We are never alone!

Today morning, while sitting in from of the television set, something caught my attention. Goucha, a presenter of a morning show on TVI (a Portuguese broadcaster), had as one of his guests the singer Robert Leal, who is celebrating 40 years of his singing career. He was still young when he went to Brazil, becoming a star of Portuguese popular music there.

Mixing singing with talking, and speaking about his life, he said: 

-               Words don't matter, only deeds do. 

-      Will there be a last judgment? And what about the unbelievers?

-               Then they will see clear.

-               Well, well, let us hear some songs more.

And answering a new question about his 40 years carrier as a singer, he said: The most important in my life has been the feeling that we are never alone.

Indeed, we are never alone, because we are always accompanied by the loving presence of God. And the Last Judgment will be the moment for all to recognize that love, which is a saving love. The ones who always refused to share love will see clearly that life without a love that is given and accepted is no life at all.

THE YOUTH RAGE IN THE STREETS OF LONDON

Croydon, London

Last night, through the BBC site, I wat-ched parts of London burning. A peace-ful protest in Tottenham on Saturday became violent, and the violence spread to other parts of London and even other cities. Masked groups of young people moved around destroying, burning and looting. A lot of people have lost their homes, business and livelihoods. They were attacking and destroying their own communities.

Nothing can justify the violence and the destruction that affected the lives of so many people. But we should ask ourselves why? Why so much violence? Why all this rage? Is it a cry of revolt? Is it a protest and a rejection of the society we live in? Or is it just crime? Arson and looting are more a crime than a protest.

We must make an effort to understand, and there are so many factors that may contribute to what we see in the streets of London.

·      Several times, an appeal was broadcast to the parents. They must know where their children are. We live in a society where the parental authority has been eroded. It is a permissive society, in which the children can do whatever they want. The parents are not willing or able to set rules of behaviour for their children and then they cannot enforce them. They must ask themselves: are we good role models to our children? How do we bring them up? Freedom goes together with responsibility.

·      A lot of young people have nothing to do; they are jobless, and without much hope for the near future. However, they have needs, and they would like to possess the latest electronic gadgets and to enjoy life. If the quality of life is measured by the pleasure that you get and by the goods that you possess, then if you cannot afford them, you grab them. Most of the people in the Western societies have been living beyond their means, on borrowed money that they cannot pay back.

·      We must question ourselves about the type of development we have been pursuing. Technological development is not the same as human development. Looking for higher and higher profits, without consideration for people creates and it will create ever-bigger groups of marginalised people, who have nothing to loose and who will not allow others to have what they cannot have. Big finance is ruling the world, and the big finance is ruled by the markets, which means greed. Greed is the ruler and it is the big cause of the present financial crisis.

·      Many times, it seems that our society has decided to destroy all traditional values, as if they would be false, just because they are traditional. We speak so much about personal rights and so little about responsibility and the respect for others rights. We have created an individualistic society with little concern for the family and the community. And responsibility goes together with participation and sharing.

·      To this hopeless society, we need to bring the light and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Anywhere, at home in the Catholic Church

Inside the church.

The Catholic Church of Arth.

In the Catholic Church, we are at home anywhere in the world. Today, I experienced that. My niece lives in a Catholic Canton. Her firstborn has lessons of catechesis in the school. The church, with its tower, is a point of reference from any part of Arth, and it is just three minutes away from the house. The bells ring throughout the day, and today they rang joyously calling people to mass. The church was not full like it would have been in old times. However, as soon as I entered in, I felt at home: the sanctuary with the tabernacle, the altar for the Eucharistic celebration, the presidential chair, the lectern for the proclamation of the Word of God, the pews with enough space for kneeling down and with enough hymn books for everybody to participate in the singing. At the back of the church (over the entrance), there is a pipe organ, which was nicely played during mass. The celebration was like any other Eucharistic celebration, where we know what follows, the answers that we should give and the attitudes that we should take. There were four youths, two of each sex, serving at mass, and there were two extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. I did not understand a thing of the preaching, but the name of Elijah and Peter. However, it was good to listen just to the sound of the German words.

Indeed, we belong to the same family. We may speak different languages and have different costumes, but we don’t feel like strangers. Jesus Christ brings us together, and being one body with him, we are members of each other.

XIX SUNDAY, year A – Gospel: Mt 14:22-33

We need someone to calm our fears.

Every Sunday, the Liturgy presents us with a special message for each one of us. And if we listen with our hearts, we are able to discover what God is telling us and what he wants us to do, according to the situation we find ourselves in.

A huge crowd followed Jesus. It was already evening, when the Apostles reminded Jesus that it was getting late and people should be sent home. Jesus had compassion for the people and decided to feed them. It was late when they finished, and then Jesus told the apostles to cross the lake ahead, while he remained behind to dismiss the crowds, and have the opportunity to stay alone and pray.

Although by himself, Jesus was never alone, because he was always in communion with the Father. On the other side, the Apostles were alone, in darkness, over the waters, battling the waves in a windy night. Everything indicated danger! According to the old cultures of the Middle East, the turbulent waters of the ocean were the abode of terrifying dragons that bring chaos.  It is not surprising then that the Apostles were worried and their hearts were terrified with fear. When, in the darkness of the night, they saw someone walking over the waters and passing by, their fear exploded into a cry: Ghost! It is a ghost!

The overwhelming experience that they had gone through in the feeding of the crowds did not help them find reassurance. It is the same with us. When we are grasped by fear, we see ghosts everywhere, and we blame the wrong causes or the wrong people, instead of becoming aware of our own inadequacies and recognize our own fears. It seemed that Jesus was passing by, but he never passes us by. Instead, he is always here by our side, ready to say: "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."

Celebrating life

Before going to Switzerland for a visit to my sister and my nephews, I decided to have a proper hair cut, because many times I do it myself. However, seeing a good number of people waiting in the barbershop, I went back home. Then, my brother-in-law took me to the barber he usually goes to. He is a retired happy man, who keeps himself busy,  enjoying his job. 

A barbershop is always a place for all kinds of talk. As I am not a good talker, he did it all. Appreciating life, he mentioned what he considered the best in this life, the blessings for which he was thankful. The best that happened to him was to be born. Indeed, how important it is to be thankful for life and to appreciate its best moments. As a young man, he spent time in Guinea-Bissau, during the colonial war. However, he hardly mentioned the war, but put the stress on that extraordinary experience, which gave him the opportunity to learn and to meet people of different cultures. Coming back to Portugal, he became a bus driver and travelled through most of the European countries, taking people around in different tours. Doing his job, he enjoyed it and got the best out of it.

As time passed and he was becoming old, he decided to prepare for retirement, bringing back the profession of a barber that he learnt as a teenager. And he enjoys it, because it gives him time to talk and to share the goodness of life. His name is Manuel (or Emmanuel), which means God-with-us, and he manifests God’s presence, as he celebrates life.

Children, a gift of life and love

learning to be a mother...

Yesterday, I passed the day with two of my former classmates, Fr. Adriano and Monsignor Pinto Guedes, and I had the opportunity to see the new Home for the Aged, built by Fr. Adriano’s Parish. It is a nice place, with all the facilities that make the life in old age easier. It was opened on Thursday and it is already full. The demand for such homes is on the increase and they seem to be the solution for a growing problem. Most of the families cannot cope with the demands and are not able to provide the special care needed by people who are in their seventies or eighties. However, many remain more or less abandoned by their relatives, who seldom visit them. The Bemba proverb says: Kolwe akota, asabilwa na bana (when the monkey gets old is provided for by the children). We may say that, at least in Europe, the proverb doesn’t apply anymore. And the problem is worsening.

The European population is getting old, and there are not enough young people working and producing to provide the social care enjoyed by the previous generation. In Zambia, one can see plenty of children and youths. They are the future of the country. The countries of Europe are not investing in the future. The future of a nation is in her people. And when there are no people, others will come in and take the place for themselves. Being afraid of life and of sharing it, so that they can have enough time and wealth for themselves, they are moving along a path that will take them to destruction. Imiti ikula e mpanga (the growing trees are the forest) – we are told by the traditional Bemba wisdom. There will be no forest, without young trees. No future, without children. They are a gift of life and love.

In Fatima, I prayed for you

FATIMA, a place
of silence and prayer

I am on leave, enjoying the summer at home, with my sister and my nephews.

It is a time to rest, to check on my health and to visit friends. My friend and classmate from the times of the seminary, D. António Francisco dos Santos, Bishop de Aveiro, took me to Fatima, and I had the opportunity of concelebrating in the Basilica and then in the Church of the Holy Trinity for the first time.

Fatima is a place of silence and prayer, where people come from everywhere in the world. As we walked around, a Venezuelan couple with two children asked the direction to the chapel of the continuous adoration of the Eucharist; and a young couple from California, asked in Spanish for the celebration of the mass. All come, young and old, with their suffering, looking for relief to their pain, trying to find peace and renewed strength.

In Fatima, through Mary, the mother of the Lord, we hear the first call of the Gospel: Repent and belief. We become aware of our sinfulness and the sinfulness of the world, and Mary helps us to come back to Jesus.  Some people are afraid of Mary, thinking that she distracts us and takes us away from Christ; however, it is not so. And in Fatima, that is very clear. Mary takes us by the hand and leads us to Jesus, giving us only one advice, as she did in the wedding of Cana: Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5). The celebration of the Eucharist has a central place in Fatima; the same being true about the sacrament of reconciliation. And there is the chapel for perpetual adoration of the Eucharist. Finally, there is the huge church built for the honour and praise of the Holy Trinity, because life and salvation have their origin in the outpouring love of the Holy Trinity.

In Fatima, we are invited to pray not only for us but for the world as well. We must pray for mercy and forgiveness for the whole world. Fatima invites us to become intercessors. And in Fatima, I prayed for all. May we be faithful to Spirit who dwells in our hearts.