Author: ANTONINO

Scripture Readings 25th June 2017, 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Jer 20: 10-13; Ps 68(69): 8-10.14.17.33-35; Romans 5: 12-15; Matthew 10: 26-33

About 600 BC Jeremiah counselled King Zedekiah to be conciliatory towards Babylon, ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. Other counsellors had Jeremiah scourged for prophesying that the Lord would punish the city because the people had not obeyed the words of the one God. Here Jeremiah expresses his internal doubts but concludes that the Lord is indeed on his side, and asks that he will see his persecutors punished. Against Jeremiah’s advice, Zedekiah revolted, Jerusalem was destroyed and the people led into exile.

In his letter to the Romans Paul continues reflecting on the redemptive mystery of Christ. Sin, the dreadful power that has gripped humanity from the beginning, causes both bodily and spiritual death. Like Adam, all people pursue their own desires in opposition to God’s will, and so continue to suffer death. But “the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many”, making life available to all.

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus has described the trials the newly commissioned Apostles will face in their mission. They will be persecuted and even betrayed by members of their families. But they should “not worry about how they are to speak” in front of judges. They “will be given at that moment” what they are to say. Today’s reading insists they can have complete confidence in God and must not be afraid.

Psalm Response: In your great love, answer me, O God.

FROM MY HEART TO YOUR HEART – Life After Delivery

– Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

In a mother’s womb were two babies, one asked the other: «Do you believe in life after delivery? ». The other replied «Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later. »

« Nonsense », said the first, « There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be? ». The second said «I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouth. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now».

The first replied – «That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded. ».

The second insisted – «Well I think there is something, and maybe it’s different from life here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore. ».

The first replied: « Nonsense. And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes nowhere. ». «Well, I don’t know, » said the second, «but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us. ».

The first replied «Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now? ». The second said: «She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist. ».

«Well I don’t see her, so it is only logical that she doesn’t exist», said the first, to which the second replied: «Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above. ».

Sometimes we are like the two babies in the story, and we ask: “Is there life after death?”… “Does God exist?”

I have heard that even though birds are surrounded by air, they don’t see the air. Fish are surrounded by water, but the last thing they see is the water. We are so immersed in God. We are completely soaked in God like a sponge with water.

We are completely surrounded by God like babies by their mother’s wombs, like birds by air and fish by water but we are so distracted by the «life» and the «needs» created by us that we make the mistake of saying and feeling that God doesn’t exist unless like the second baby says «Sometimes, when you are in silence and focus and listen we can hear HIS loving voice, calling down from above».

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade (bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)

Scripture Readings 18th June 2017, Corpus Christi, Year A

Deut 8:2-3,14-16; Ps 147; 1 Cor 10:16-17; Jn 6:51-58

Deuteronomy, the “second” book of the law, collected and organised the whole Jewish law from the previous four books. It emphasises that Israel must remember how they had been tested in the wilderness so that they would not again neglect their God. God provided manna and land for their needs, but warned them not to think their success was due to their own efforts.

Paul recalls the wanderings of the Jews in the desert to warn the Corinthians not to have anything to do with idols. They must not compromise. Worship is more than words and actions, it implies the spiritual reality of becoming partners. We cannot share in Christ’s body and blood while also seeking demons such as money and power. Belonging to Christ must be total.

Chapter six of John’s gospel describes Jesus feeding the five thousand before saying that the manna came not from Moses but from the Father. And it is the Father who now offers “the true bread from heaven”, which “gives life to the world” – that is, Jesus himself. Jesus’ teaching is stark. Many could not accept it then, or now. But Jesus insists: we must show we are united with him body and soul by our physical communion with him – and so be united with all his followers. Faith must always be shown by action.

Psalm Response: O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

THE LEGEND OF OUR LADY OF PENHA DE FRANÇA

At the entrance door of the Chapel, if you look upwards, just above your head you will see a painting of a sleeping man, with an alligator waiting to attack him. This has to do with a legend, which tradition has it that a pilgrim, on the road to the shrine of Our Lady of Penha de França in Lisbon, stopped by the way and fell into a deep sleep of exhaustion. Whilst he slept, a fearsome reptile was about to devour him, when Our Lady, surrounded by an aura of light, appeared upon the hilltop and awakened the pilgrim, warning him of the danger.

The beast was slain, and the hide carried to the church in Lisbon. Without the head, it measured 14 hands, and was covered in thick greenish black scales. Stuffed with straw, it was on view in the church there until 1739, when it had to be removed owing to its dilapidated condition. At the foot of any statue of our Lady of Penha de França you will always see a sleeping man and an alligator to represent this legend.

FROM MY HEART TO YOUR HEART – The Unfinished Project

– Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini wrote, among other operas, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Tosca. It was during his battle with terminal cancer in 1922 that he began to write Turandot, which many now consider his best work. He worked on the score day and night, despite his friends’ advice to rest, and to save his energy.

When his sickness worsened, Puccini said to his disciples, “If I don’t finish Turandot, I want you to finish it.”

He died in 1924, leaving the work unfinished. His disciples gathered all that was written of Turandot, studied it in great detail, and then proceeded to write the remainder of the opera. The world premier was performed in La Scala Opera House in Milan in 1926, and Toscanini, Puccini’s favorite student, conducted it.

The opera went beautifully, until Toscanini came to the end of the part written by Puccini. He stopped the music, put down the baton, turned to the audience, and announced, “Thus far the master wrote, but he died.” There was a long pause; no one moved. Then Toscanini picked up the baton, looked at the audience and, with tears in his eyes, announced, “But his disciples finished his work…”

The opera closed to thunderous applause and to a permanent place in the annals of great works.
Jesus instructs us in His Ascension message to finish His work of saving mankind by proclaiming His Good News by words and deeds.

Jesus brought to the world an enormous project. The project of Jesus sent by his Father was to build the Kingdom of God.

The Father didn’t send His Son to the world to build the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is just an instrument to build the Kingdom of God. But He didn’t finish his job. Now, like Puccini’s disciples, it’s up to us to continue His job. To build the Kingdom of His Father.

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

Scripture Readings 11th June 2017, Trinity, Year A

Ex 34:4-6,8-9; Dan 3:52-56; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18

Seeing the Israelites dancing round the golden calf, Moses was angry and had thrown down and broken the tablets on which the Lord had written his covenant. The agreement with God was literally broken!

Now the Lord, revealed as a God of compassion, tells Moses to prepare two more tablets. After “passing before” Moses, the Lord declares that He is “a God merciful, … forgiving iniquity”. Moses asks the Lord to forgive his people, and the Lord re-affirms his covenant and again writes the Commandments on stone tablets.

Today’s psalm comes from the hymn of thanks in the story of Daniel, set in the 6th century BC but probably written about 165 BC. Daniel’s three companions refused to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue and so were thrown into a furnace so hot their guards were killed. But God protected the three men, who walked about inside the furnace with their clothes intact but their rope bindings burned off.

After Paul’s stern instructions to his beloved Corinthians, his second letter ends with this fond farewell, including the Trinitarian grace used widely by Christians.

At the beginning of John’s Gospel, after the wedding at Cana and the cleansing of the Temple, Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be “born again”. Nicodemus cannot understand this, but Jesus insists that those who refuse to believe and trust in Jesus condemn themselves.

Psalm Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.

Ex 34:4-6,8-9; Dan 3:52-56; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18

Scripture Readings 4th June 2017, Pentecost, Year A

Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

Until recently Pentecost was less understood by Christians than the other two Jewish pilgrimage feasts of Passover and Tabernacles. Then the Dead Sea Scrolls showed that Pentecost was associated with God giving the Covenant on Sinai, and it was at Pentecost that new community members were enrolled. So the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost fits neatly with this Covenant feast.

Acts tells us that they “had all met”, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. God often made himself known with wind and fire. The list of peoples who hear and understand the Apostles extends from the east to west of the empire: effectively this is the programme for the mission now starting.

After rebuking the Corinthians for their factions and giving us the earliest description of the Eucharist, Paul shows how Christians together make up the one body of Christ on earth. It is the one Spirit who gives the gifts each individual needs for the particular task God has given him or her.

In the first ending of John’s Gospel, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalen after his resurrection, and then to the disciples huddled together in a closed room “for fear of the Jews”. Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on them, giving them power to forgive sins.

Psalm Response: Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

FROM MY HEART TO YOUR HEART – Tragic Mistake

– Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

The phone rang at 1:00 AM in the home of Leo Winters, a brilliant Chicago surgeon. It was the Hospital telling him that a young boy had been tragically mangled in a car accident. Dr. Winters’ hands were probably the only ones in the city skilled enough to save that boy’s life. He put on his clothes, jumped into his car and decided the quickest route to the hospital would be to drive through a dangerous neighbourhood, but since time was critical, he decided to take the risk.

He came to a stop light and when he did, a man in a gray hat and a dirty flannel shirt, opened the door, pulled him out of his seat and screamed, «Give me your car».

The doctor tried to explain that he was on an emergency call, but the thief refused to listen. He threw the doctor out of the car, jumped in and sped off. The doctor wandered for more than 45 minutes looking for a phone so he could call a taxi. When he finally got to the hospital, more than an hour had passed. He ran through the hospital doors, up the stairs, to the nurses’ station. The nurse on duty looked at him and shook her head and said, «I am sorry but you are too late. The boy died 30 minutes ago. His father is in the chapel if you want to see him. He is awfully upset because he couldn’t understand why you couldn’t come to help his son. »

Doctor Winters walked hurriedly down the hallway and entered into the chapel. Weeping at the altar was a man dressed in a dirty flannel shirt and gray hat, whose eyes were blinded by tears. The boy’s father looked up at the doctor in horror, recognizing him from the car he had taken, and realized his tragic mistake. He had foolishly pushed away the only man in that city that could have saved his son!

There is only one person that can save your soul. When you exit this life, at the moment you die, you will enter eternity. If you intend to go to Heaven, you had better make sure you take the one Way, which is the only way and His name is Jesus Christ.

There is one more game around attacking the youth. They call it «blue whale». One of the basic needs of a human being is to find meaning for their lives. If they don’t have it, they will create their own. They will create games that kill. Jesus says «I am the way».
«I came in order that you have life and life in full». «I came in order that your joy may be complete». The tragic mistake is that, very often, the parents are the ones who throw into the streets the «Doctor that can save their children’s lives».

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade

VISITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – Traditional Devotion in Madeira

There is a Catholic tradition in Madeira that takes place every year within the parishes of Funchal. It is a very old tradition of devotion to the Holy Spirit and is called “Visitas do Espirito Santo” (loosely translated as Visits of the Holy Spirit).

Every Sunday during the Paschal Time (this year starting on April 23rd) and until Pentecost Sunday (June 4th) a group of people usually composed of three men from the church and two girls called “saloias” (country girls) will visit the houses of the parish community along the streets in the different suburbs of Funchal.

These visits take place during specific times which are decided upon by the Diocese, and the community is informed in advance so that they can prepare for these special visits. The aim of these “Holy Spirit” visits is to bring each family “the joy of the Risen Christ” and also to collect funds that have several purposes such as helping the poor, or restoration work in the church, amongst other things.

The 3 men in the group will usually wear special red cloaks, while the young girls who accompany the group are dressed in red or in the typical regional dress. In some parishes the girls are ornamented with gold, and on arrival at the houses they visit, they will sing traditional songs. The lyrics and music will vary depending on which region they are from. These “Espirito Santo” (Holy Spirit) groups also visit the churches around the island. The girls will carry baskets with flowers which also serve to collect the sweets and other goodies that are offered to them. There are some places where the group is accompanied by people playing musical instruments.

FROM MY HEART TO YOUR HEART – Mass for the First Smile

– Brought to you by Fr. Bernardino Andrade

It is common for any priest to be approached by people asking if he can say a Mass for a special intention, like the health recovery of a family member, somebody who died, in thanksgiving for a special favour from God and so on. The intentions vary and we, the priests who are closer to the people, try to meet them wherever they are, especially if there is any suffering involved.

I was in one of the corridors of the hospital in the city of Funchal when this young lady approached me asking if I could say a special Mass in thanksgiving for her six-year-old daughter’s first smile. This was the first time that, in my almost 50 years as a priest, someone had asked me for a special intention like that: Thanking God for the first smile.

The story behind this request is very simple, and very tragic:

Sara, a six-year-old girl, was crossing a road with her family when she was badly hit by a car. She flew over the car and in seconds she was laying on the pavement, full of blood, all broken and unconscious. Just in seconds. But in those few seconds, Sara and her family’s lives were changed forever. But Sara’s mother, a very strong and positive woman, supported by her husband Manuel, a very strong and positive man, in the middle of such a tragedy found something very very good. Sara was alive! One of the first things she did was to approach a priest and ask him to say a special Mass in thanksgiving for her daughter’s life. Sara was alive! Thanks God! Sara was alive. No time or energy to complain. Only to thank God because Sara was alive.

Her agonizing recovery was very slow. Sara was surrounded by good doctors and nurses but also by lots of love. Her parents, Sandra and Manuel, never gave up. Every time Sara moved, or opened her eyes, every time she breathed was a moment to rejoice and celebrate.

Her godfather always acted as a clown doing his little tricks to attract her attention and make her smile. But something was missing. In spite of all the love and all the tricks nobody had seen a smile on Sara’s angelic face since the accident.

Finally, one day, I don’t know how many people were in the hospital room when there was an excitement and clapping and tears around Sara’s bed. Finally Sara had shared with her family her first smile! There was no doubt that smile was one of the biggest events in the life of that family. That’s when Sandra approached me and asked me to say a special Mass in thanksgiving for the first smile of her precious angel.

Meanwhile Sara moved to a different hospital and for six years I lost track of her and her family. About two weeks ago I entered a restaurant and guess whom I saw? Sara! She was having lunch with her family. She did not recognize me. She is still very special. Sara, twelve years old now, doesn’t talk and was not able to learn how to read or to write, but now she smiles a lot. And there is some kind of food that Sara can eat by herself with a spoon in her left hand. And she does it by herself. But what I found interesting is that every time Sara smiles is a moment of celebration for her family. That’s why I am not surprised that I never heard a complaint from her parents. When you have an attitude of thanksgiving you have no time to complain.

Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade