Author: ANTONINO

by Fr. Bernardino Andrade
(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

It took one year to plan and prepare a trip to the Caribbean Islands. Stan and Joyce, married for 33 years, living in England, had everything well planned to spend quality time together on a cruise of their dreams with a short stop in Madeira Island.

Stan was a retired pilot of the Royal Air Force and Joyce a retired Air Traffic Controller. But something happened that had not been planned. Stan got very sick and we met at the Hospital of Funchal where we became good friends. The first time I met Joyce she was looking for the Hospital’s Chapel. Because I speak English I was the one who had the privilege of being chosen by the hospital’s receptionist to be her guide. This was Saturday and she didn’t want to miss Mass on Sunday. I told her about the English Mass at the Chapel of Penha de França and she immediately decided to be there the following Sunday at 10:00 AM. Before the start of Mass, Joyce volunteered to read the Prayers of the Faithful.

When I asked Stan what was his job and he said that he was a pilot, I immediately replied that he must have many beautiful stories to tell. I don’t know why I am always fascinated by the stories of fishermen and pilots.
When I said that he must have many beautiful stories to tell he looked at his wife with such tenderness in his eyes and said: “She is my best story.”

One morning when I arrived at the Hospital where I was a chaplain, the first thing I saw in the corridor was Joyce, seated on a bench, right in front of the chapel door, drinking a large cup of coffee.

I greeted her as usual. The door of the chapel was wide open. Most of the people, when they want to do something they call «profane» or «not religious» in front of the chapel, they close the door «out of respect and reverence». Joyce did the opposite. She opened the door wide open from where she could see and contemplate the tabernacle while enjoying a delicious cup of coffee. I realized that if Joyce had to choose between «reverence» and «intimacy» for sure she would choose intimacy.

Reverence, sometimes, can mean distance. Intimacy is always closeness.

That day, I learned from Joyce that sometimes, I may plan a trip to the Caribbean Islands and end up in the hospital of a foreign land. Sometimes I may feel dry, without words, without thoughts and even without feelings to pray. Sometimes I may feel like asking God “Why me? Why bad things happen to good people?” I learned that when I feel lost in a foreign world there is nothing better than to just sit down, relax and have a cup of coffee with Jesus.

FROM FATHER GAMEIRO’S DESK by Fr. Aires Gameiro

Sign and mystery.

Mystery does not intrude; it is distant and invisible. The title of the Pope’s letter on the Christmas Crib is very meaningful. «The admirable sign», Jesus’ Crib speaks, bothers, implies, insists. The Boy, the incarnate Son of God is God with us (Emmanuel). We may not be aware of Him but God’s flesh is there in us, in our home and heart. He lives beside us, occupies space and time in our lives. With the mysteries one tries to arrange and solve things alone.

The sign of God visible in time and space intrudes into our plans. A distant and mysterious God can still be ignored and rhymed with agnosticism, indifference. A visible little God who lives in my tent, cries and starts talking, no longer can be ignored; it can disturb and mess things up. Ask St. Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the wise men, king Herod: all of them were surprised and had to change their plans. At home and in the village, Emmanuel demands time, space and attention. A God-boy is there, you see. When he grows up he requires even more space, time and attention. He speaks and asks people to listen; he gives his opinion and gets involved in our plans. He intrudes, by surprise, to propose his plans. Already in O.T. a prophet was sent to Ahaz; in the N.T. Mary and Joseph were intruded by God with us (Emmanuel), God with them, God with you and me. Zechariah, «your wife will have a child in her barren old age». «Fear not, Joseph», leave your plan and accept mine.

Now Jesus always intrudes on your things. In the past the invisible God sent messengers, announcements, words, meaning, stars, some signs but He was not seen. In Jesus He appeared as a sign of flesh and blood and began to speak. He dwells on earth; Diciples have written what he said in the gospels, and now He leaves no one.

One moment, one second and there He is, intruding in each other’s lives. «We saw his star and we came to worship him». Herod wants to kill him. Joseph receives orders: «get up, take the boy and his mother and run away». At the age of twelve he questions and answers doctors. He asks Peter, Andrew, and Matthew to leave their plans and to follow him. He insist with Zacchaeus: «come down, quickly, I want to stay in your house». With Saulus, he is surprising: «why are you persecuting me»?

The Sign, Emmanuel, will never be erased; it will continue to dwell with everyone and meddle with everyone’s life.

The Boy-God – Christmas takes away from man the illusion of being the center of the world. It makes him face change in himself by accepting to be a son, and a servant to be disturbed by his Lord and Father. And to be blessed and loved in the plans of God, the Boy! In this year of 2020 pray Jesus to disturb you when you are distant from Him. It would be a blessing! A Happy New Year.

Funchal, Epiphany, 05.01.2020
Fr. Aires Gameiro
(Brother of Saint John of God)

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

The Catholic Liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday after Christmas. Church is about relationships. Family is about relationships. The difference between a good family and a bad family is the level of communication.

HEALTHY FAMILIES = HEALTHY SOCIETIES

A few years ago, a study was undertaken to find the U.S. city with the lowest incidence of cancer and heart disease. The winner was Roseto, Pennsylvania. Soon experts descended upon the city expecting to see a town populated by non-smokers, people who ate the correct food, took regular exercise and kept close track of their cholesterol.

To their great surprise, however, the researchers discovered that none of the above was true. They found instead that the city’s good health was tied to the close family bonds that prevailed within the community. This suggests that there is much to be said for a close and loving family relationship. (Robert Duggan & Richard Jajac).

A HEALTHY FAMILY IS A CONFESSIONAL AND NOT A COURTROOM

A senior Judge of the Supreme Court congratulated the bride and groom in a marriage with a pertinent piece of advice: “See that you never convert your family into a courtroom; instead let it be a confessional. If the husband and wife start arguing like attorneys in an attempt to justify their behaviour, their family becomes a court of law and nobody wins. On the other hand, if the husband and the wife — as in a confessional — are ready to admit their faults and try to correct them, the family becomes a Heavenly one.”

Children learn what theyy Live

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Love and Peace, Fr. Bernardino Andrade

by Fr. Bernardino Andrade
(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

A «RUINED» CHRISTMAS SERMON

The Pastor of a Church in New York, conscious of his responsibility as a presider of a good Liturgy, spent hours preparing what he considered should be a good sermon for the Midnight Christmas Mass. He read about the birth of Jesus, he took notes and rehearsed the sermon he was supposed to deliver. A Christmas play, mobilizing a group of children and young people, was very well prepared to act after the reading of the Gospel, right before the sermon. It was a very inclusive church where everyone would have a chance to participate.

To emphasize inclusion, they decided to invite Tom to act as a shepherd. Tom was a very special 17-year-old boy with learning difficulties because of his down syndrome condition. After trying a few rehearsals, there was a little frustration due the difficulty Tom had to learn a very simple role as a shepherd. Then they decided to change roles. Maybe Tom would be a good innkeeper. Tom was open to anything as long as he could be part of the play.

Great. After the first try, it was easy to decide that Tom would be the perfect «actor» to act as an innkeeper. The only thing he had to do was to wait in front of the altar, put his hands on his hips, look tough, and when Joseph and Mary came asking for shelter he would say: «No room for you at the Inn».
It took some time and lots of work but there was no doubt that Tom was ready. Even at the last minute they were whispering: «Don’t forget Tom… put your hands over your hips, look tough and say: – there is no room for you at the Inn. Are you ready?

– Yyyyes. I am… am ready».

The moment came. Joseph and Mary walked slowly towards the altar. Tom was standing there. They approached Tom and asked for a place to spend the night. Besides, Mary was ready to give birth to her baby. Both looked very tired. But Tom did as he had been trained to do: He put his hands over his hips, looked tough and yelled in a loud voice:

«There is no room for you at the Inn! ».

Joseph and Mary did as they have been trained to do too. They looked very sad, turned around and started walking towards the front door. Just a few seconds after they left, Tom started crying, with tears rolling down his face, and ran after them and repeated a few times: «Wait… wait… you can stay at my house… You can stay at my house. Please, don’t go»!

At that moment, the pastor approached the microphone and with tears in his eyes, said:
«I couldn´t make a better sermon than the one that was just done by Tom. «Please Jesus stay at my house»…. «Merry Christmas».

(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

My friend was a builder. It was during the month of November, on a rainy day, when he invited me to see a piece of land where he was planning to build a beautiful house.

The only thing I could see under my feet was mud, some rocks where I could put my feet and small puddles of water. Everything was the best definition of a mess. It was really messy and muddy. But my friend didn’t care about the mess. He didn’t even apologize for taking me to “nowhere” just to make my shoes dirty and show me an invisible plan.

But John was seeing things with different eyes. He had a dream. And he took me to that place to show me his invisible dream. In his dream, he could see perfectly where the kitchen was going to be, where the living room was going to be, where the bedrooms were going to be. That beautiful house was already built in his dream, and he knew all the details of what was going to become a beautiful piece of heart. It was with a smile that on a muddy piece of land he told me about his dream. He had no doubts that a beautiful and imponent house would be in that same place very soon.

This story of my friend reminds me of the Gospel of John, chapter 17. In this messy world, talking with His Father, Jesus talks about his most important dream that is: “…that they may be one as we are one… that they become completely ONE” (Jo. 17: 22-23). This was the biggest dream of Jesus, that “WE WILL BE ONE”.

The tragedy is that we, human beings, have the power to sabotage that dream of Jesus.

The Body of Jesus is hurting with many divisions. On the other hand, many people are making small efforts to heal those wounds and those divisions

Today we have the privilege of welcoming in our Catholic Community of Penha de França, Father Michael Jarman, the Chaplain of the Anglican Church in Funchal, to share with us the Word of God. We thank him and congratulate him for this little effort to heal the wounds of the Body of Jesus by bringing Catholics and Anglicans closer to each other and closer to God.

Thank you, Father Michael.

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Now a few words from Fr. Michael …

Hope

Christians approach the season of Christmas with a sense of hope. In Scripture, according to the Hebrew And Greek words translated by the word ‘hope’ and according to the biblical usage, hope is an indication of certainty. ‘Hope’ in Scripture means a strong and confident expectation. Though archaic today in modern terms, hope is akin to trust and a confident expectation.

As a Christian Priest, I have a hope not just at Christmas but throughout the whole year that we can be more united in our beliefs and worship, because in unity there is strength and endurance. In the world inwhich we live, where there is so much need, poverty and secularism, it is our duty as Christians to be strong, to speak out against injustices of all kind and to follow as closely as possible the teachings of our Lord.

In addition, whether you believe in a God or no God at all, it is natural to have a sense of hope for family and friends as the old year ends and a new one begins, a hope of wellbeing for those we love.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

And for those who are not Christians and perhaps don’t believe in any God whatsoever there must be a feeling of hope, if for nothing else then for the planet, as it faces the effects of global warming and how that will affect our children, our grand-children and generations to come.

Hope can be a powerful force. There’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.

My other hope as a Priest is that more people who don’t believe in God will come to know and love Him. As Christians we can facilitate this by showing the love of Christ in our everyday lives. We can’t convert people to Christianity, the Holy Spirit does that, but we can facilitate it by our own example.

It is my hope, wherever you are, whatever you do, that you will, by God’s grace, remain safe and happy now and for the coming year.

Father Michael Jarman
Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Funchal