and ever line has a message. If you live by this alone you will never fail to please Almighty God.
Love is patient and kind, it is neither jealous nor boastful, nor is it demanding or irritable. It does not hold grudges and does not gloat over other people’s failures. It rejoices when truth succeeds, and never ever gives up or loses faith. Above all it is always hopeful and will endure through all circumstances.
If you do anything in your life, learn to live by these precepts and you will never fail in God’s eyes. This is the real meaning of love and the foundation upon which Blessed Teresa of Calcutta devoted her life’s work. Let me quote one of her many saying on this subject. To me, it says it all:”

“It is not how much we do,

but how much love we put in the doing.

It is not how much we give,

but how much love we put in the giving.”

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