THE CHRISTMAS COAT

 *The Christmas Coat*

_An old man fumbled around one day_

_In a women’s clothing store,_

_He’d found his wife a Christmas coat_

_And was headed for the door……_

_When he bumped into a little boy_

_That looked like he was lost,_

_And he said, “Mister, can you help me_

_Find out how much something costs?’_

_‘Here it is almost Christmas_

_And the nights are gettin cold,_

_Winter time is on us_

_And my mom don’t have a coat,_

_"I’ve been workin' for the neighbors_

_And saving for some time...”_

_And in his tiny outstretched hand_

_Was a dollar and a dime._

_The man's gaze went from that big-eyed boy_

_To that pretty Christmas coat,_

_And he finally cleared away the lump_

_That had gathered in his throat,_

_He said, “Son, that’s just what this coat costs;_

_We’re lucky that we found ‘er”_

_And he turned around and gave a wink_

_To the lady at the counter._

_She put it in a pretty box_

_And wrapped it up just so,_

_And went off in the back  and found_

_A big red Christmas bow,_

_The boy said, “I thank you for your help, sir_

_And I kindly thank you, ma’am;_

_I hope y’all are gonna have a big Christmas_

_"'Cause now I know *I* am!”_

_Well, the old man walked home busted_

_Except for the dollar and the dime,_

_Thinkin' he’d just have to buy_

_The coat another time._

_He told his wife that Christmas that year_

_Wouldn’t be much fun,_

_And he gently took her in his arms_

_And told her what he’d done._

_She said, “Why, you old softie,_

_I wouldn’t trade you for a farm,_

_I’ve got two or three old coats with me_

_And your love to keep me warm!“_

_She put that money in a matchbox_

_And placed it beneath their tree,_

_And said, “That's the grandest, sweetest gift_

_You’ve ever given me!”_

_The years went by, as years will do_

_When people are in love,_

_Their marriage was a golden bond_

_That was forged by God above;_

_Then one day came some bitter news_

_That filled his heart with fright_

_The doctor told the old man’s wife:_

_She was going to lose her sight!_

_He said, “There’s an operation we can do_

_But it puts me on the spot…._

_'Cause it’s quite a complex procedure_

_And it’s going to cost a lot!”_

_The old man said, “Doctor, I’m a failure_

_I’ve made no preparation……_

_We just don’t have the money_

_For that kind of operation!”_

_The doctor had the strangest look_

_And he sat there for a while,_

_And then he slowly nodded_

_And he broke out in a smile….._

_He said “Why, sir, you can’t fool me,_

_You’re a very wealthy man!_

_You long ago invested_

_In the world’s best savings plan!”_

_I’ll see she gets the best of care_

_She’s going to be just fine!_

_And the total cost to you, old friend_

_Is a dollar and a dime.”_

_The old man stared in disbelief_

_Then he recognized that smile….._

_The one he’d seen those years ago_

_On a loving, thoughtful child….._

_The doctor said, “What you gave me that day_

_Was more than just a coat,_

_You gave me the gift of giving,_

_And you gave my mother hope!_

_My mother’d been mistreated_

_Neglected and abused,_

_But she gave life just one more chance_

_And it was all because of you!_ ❤️❤️

_Now every year, she takes that coat_

_And lays it beneath our tree,_

_It represents to us the things_

_That Christmas ought to be._

_She says that when we leave this world_

_For a better home someday,_

_The only things that we’ll take with us_

_Are the things we gave away!”_

❤️🧚🏽‍♀️❤️

 WANT TO BE A SAINT?????

GO TO BED ON TIME...

ORDINARY IN AN EXTRAORDINARY WAY!

On one occasion the great English writer, scholar and saint, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was asked on how one could become a saint. This holy but very practical man gave a short but clear recipe for holiness--- here we have it for your own motivation to pursue holiness!

First, he said:  “Get to bed on time!”  This may take many by surprise, but on second thought it should not. Why? If we do not get sufficient rest our body will be tired; we will be dragging ourselves through the day. Most likely we will be impatient and end up by being short and snapping at people, especially those with whom we live!  Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and must be treated properly through proper rest!

Second, Newman stated that upon waking we should offer our first thoughts to God, and consecrate the day to His service.  Today we might call this the Morning Offering.  In this prayer we offer all to Jesus though the Immaculate Heart of Mary. May all our words, deeds, and even intentions be done for the honor and glory of God and for the salvation of souls.

Third, Cardinal Newman suggested that we eat to the honor and glory of God.  St. Paul puts it this way: “Whether you eat or drink do all for the honor and glory of God.”  When we eat may we never be moved by passion and gluttony but always be directed by faith and reason!

Fourth, with regard to immoral and impure thoughts—we all struggle with them in one form or another—they should be rejected immediately. Are bad thoughts sins, many wonder!  Once a priest asked a man if he entertained bad thoughts.  The man quickly responded:  “No they entertained me!”  As soon as we are aware of immodest or indecent thoughts we must reject and expel them from our mind as quickly as possible through a short and fervent prayer and a strong act of the will!

Fifth, Blessed John Henry recommended that we make a fervent Eucharistic visit. Remember that he lived in Protestant England in the 19th century where there was not an abundance of Catholic Churches and not too many daily Masses. For that reason a fervent visit to the Eucharistic Lord would serve to keep the heart’s love enkindled for the Lord Jesus.

Sixth, pray the Rosary. This wonderful prayer Cardinal Newman encouraged to be prayed on a daily basis!   The saints, the Popes and Our Lady herself have all strongly recommended the daily recitation of the most Holy Rosary. In 1917 Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to the three shepherd children—Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta-.   Every time she visited she Our Lady exhorted the recitation of the daily Rosary.  St. Pope John Paul II in his letter “The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary” likewise encouraged the Rosary and for two specific intentions: for world peace and for the salvation of the family.  In this document “The Rosary priest” (Father Patrick Peyton) was quoted:  “The family that prays together stays together.”

Seventh, and lastly Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman spread the icing on the top of the cake of holiness with these words:  “Try to do the ordinary duties of one’s daily life with extraordinary love.”  If this is done faithfully and on a daily basis we have a short program and recipe for holiness.   This is the essence of the spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux. God does not pay so much attention to the greatness of the exterior action but rather of the purity of intention by which the action is carried out. St. Therese also affirmed this spiritual concept with these words:  “Pick up a pin for the love of God and you can save a soul.”  

Remember that Jesus paid more attention and praised the humble widow throwing in two small copper coins (worth very little economically) than the huge sums of money thrown in the collection boxes by the vain and proud and self-seeking!

HOLINESS IN THE SIMPLE AND HIDDEN WAY!  

Hopefully this simple recipe of holiness of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman can serve as a motivation and stimulus for you and me to seek the reason for our existence—holiness in this life which will terminate in eternal happiness in heaven!

LIVE LIFE PROGRAM

 

Yesterday, 22 Oct, feast day of St Pope John Paul II, the MFC community organised a one-day pro-life programme at JPII complex, Margao. 

It started at 10 am sharp but we reached only by 11 am (as we had to bring Christine with us and she had catechism Mass to attend at 9 am). 

Anyway, the first talk had made headway when we entered the hall, with Gavin speaking on the second marital vow - total and faithful. He had already touched upon the 'free' aspect. After elaborating upon how marriage has to be 💯 giving and 'till death do us part', he then went on to unravel the 'fruitful' part of marriage which then led into the remaining topics of the day. 

The culture of death that permeates society today even as far as the judicial system was unwrapped with the use of the acronym DEATH. 

DIVORCE

EUTHANASIA

ABORTION

TOTAL POPULATION CONTROL

HOMOSEXUAL UNION.

I do not think it would be proper to go into details on this forum but I will share a few pointers that I jotted down. 

DIVORCE: 

The lies that we hear with regards to this are

1) I can continue living after marriage just as I did before marriage. 

2) Divorce is okay if it is mutual.

3) Sex in marriage is my right.

4) The goal of sex is pleasure. 

The speaker Beverly busted these lies with counter-arguments. 

If there is an abusive relationship, a couple should take support of the MFC community and seek counseling. Temporary separation is permitted by the church till the marriage is restored to its former sanctity as per the Catholic perspective. 

Takeaway: 

THE PRAYERS, SIGHS AND TEARS OF HOLY PARENTS ARE THE SEEDS THAT  PRODUCE SAINTLY CHILDREN. 

EUTHANASIA 

Lie here is

1) Life and death is in our hands. 

What can we do? - provide monetary assistance, care and encourage them to offer their suffering for redemption of souls. 

ABORTION 

It is

- not healthcare.

- not a fundamental right.

- not women empowerment.

Here, I would like to say that the videos were very strong and showed us exactly what does happen with various types of abortion procedures. The i-pill, the abortion pills, iuds, condoms and finally the surgical methods used all destroy the marriage eventually. 

Late term abortions upto 28 weeks of gestation is now legal in USA. The lies that pro-choice mothers are fed are

1) Life does not begin at conception.

2) Life is dependent on the mother's choice. 

3) Termination of life is ok if the pregnancy is unplanned or unwanted. 

These lies were busted by the speaker.

Exception of rape or incest victims were also discussed. 

Takeaway

TWO WRONGS DO NOT MAKE RIGHT. 

TOTAL POPULATION CONTROL 

Lies here are:

1) Too many children 

2) Limited resources.

3) Children are a burden. 

Sheldon explained how the Hum Do Humare Do sterilization programme in India systematically tried to reduce population, an endeavour funded by World Bank, International Planned Parenthood Federation and UNFPA, USAID, etc. 

Today, couples DINK and DILDO. They contracept. They abort when contraception fails. They are just not OPEN TO LIFE. 

The reality is that we have a very low replacement rate. Too many children are not being born. 

The second lie (that there is not enough food) was also busted. Survey shows that almost 1/3 of world food resources get wasted either by spoilage or ineffective PDS (public distribution system). 

Children are not a burden. On the contrary, they teach us responsibility, make us more empathetic, help us learn how to multitask, etc. 

IVF, the evil that has reared its ugly head, is nothing but man playing God. With it , other evils like surrogacy, egg, sperm sharing, sex trafficking, human experiments, all contribute to a world that is pushing God out of the procreation process. 

The Catholic answer to contraception is Natural Family Planning. It is open to life and not another way of contraception. It bonds the couple so it helps the marriage in fulfilling all the three vows. 

Takeaway

A CHILD IS A GIFT FROM GOD, NOT YOUR RIGHT. 

HOMOSEXUAL UNION 

Lies associated with this are:

1) I was born this way 

2) Gender is a social construct. 

3) There are 72+ genders. 

Attraction or feelings are not your identity. Your identity comes from God. 

When we accept the homosexual lies, we cannot love in an authentic way. Temptations always come but when we give in, we sin. 

What can you do to help genuinely? Reach out and listen to them. Help them come to repentance and to get rehabilitation via support groups. 

In conclusion, 

CHOOSE LIFE (Deut 30:19)

- Live a life of prayer and the Sacraments.

- Support environments that help women and children.

- Educate yourself and use social media powerfully to spread awareness.

- Reach out to those with loved ones on life support.

- Advocate adoption over abortion. 

Mime depicting the theme of DEATH on MFC Family Day (19 Nov 2023). 

 

TAMY TALKS

Many a times, I wonder why God made me. And why He placed me where I am today. Don't get me wrong. I'm not dissatisfied with my life. In fact, I love it. But sometimes, I want more. I want to do more and I can't. So I ask Him "What more can I do in the place You have planted me?". 

Right now, you can see me so tall and majestic but when I was created, I was so tiny that you could fit me in the crevice of your palm. I was a fat round baby. I fell from my mother's body onto the moist, fertile ground and I grew a tail that burrowed into the earth. I  sucked up the water there greedily and soon emerged high up above the ground into a tiny shoot. 

I am Tamy. I bear fruit that is very tasty. People pluck my fruits to use in their curries and chutneys. Do you know who I am?

I have been growing and growing and growing for over decades now. I think I could almost touch the sky. If God is up there, maybe I will get to shake hands with Him one day. But for now, all I desire is to serve Him.

Since God did not give me feet, I cannot move around like the birds that nest in my branches or the squirrels that run up and down my trunk. I watch them and envy their freedom. They have so much to do and can move around like lightning to get it done. Me, all I can do is shake my branches and drop my leaves. 

Once, a poor mendicant came wandering into the forest where I live. He was tired and famished. He stopped under me for some rest. I was glad to be of help in giving him shade. He was grateful and sighed in relief. He opened his bag and brought out a small loaf of bread and a flask of water. 

I felt sorry for him so I dropped one of my fruits at his feet. He looked up with amazement and thanked me. Although my fruit was sour, he savoured it with relish along with his dry piece of bread. What a humble man!

A week later, in the dead of the night, four robbers, fleeing from the policemen, hid in our forest. One of them, seeing a hole in my belly, stuck the bundle of money into it. They were caught and, for almost a week, that money stayed in my belly. 

Then one day, that same mendicant came again and he sat under my shade. I longed to tell him about the money but alas! I have no tongue. How shall I give him that money? I got an idea. 

I popped one of my fruits and the seeds fell on the man. He looked up and I popped another fruit, aiming in such a way that one of the seeds fell into my belly. The man thought a fruit had fallen and put his hand inside - and found the bundle of money. 

Imagine his joy when he opened the bundle! He couldn't believe his eyes. He came up to me and hugged me and thanked me profusely. I was so delighted to be of help. God had shown me how I could help others just where he had planted me. 

So now, I look out for opportunities to help others. Every day, I allow the squirrels to run up and down and they love it. They use my belly to nest their babies. My leaves, when they fall, create excellent mulch which nourishes my babies. I am told even the air I breathe out is good for other animals and humans. 

The tribal people of the forest come to collect my fruit from time to time. I give freely. They also collect the branches that break from my trunk for firewood. Never once have they ever cut my branches. 

I hope that God will allow me to continue to bless the forest and its people and animals for as long as I live. And I pray that some greedy treecutter doesn't come to murder me before that. God made me and only he has the right to take my life from me. Till He does, let me serve Him where He has planted me.

I AM FREE!

There's a cool breeze blowing through my insides, carrying me out into the deep blue sea. It is exhilarating! To be free spirited is the ultimate nirvana. Many crave what I have but can never achieve it because they are hooked up to something or someone. But me, I AM FREE. 

You are probably wondering - who is he? Ok, no three guesses. Let me tell you my story. I am Gino. Short for Gyanprakash. Now, for those who don't know Hindi, that's Knowledge Illuminator. Still wondering? Ok. I am a page in a notebook. Or at least, I was a page in a book. 

My origins are in the rainforest of India. They didn't certify me so I really don't know which one it was. I just know that me and several thousand others came from one tree that was cut down in a rainforest. The wood of the tree was pulped, treated, bleached and then rolled and dried in some paper mill in Ludhiana. They made huge bundles of the paper. Then a machine cut us into bits and I was born. 

I was totally blank at that point. They then sent me through another machine to draw blue lines on my body. At the top and along my left side, they also put red lines. I came to know later that those were margins. I thought they were just making me look pretty!

And so, I was ready to join my other comrades into making a notebook. To keep us all secured, the machine bound us with tough bodyguards called cardboard. We were stitched and stuck to these cardboards. A pretty picture was stuck on the front and back of the book on these cardboards. Many such books were made and each dozen then packed together. Finally, they put us all into boxes to be shipped to various parts of the country. 

I lay there with my numerous comrades, not knowing where we were going. I could feel the jostling of the truck and our box shook every time it took a turn. The smell of glue inside the box stifled me. How I longed to breathe some fresh air! 

After a few days of this seemingly unending journey, we reached our destination. This new place was called Goa. As we were carried out and placed on shelves, I got the smell of sea salt. Are we close to the ocean, I wondered? 

The bookshop we were in was close to the seaside. From a window, I could see the blue ocean. How compelling it looked! To sail over it, to soar and fall and soar again. I wanted so much to be out there, but alas! I was bound to my comrades and bodyguards. 

But one day, my luck changed. A little child wandered into the shop. She was looking for a pencil and paper to draw a pretty picture of the seaside for her sister. She spotted the book I was in and, without a thought, she tore me out. I gasped at the pain I felt. To be suddenly and ruthlessly pulled out of bondage may sound like liberation but in that moment all I felt was agony. She ran out with me gleefully, with the shopkeeper shouting curses after her. 

At the edge of the water, she stopped and looked at me, staring at my pristine body as if to say, "Why has no one written on you before?" Then she crumpled me up and shoved me into her pocket. 

For a really long time, I lay there in the recesses of her dress. The girl took me home, forgot completely about me as she tossed her soiled clothes into the washing machine and went off to eat her supper.

I lay there in the darkness, breathing in the awful smells that emanated from the other soiled clothes in the confines of that huge tub. 

In the morning, her mother turned on the switch to begin the laundry. As was her habit, she removed the clothes and checked all the pockets. I was saved from ruination! She tossed me on a table nearby where I lay for over an hour, wishing I was back in my book. It was horrible, this waiting and wondering what would happen to me next. 

After an hour or so, the girl spotted me on the table and exclaimed, "There you are! I was searching all over for you." And she grabbed me and started straightening me out. But try as she might, she wasn't able to get me back to what I was like originally. I was indignant with her for pushing and pressing and I longed to give her a slap.

 

Finally, exasperated that she couldn't make me flat again with her hand, she took a heavy iron and began to burn me up. Oh, the heat. It was terrible, I tell you. I screamed in pain but she couldn't hear my shouts. Even after many attempts, I was not as straight as she would have liked me to be. She stopped and let me cool down. 

Then she made an aeroplane out of me and started running around the house, shrieking, "See my plane fly! See my plane fly! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!" Boy, did she make me dizzy. She ran out of the house and onto the beach, still whirring and shrieking. Suddenly, she lost her grip on me and I ESCAPED.

 I began to soar up, up, up into the air, far far away from her. She shouted and cried and begged me to come back, but guess what, I was finally free. I was never going back to being in bondage any more. I flew on, across the deep blue ocean, towards my nirvana. In my heart, I had three words: 

                I AM FREE.