From Father Varghese's Desk
From Father Varghese’s Desk
Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: Today my best friend slapped me in the face. They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to bathe. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: Today my best friend saved my life. The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied: “When someone harms us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does a kindness for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it. Learn to write your hurts in the sand, and to carve your blessings in stone.
How are your Lenten sacrifices going? Usually by this time we’re beginning to feel the weight of them—or maybe have given up. All of us struggle with the good intentions of Ash Wednesday, and some (perhaps many) of us fail. The important thing is to get-up and try again! God loves our efforts and is ready to help us to keep going or start anew when we fail. Keep the faith—stay the course—try again! God is blessing you through it all! Again, I strongly encourage you to attend daily Mass. The Eucharist is the most powerful force on earth—and the greatest gift we could ever receive! Strengthening the presence of Jesus in your heart brings peace and joy beyond imagining. Come and see—you won’t be disappointed.
Have a Good Week and God Bless
Father Varghese