Author: ANTONINO

(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

Nelly had a very turbulent and destructive marriage. After this turbulent Marriage, she had to face an even more turbulent divorce. And to make things worse, she had to be a single mother raising a wild and rebellious daughter. There was no rest for Nelly.

Her daughter, Agnes, was seventeen years old when one day Nelly received a telephone call that left her completely frozen: «Hello! This is from the Police Station. Your daughter is here with us in the Police Station. We would like you to come and pick her up. We also want to talk with you». «Thank you! I will be there right now». «Oh my God… what happened, again?»

When Nelly arrived at the Police Station she was told that her daughter had been caught driving under the influence of alcohol. She rested for a while. The Captain talked with her in a severe manner and it seemed that she was ready to go home, and that she understood the consequences waiting for her in case she was caught again.

Nelly brought her daughter home without saying one word to her. The following day both of them spent all day without exchanging a word. The atmosphere was somber and thick. The silence between them was deafening. Finally Nelly called Agnes and told her: «Agnes, please sit down here on this chair. I have a special gift for you».
Agnes took her seat and Nelly offered her a gift wrapped in colourful paper tied by a very beautiful yellow ribbon. With the gift she also offered her a card inside a beautiful envelope. The gift was strangely heavy but Agnes never suspected what kind of gift was inside of that beautifully wrapped paper.
When Agnes opened the gift she became very upset when she saw a simple stone. Just a stone. She could never imagine that someone could give a stone as a gift. In her anger she told her mother: «Is this a gift that you, stupid mother, have to give to your daughter? Couldn’t you find something better to insult me? Why a cold stone? I never thought you could do this to me!».

Nelly just told her: «Please read the card».

Agnes read the card, stopped for a few moments, then started crying and threw herself in her mother’s arms. Both cried for a while.
In the card her mother had written: «My precious, precious daughter, this stone is three hundred million years old. That is the time that it will take for me to quit on you».

Among many essential things in my life I learn from mothers is that God, no matter what, will never quit on me.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
May 2, 2021
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

by (bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

1.
I went to Africa in 1964 without any preparation to deal with cultural differences and different religions. I believe that the same thing happened to many good missionaries who left their lands and the house of their parents and embarked on this fascinating adventure with the purpose of “bringing God to uncivilized pagans”.
2.
When I was ordained as a priest I had the privilege of being ordained with two other Black African colleagues. I still remember a statement of my Bishop when he said: “I am not ordaining European Priests to serve European People, and African Priests to serve African People. I am ordaining Priests of God to serve the Church of God and the People of God”.
3.
One of those two African Priests told me that when he was attending his primary school he used to walk a few kilometers back and forth from his family’s hut to school with three other colleagues. And he saw the three of them being atacked and killed by wild animals. He was the only survivor. One of the things that this story taught me was that walking through those longs paths of Africa was something that had to be done but always with extra precautions.
4.
One day I saw, for the first time, a scene that in my colonialist mind was barbaric. That’s when I concluded that those people were really “uncivilized”. This was the first of many events like this. One family of four people were walking. The husband was walking alone, ahead of his family. His wife was following him. Not side by side like “civilized people” do but behind him. Besides she was carrying their baby on her back, holding the hand of a small child and carrying a bag over her head. Adding to my shocking experience and revolt, I noticed that he was a strong man and was carrying a staff on his right hand “to make his walking easier”. The staff had a spear on the upper extreme as “decoration”.
Fortunately it didn’t take too long to learn the real meaning of all this scene that was labelled by me as wild, cruel and male chauvinist.
When I learned the meaning of this tradition that had been labelled by me as cruel and chauvinist it was transformed into sacrificial love and tenderness.
The reason why this and other men walked in front of their families was to be ready to take all risks, even lay their own lives, to defend their families from any dangerous attack from any wild animal.
5.
Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is called the “Good Shepherd Sunday”. Reflecting about that episode of the African tradition I see a page of today’s Gospel talking about Jesus the Good Shepherd. Jesus always walks in front of us not always to make our lives easier but to make our lives safer. In the time of Jesus there were four political and religious parties. And Jesus was the Shepherd of all of them.
6.
“I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd is one who lays down his life for His Sheep. The hired man, since he is not the Shepherd and the sheep don’t belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep… I am the good Shepherd and I lay down my life for my sheep. (John 10: 11-18)

With many stories like this I didn’t civilize Africa. Africa civilized me and many people like me. I believe that one of the biggest surprises for many Missionaries who went to Africa was that when they arrived to Africa, God was already there.

Love & Peace,

(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

I knew that Alfred had something against me. He stopped talking to me and greeting me. And the irony of our culture is that when we most need to talk to clarify misunderstandings what happens is that some people stop talking with one another.

This friend of mine was still very sad when he told me that his father and his uncle (his father’s brother) didn’t talk with one another for twenty-three years until his uncle died. And then he added: «What a waste!… How many birthdays, Christmas parties and many many other parties and events happened during those twenty-three years from which they had excluded themselves, along with their children and grandchildren!… «Do you know that Helen doesn’t talk with her mother-in-law»? When I hear this, I know that there is something wrong between them. Something that needed to be clarified with a simple conversation but pride deprives them from such a joyful experience. There is a Portuguese Association to help the homeless with the name of «Conversa Amiga» that means «Friendly Talk». The slogan is «Quando conversamos somos mais humanos» that means «When we talk we are more human».

I knew that Alfred had something against me. When I told him: «Alfred I sense that there is something wrong between us but I don’t know what. Can we talk?». I felt very sad when he just told me: «Leave me in peace». And I left him in «peace». But was he really in «peace»? I wasn’t. I was, and I am, hurting.

During the many apparitions of Jesus after His Resurrection when He appeared to his friends, even when the doors were closed, instead of our «good morning, or good afternoon or hello» He always greeted them with the word «Peace». But did the word «Peace» in the mouth of Jesus have the same meaning of the word «Peace» in the mouth of my friend Alfred when he said «Leave me in peace»? Of course not.

The word Peace translated to Aramaic in the language of Jesus is «Shallom». And this word Shalom leaves no room for confusions. Shalom means «I desire for you prosperity in your life, good health, harmony, good relationships with your family, friends and neighbours. I want for you all success, including financial success. I want for you everything that is good. I desire for you the best you can have and need».

That’s the reason why during this pandemic, when during Mass I invite people to greet one another with the sign of Shalom (because nobody should touch each another) I can see them with joined hands like in a contemplative prayer, bowing their heads, in the direction of one another and always with a smile and telling one another «SHALOM».

What a wonderful moment. What a profound preparation to receive or make the Sacred Communion. I have to confess that this moment always touches me deeply and makes me a better person.

For all my friends and all my enemies here is my SHALOM!

Fr. Bernardino Andrade
18/04/2021

(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

Even if I believe in plans, I have to confess that my life and the life of many people, like me, is made more by events than by plans. Things happen. And very often they change our plans and our lives forever. There is a saying that goes like this: «If you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans».

Last Sunday was Easter Sunday. As usual I had the privilege of celebrating the Eucharist in English with the beautiful community of Penha de França. Because it was Easter Sunday, I thought that it would be a good idea to say the Our Father in the languages of the forty-seven people who were attending Mass. We had the Our Father prayed in nine languages: English, Polish, Indian, Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Ukrainian, Irish and Portuguese.

It was so beautiful to experience the vast diversity of languages praying to the same Father, being so different, and so united, in the same Eucharist. It was really a preview of what heaven will be like. We looked so different, but we were so united. This is what we dream for tomorrow’s world.

Then at the end of Mass, I thought that it would be a good idea to count how many nationalities were in this little chapel. The result was very surprising. Who would ever guess that in those forty-seven people in this small chapel, singing the same hymns, praying the same prayers, speaking different languages with so many different accents, being nourished by the same Word of God and the same Eucharist, wearing different masks sanitized by the same alcohol gel, observing social distance because of the corona virus… that we would have sixteen nationalities? Cultural diversity is not a problem. Cultural diversity is a Blessing.

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

11/04/2021

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Are you curious to know which nationalities were represented at Mass last Sunday ?
From the quick “survey” done of everyone present, we discovered that these were the 16 nationalities represented:

British (9), Irish (5), Indian (1), Colombian (1),
Venezuelan (1), Swiss (1), . Polish (5), Ukrainian (1),
Namibian (1), Zimbabwean (1), Singaporean (1),
Greek (1), South African (8), Dutch (1),
English (1)….. and….. Portuguese (9)