I would like to share my experiences with an elderly gentleman named Paul, whom I met in old folk’s home. It may give us some insight into how we celebrate the coming Christmas.

Uncle Paul has been journeying through life for the past 86 years. His vast experiences in   life cover the period during the British rule, Japanese occupation and Independent Malaya right till the present day Malaysia.

I  believe every human who has walked upon this earth, regardless of race or religion, young or old, rich or poor is a chest of treasure, experience and knowledge for us to be tapped for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us. Uncle Paul is undeniably such a marvellous creation of God and going through the experiences in his life adds further to the many lessons I have learnt in my own.

In a world that is so materialistic, competitive, so advanced in technology, life has become more robotic and devoid of empathy and compassion. When we are so busy toiling to make ends meet we have very little time for old people like Paul who we consider have nothing valuable to contribute to our advancements.

Uncle Paul lost his wife 20 years ago after a short illness and till today he misses her so dearly. At the twilight of life, his physical and mental faculties are beginning to fail him one by one; he has no permanent companion to cling on for support and reassurance. This is the time he wished so badly that his wife was around to share the pains of old age. His eyes swell with tears each time we talk about the darling in his life.  He says “if only my wife was around, I will not be here.”

As I myself grow older, and my children leaving home one by one, I seem to appreciate his experiences much more as they are becoming increasingly more relevant in my own life. I look around and see that many more, like Uncle Paul, are leading such solitude lives without a shoulder to lean on for solace. Am I heading for such a lonely life in the years to come? It is frightening to think I may be so.

The first time I met Uncle Paul I was impressed by his neatly groomed appearance and his punctuality. At every subsequent visit I  noticed he was always ready and waiting for me, neatly dressed in slacks, long sleeved shirt and polished shoes. According to his caretaker he gets ready hours before and sits in the porch eagerly waiting for me.

His punctuality puts many of us to shame who have very little regards for time and people. Punctuality is an indication of our eagerness to meet someone and it reflects the place we accord him in our hearts.

Another interesting thing I learnt from Uncle Paul is the deep respect he had for his late father. He still remembers and cherishes what his father had advised him when he was working in the government service as a young man.

He recalls what his late father had told him, “If you need money badly, you may borrow or even beg for it but never accept bribes however desperate you are”.

He adhered to his father’s advised so strictly that he could not afford to own his own house and lived in government quarters all his life. Now all alone at the age of 86, although physically fit, he does not have a place to call home and has to settle for an old folk’s home as his abode.

Today there is so much talk on fighting corruption that has become a major evil in our society.How can we expect to eradicate the evil when we parents and teachers do not teach the children to do so by word and deed.

When asked for his advice to the youngsters of today,  he says, “They should Honour their father and mother and everything else will be fine”. Reflecting on what he said and recalling my own experiences with many, I realised how right he was. He may be old and senile but he pushed forward a point precisely about a very important issue in our lives, which I agree determines whether we attain the happiness we all strive for. If we miss this important lesson then all our efforts to seek that happiness will all be in vain.

Despite all the successes we achieve very few can claim to be really happy.  According to Uncle Paul there is no way we can achieve happiness if we do not make our parents happy. This I have realised is very true. I whatever we do if we consider the feelings of our parents so as not to hurt them; happiness will automatically come to us. Happiness is within our reach, it is we who are not able to attain it because of our own selfishness.

Uncle Paul’s greatest fear, like all elderly people, is loneliness. This was particularly profound after the demise of his wife 20 years ago. He has the feeling that he is all alone in this cruel world. It is pathetic to realise that at the age of 86, staying in a home for the aged and surrounded by unfamiliar faces, Uncle Paul has very little to hope for except waiting to be united with his wife by the Lord.

Uncle Paul and many others like him have given us the opportunity to bring them some hope and cheer in their lives especially during this approaching season of Christmas. It is not money, gifts or food that they need most. All they asks for is the love of fellow humans like you and I, in particular their children and grandchildren, to share a little bit of our time to be with them during some of the special days in their lives.

Dr.Chris Anthony                          � �                             � �                             � �                             � �                          25 November 2008

Of late I have been following closely the debate over politics and religion among the readers of Herald in its letters column. There was widespread criticism of the writer who expressed that the Church should restrict itself to purely worship and not get involved in politics. The vast majority of the readers rightly were of the view that politics and religion go hand in hand and cannot be divorced from our lives as Christians.

Politics is defined as “the activities of the government, members of law-making organizations or people who try to influence the way a country is governed” and religion is “the belief in and worship of God or any such system of belief and worship”.

As Christians we believe that Jesus is the son of God and whatever he taught was the absolute truth. As he was God himself there were no flaws whatsoever in his teachings which remains relevant throughout the ages. As man he led an exemplary life for all of us to see, indicating what we should and should not do during our life on earth.

Jesus taught us many things through his preaching, parables and most importantly by his examples. His teachings were very simple to be comprehended by all but we had made them so complex to become beyond the comprehension of many even highly educated people. Today we have to spend many precious years to try to understand what Jesus really taught us.

All his teachings can be simplified into his 2 great commandments: Firstly, love God with all your heart and mind and secondly, love your neighbor as yourself.

There is an emerging trend today, among followers of all faiths including Christians, to indulge themselves in prayer, fasting, pilgrimages and all forms of rituals to please God but failing to recognize the plight of those around us. They seem to be just interested in worship but not service. It is people like these who would say that the Church must be exclusively involved in worship not service.

As the followers of Christ we should not only love God but love our neighbor as well. Jesus had made it absolutely clear that we cannot love God if we do not love our fellow men. How can we say we love our neighbor when we do nothing when they are persecuted and ignore their cries for help? Wouldn’t we want others to sympathesize and come to our aid when we are in such a situation?

If we truly love fellow men then it is equally important to ensure that our system of governance is also tailored to impart that love to the people. It is our duty as lovers of God to ensure that the government we help to form exhibit that love for fellow men, by catering for their basic needs, alleviating their impoverished states and granting them justice and freedom.

Discrimination in the any form, racial, religious, social or political is unjust, so is denial of basic human rights and freedom, and these must be resisted peacefully at all costs. The abuse of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is just one of those injustices in our country. If we really love God then we are duty-bound to defend not just ours but the rights of our fellow men as well. But as Christians this resistance and protest must be absolutely peaceful and with the expression of love, not hatred, for the “enemy” that perpetrates the injustice.

Politics and religion are inter-twined and cannot be divorced from each other. If we do so we would be separating worship from service that is contrary to the teaching of Jesus. The good moral values propagated by religion should be used as the basis for good governance that includes accountability, morality, compassion and love in serving the people.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Many people pass us by in life but only certain individuals leave a lasting and vivid impression in our minds. Those who impress us during our childhood seem to leave a permanent imprint in our memory. Sometimes these memories are pleasant but at times they can be bitter and disturbing and haunts us for the rest of our lives.

As the years pass, as we grow up we may encounter many obstacles in our struggles to seek success and happiness in our lives. Many of us become very successful but the memories of these individuals who had impressed us during our childhood remain vivid in our minds.

One such person to me is Mdm.Nayagam, a grand old lady from the parish of St.Joseph,Batu Gajah.Her recorded age is 90years but according to her children she may be100years old and they recently celebrated her 100th.birthday with friends and relatives.

At a time when women rarely go to work but stay at home to take care of the family and children, she was forced to work as a hospital attendant at the age of 35,which she did till her retirement at the age of 55 in 1973. She was widowed at the age of 53 but as her husband was sickly and of little help in supporting the family, she single-handedly struggled to bring up her 9 children, one of them mentally and physically retarded from birth due to Down’s syndrome.

Children with Down’s syndrome rarely survive until adulthood. It is notable that her handicapped son, fondly called Benny is still very fit and lives with her at an age of 57.His well being speaks volumes for the love and care she had given him all these years.

I used to know Mdm.Nayagam from my childhood days as her sons were my schoolmates and we studied and played together in the neighborhood. Even at that age I was impressed with two main characteristics that she possessed - her profound faith in God and her unselfish love for her handicapped son.

Her very strong faith in God was a pillar of strength and source of inspiration in her struggles to bring up her 9 her children, including Benny. It was this unshakable faith in God that provided her solace in her times of peril and solitude. I remember her going to church for weekday mass almost every day without fail. During those days in the fifties and sixties going to church was not an easy thing. The mass used to start at 6.00 am and she had to walk about 3-4 miles every morning which she religiously did without fail. Sickness and rain did not stop her from attending mass and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. I must admit that Mdm.Nayagam’s devotion to the Eucharist was mainly instrumental in influencing many of us as children,to attend daily mass without fail.

Many elder parishioners and surviving priests and brothers who had worked at St. Joseph ’s Church know this practice of Mdm.Nayagam. The most prominent person who would bear witness to this is none other than our Archbishop Murphy Pakiam, whom she knew when he was a boy. The Archbishop, who has visited her on several occasions, does not fail to drop by to see her whenever he is in Batu Gajah. Her commitment to God was so deep and it never diminished with time until she her legs started to fail her in her eighties.

Today she may be physically frail and unfit but spiritually strong. She continues to recite her rosary and receives her holy communion every week at her house. She keeps praying for her children. Throughout her life she had always looked up to the Church whenever she had problems and she was never turned down. The Church doors were always open, both physically and spiritually unlike today when they are closed most of the time for various reasons. We have come to a stage when we have to even lock up Jesus in the tabernacle for fear of being hijacked or stolen.

The second characteristic of her that impressed me was her unselfish love for her handicapped son. Despite all her troubles she never neglected this unfortunate son. In fact she paid special attention to him. Bathing, dressing, feeding and washing up a normal child is already a big task. You can imagine doing these for a handicapped child for fifty over years. It was a tormenting task but Mdm.Nayagam accomplished all that unselfishly for the love she had for him.

She did not see the chores in those daily routines nor did she curse God for giving her a handicapped son but she saw God in him, which took away any pain and agony of that task.

Today she sits on a wheelchair. She may be senile and her memory has failed her but you can see the calm, serenity and satisfaction in her face. She conveys a look of contentment for having lived a life of dedication to God. She had been a true servant of the Lord for almost a century.

At this advanced age, Mdm.Nayagam may be of no use to anyone in this highly materialistic world but she remains a shining example of what a follower of Christ should be – humble and ever willing to accept the challenges in life with full trust in Him.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Only fulfilling its obligation

The government’s decision to issue show cause letter to the Catholic weekly Herald is regrettable. Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar’s directive to the tabloid to stick strictly to purely religious issues is unfair. His contention that religion is all about rituals and the adherence by its followers is a myopic view of tenets of every major religion in the world. Spirituality is inter-twined closely with social charity and they cannot be divorced from each other.

Rituals may be an important part of a religion but rituals alone without a commitment for the well being of mankind would give little credence to a particular faith. The basic and fundamental teaching of all religions is the promotion of love for fellow men, regardless of the race, creed, social and political status. Fighting for justice and a concern for the underprivileged is a fulfillment of this love for mankind. It is of utmost importance for the followers of a particular faith to adhere to this fundamental rule besides the rituals of their particular religion.

Politics deals with fairness, justice and the rule of law. If these are tampered, especially by those in power, for any reason, then it is the duty of every citizen, regardless of his faith, to speak up against such injustices, otherwise one would be failing in his duty to the nation. It should be the duty of the various religions to emphasize to their followers this important duty to the nation, which is also a religious duty. While politicization of religion is morally wrong, nevertheless religion itself has a duty to infuse the much needed morality into politics.

Herald should not be just an instrument to provide information on religious issues only as proposed by Syed Hamid but be a means to highlight the injustices in society as well as obtaining feedback from the people on their various needs from time to time. Being a Christian publication Herald, is only fulfilling its responsibility to its congregation and has always acted within the laws of the country.

Christianity, like all other faiths, besides emphasizing on spirituality also places great importance on social obligations to the people and it would be unfair to restrict Herald’s coverage to purely religious rituals. It would only be fair and just that the government withdraw its show cause letters and allow Herald to continue with its noble tasks of nation building in our multi-racial and multi-religious country.

At the same time just as Herald should be allowed to voice its opinion on the various issues that are seen as unjust, it should also in turn be receptive to constructive criticisms from its own members from within and without. Unless it can accept such critical comments with magnanimity it does not have the audacity to criticize the government for its failures.

Jesus himself was a great defender of justice especially justice for the poor and underprivileged. He fought the perpetrators of this injustice by his own peculiar way by his unjust death on the cross for what he called unselfish love. As his followers we too are asked to fight for justice wherever it is breached.

As Catholics let us take the lead,let us become the shining examples for others, by living our lives in accordance with the teachings of Christ. Let justice, love and goodwill be the guiding principles in our dealings with fellow men. Let us ourselves be more tolerant to dissenting views from our own members and especially from those of other faiths. The only way we can promote inter-ethnic harmony in a country like ours, is to have an extra-ordinary love for those different from us. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbor, especially our ‘enemies’.

Dr.Chris Anthony

]]> http://drchris.stblogs.com/2008/08/21/no-reason-to-penalize-herald/feed/ http://drchris.stblogs.com/2008/07/21/clery-sex-scandal-church-losing-credibility/ http://drchris.stblogs.com/2008/07/21/clery-sex-scandal-church-losing-credibility/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:41:37 +0000 drchris http://drchris.stblogs.com/2008/07/21/clery-sex-scandal-church-losing-credibility/

Where is the Church leading us?
I have been following closely the Pope’s visit to the United States some months ago and now his visit to Australia for the World Youth Day. Thanks to the advances in Information Technology and the international media for effectively bringing the news live to all corners of the world.It was refreshing to note that huge crowds flocked to be with the Holy Father wherever he went.
Although both these visits were considered successes, they nevertheless highlighted the biggest problem our Catholic Church is facing today - the credibility in it’s its role as the guardian and promoter of the teachings of Jesus.

The wide-spread clergy sex-scandals have greatly tarnished the credibility of the Church all over the world. It is distressing that wherever the Pope went the ghosts of these scandals trail behind and continued to haunt him. He had to apologize to the victims and the people wherever he went.

His much exalted position as the Vicar of Christ is being slowly eroded by these scandals and as Catholics we are deeply disturbed by the declining ‘moral command’ of the Holy Father in the world today.

Jesus had entrusted His flock to the clergy. The clergy represent the shepherds who are to guide and guard the sheep at all times. When the sheep go astray, we have the shepherds to go out to search and bring them back to the flock but when the shepherds themselves go astray, who is there to bring them back?

It may be timely for us to reflect on some fundamentals of our faith.There is no doubt that the teachings of Jesus are still relevant today.In fact they would remain relevant till the end of times.Our Church was once very relevant in the lives of mankind.Is it still relevant?

In a world that is so materialistic and immoral,sometimes I wonder where we are heading to.Where is our Church leading us?Are we in the right path?We call ourselves Christians,the followers of Christ, but are we really following the teachings of Jesus in our own lives?

Dr.Chris Anthony

The Church must be involved in the people’s struggles

 
With the escalating cost of living the ordinary worker is under tremendous stress to make ends meet. Catering for the needs of a family is becoming more and more difficult by the day. Even basic needs like housing, education and healthcare have become beyond the means of a vast the majority of wage earners.

The government to a great extent has abdicated its responsibilities to provide these basic needs by its privatization policies. Rampant corruption, abuse of power and non-accountability at all levels of the government machinery have contributed to this unhealthy situation where the rich are getting richer and the poor get poorer.

Obtaining quality health care in particular has become a great burden for the people. Emergency medical treatment can run into thousands which few can afford. Instead of providing an affordable quality health care, the government has embarked on a national health insurance scheme which would only deny the poor access to prompt treatment even in dire emergencies.

Of late we are witnessing our own Catholics being caught in such desperate situations where they are unable to obtain adequate and prompt medical treatment due to financial constraints. We have those with major traumatic injuries needing proper care which they can never obtain. There are those awaiting major surgery, dialysis and other costly medical treatment that never come their way. It is pitiful that some of them die while waiting for such definitive treatment. Very conveniently we pass this of as fate or will of God. 

They are desperate and have no one to turn to for help, not even the church, where they have been active workers for many years. No one, including the parish priest and the Church organisations, come forward to offer a helping hand. We may have the resources but make it difficult for the ordinary person to obtain the funds. Many are willing to offer prayers and moral support but few are in positions to offer financial.   

The lame excuse often given is that the Church cannot help as it is afraid that such generous gestures may act as a precedent for abuses by others in the future. The Church encourages others to help but itself not willing to do anything. Is it morally right to withhold help to save a life for fear of the unknown future?

There is no doubt the Church is in a position to offer aid, both financial and moral, to those in need, at least her own parishioners. I am sure setting up of an emergency fund at diocese or even parish level will not pose much a problem as the Catholic Church, with its large number of generous faithful, has the wealth and expertise to do so. What is really needed is the will to help which is sadly missing.

The Church collects money for so many reasons, I am sure helping the parishioners in need would be a worthy cause which would get the whole-hearted support of the people. When a medical tragedy suddenly strikes, the whole family is thrown into chaos. Financial constraints make the effects of the tragedy even worse. A little help will go a long way to ease the burden of those inflicted with such serious ailments and allow them to get back to normal as soon as possible.

It is time for our Church to seriously review its role in the lives of its congregation. It should take   pains to understand and appreciate their plight. It cannot and should not alienate itself from the struggles of the people; rather it must get involved in them if it wants to remain relevant in their lives which have become so challenging in the modern world.

Dr.Chris Anthony                                                                                                                                                              

Plight of those in old folks homes

The mother is the most revered person throughout the history of mankind. Mothers are revered and adored, showered with affection, and shown great respect. She is held in high esteem in all cultures and she is considered next to God in importance by all religions. In fact Islam teaches that “Paradise is at the feet of your mother” and Hindus regard her as a goddess of love. A Jewish Proverb says “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers”.

All wise men of the past seen to concur that a man who does not please his mother it whatever he does will never find true happiness in his own life. From my own experiences over five decades, I can vouch for the truth of that statement.

Many of us may be contemplating how best to celebrate Mother’s day this year. It may be pertinent for us to take this day as an opportunity to reflect on the numerous physical, mental and spiritual problems, that our parents encounter, especially the very old and infirm, as they outlive their usefulness to us and our family.

With materialism becoming a way of life, the care of the elderly is becoming an increasingly common problem for all. Young married couples have to work so hard to make ends meet that they have practically no time for the elderly who demand for more attention. Homes for the aged which were a taboo before are now being accepted as the only practical choice these days. May be on this auspicious day we should reflect on how some of our mothers may be languishing in such old folks’ homes. 

I had the opportunity to visit some of these elderly people in such homes where I got to understand two important features of these people who are in the twilight of their lives. Firstly none of them are happy to be in such homes separated from their families and secondly the extraordinary love they have for their children, however negligent they may be.

Most of them in these homes appear to be happy as they are provided with all their physical needs, food shelter and the company of other residents. However when we get to know them more personally, we will be surprised to realize the agony and pain these old folks are enduring in silence during their stay in such homes. This is particularly true for those who are mentally alert but physically infirm. 

Despite all their needs are being met yet we can sense they were missing something in their lives. They long for something that money cannot buy, something that no relative or friend can give – love and affection of their own children. Yes, they long for the company of their children and grandchildren. 

In the twilight of their lives, it is not food, shelter, comforts or gifts that matters most. What really matters is the love and company of their own children. These elderly people in old folk’s homes generally are lonely despite being surrounded by people and regularly visited by friends and relatives. 

As we step into our sixties, we begin to experience a strange fear, a fear for loneliness. We tend to cling onto our children and we want them to be with us always. If we become inflicted with some illness this fear is greatly exaggerated and I can imagine the agony we will undergo when our own children at that stage in our lives neglect us as they would be too preoccupied with their own lives as we are with ours now.

The second observation that touched me was the unshakable love these oldies have for their children. They may be unhappy with their children for having sent them there but they never let them down in front of others. They are eager to go back home but they do not mind bearing all the pain and agony of staying in a old folk’s home  just because they do not want to trouble their children by becoming a burden to them. It is a pity that many of us do not appreciate this boundless love of our elderly parents for us despite all our acts of ‘cruelty’ towards them.

There is no doubt that the best place for elderly is their home but sending our aged parents to old folks home does not necessarily mean we are ungrateful and cruel. What is important is to provide them with the best we can and give them the reassurance that we are there for them when they need us.

Frequent visits to them and bringing them back home whenever possible will go a long way in reassuring them of our love and concern. Another important thing is to encourage the grandchildren to be close with them as much as possible. We must remember our aged parents are our responsibility and ours alone. Relatives and friends may help but they cannot replace the own   children.

It is easy and exciting to be with our parents during happier times however it is more important for us to be there for them when they really need us. When they are seriously ill, handicapped, and bed-ridden or on their death beds are we there for them to give them the moral, physical and spiritual support that they need? All they may need is just our consoling words, our loving touch or a hug but are we physically there to render that?

On this Mothers’ Day let us remember our mothers who may be languishing and yearning for our love in old folks’ homes. Let us find some place for them in our hearts and some time to bring them back to our homes where they can once again experience the love, affection and the company of her loved ones at least for a while. For some of them this may be the last time they ever return to their homes.

As Christians we dedicate the month of May to our heavenly Mother Mary. We honor her with meditating on her life in the mysteries of the rosary. As we do that let us also make some time to reflect on our relationship with our own mother on earth. Do we love her like Jesus loved his mother?

Dr.Chris Anthony

We are in the season of Lent which is a time to reflect on the sufferings and death of Christ, which is generally called the Passion of Christ. The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion.   

The Passion is based primarily on biblical accounts of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. From these accounts we know Jesus was falsely accused, convicted and sentenced, not by fine or imprisonment, but to death by crucifixion, the severest form of sentence a man can possibly get.As if that was not enough,before he was crucified he was humiliated,severely persecuted, whipped, scourged, crowned with thorns, dragged up a hill carrying a heavy cross, stripped off his clothes and then nailed to the cross, watched by many, like a hardcore criminal.

What crime did Jesus commit that deserved to be punished in that most inhumane way? It was for proclaiming the TRUTH. Yes, Jesus was tortured, humiliated and killed not for lying, corruption, rape or murder but for telling the truth, the truth which caused so much fear among those in positions of power and comfort. He was a threat to their social security and had to be eliminated at costs.  

Throughout the journey of his passion, what was astonishing was the way Jesus humbly accepted his punishment which he knew was unfair and unjust. However he accepted all that willingly without fighting back or defending himself. He did not show even the slightest anger or retaliation for being victimized, falsely accused and sentenced by the kangaroo court that tried him.

He did not get angry with the Jews who accused him, Pilate who sentenced him and the Roman soldiers who executed him. Instead he had the great magnanimity to forgive all of them who took turns to insult torture and kill him. It was the highest level of humility that no ordinary man can have.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to offer the other cheek when struck on one. He had demonstrated that he really meant what he said by accepting his Passion so willingly.

We call ourselves Christians, the followers of Christ, but how Christ-like are we in accepting humiliation and pain for speaking the truth? How Christ-like are we when we are accused of offences we did not commit? Will we be humble enough not to strike back and forgive those who victimize us?

What lesson does the Passion of Christ provide us in our own lives? We too in own small ways are often falsely accused, humiliated and punished for standing up for truth, by the authorities in the government, our places of work, families and even in the church. When we are denied our rights we fight back fiercely, sometimes with vengeance. We organize protests, demonstrations, hurl verbal abuses and resort to legal recourse. We may even resort to violence and wars to redeem our lost rights.

Many of us behave like the Jews who made false accusations against Jesus and wanted to get rid of him. We too make false accusations against those who are against us in order to get them out of our way. We resort to all forms of high handed tactics to succeed. We fail to realize that our efforts cause so much pain and suffering to the person involved and his family.

There may be others among us, especially those in positions of power, who behave like Pilate, refusing to stand up to public pressure for fear of losing our power. Due to our greed for power, we succumb to the wrongful demands of the public and wash our hands of the problems of those in need.  

Like the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus, there are many among us, who carry out the execution of others without empathy or compassion. Even if we know it is wrong, we carry them out anyway for fear of the authorities or some material rewards.

As we make the weekly way of the cross and read the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, let us reflect on the relevance in our own lives, of Jesus’ actions during his agonizing times. Let his Passion be something just not to sympathize or be sorrowful about but a real lesson for us as we encounter the many challenges in our lives. Christ’s humility and forgiveness even towards his adversaries is infinite which is what not just Christianity but humanity is all about.

Dr.Chris Anthony                          � �                             � �                             � �                             � �                             � �      Butterworth

There was once a holy man who worked as a church keeper in a small town. He devoted much of his life to serving God in the church. He spent most of his time praying in the church and attending to those in need whenever they ring the church bell. His ambition in life was to see God one day which he never achieved even after many years of dedicated and loyal service to Him.

One day he was suddenly granted his wish that he prayed for all his life. While he was praying in the church, suddenly Jesus appeared before him. Filled with joy and happiness, he fell onto his knees and he started to talk to Him. Before he could start his conversation proper the church bell rang indicating there was someone who needs help. 

The church keeper requested Jesus to wait for him as he rushed out to attend to the person who rang the bell. There was a dirty looking beggar at the church entrance who wanted food and some clothes. He quickly went to get him some food and some old clothes from the store. Preoccupied with feeding the beggar and giving out some clothes to him, he forgot that Jesus was waiting for him inside the church. After settling with the beggar he quickly ran back into the church. To his surprise Jesus was still waiting for him.

He apologetically thanked Jesus for patiently waiting for him. He was more surprised at what Jesus replied.

“I waited for you not because of your devotion to me but because of your concern for the poor beggar. You left me to unselfishly serve someone in need.”

With those words Jesus blessed and left the holy man.

The man recalled what he read in the bible many years ago “I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mathew 25:40).He then fully understood those words of Jesus which he took for granted all his life.

This story illustrates what happens to us daily in our lives. Every day we pray earnestly for God to come to us to solve our problems. We do all sort of things to reach Him – pray, fast, attend mass every Sunday without fail, and receive all the Sacraments and even travel all over in pilgrimage. Despite all these good deeds very often we get disappointed that He does not come to us at all.

Preoccupied with serving God we forget that He is waiting for us to in disguise in those around us. He is waiting to be served in our inconsiderate spouse, rebellious children, envious colleagues, stubborn subordinates, the poor, the marginalized and even our enemies. Yes, whatever we do for one of these least brothers of His, we do it for Him.

Dr.Chris Anthony