29 Jan
The Beggar’s Joy
When Norman Vincent Peale, the famous pastor, speaker and author, was very young, he learned a lesson for life from his father. The elder Peale, a clergyman, was a large-hearted person who made no distinction between people. He had respect and esteem for every individual, not going by external appearances but looking at people as they really were.
It was Christmas Eve and Norman was out with his father doing some late Christmas shopping, he reveals in his book The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking. He was loaded down with packages and felt tired and irritable. He was thinking how good it would be to get home when a beggar, a bleary-eyed, unshaved, dirty old man came up to him, touched his hand with his and asked for money. Norman recoiled from his soiled hand and rather impatiently brushed him aside.
“You shouldn’t treat a man that way, Norman,” said his father as soon as they were out of earshot.
“But, Dad, he’s nothing but a bum,” replied Norman.
“Bum?” he said. “There’s no such thing as a bum. He is a child of God, my boy. Maybe he hasn’t made the most of himself but he is a child of God, nonetheless. We must always look upon a man with esteem. Now, I want you to go and give him this.” His father pulled out his pocketbook and handed him a dollar, which was all he could afford. “And do exactly the way I tell you. Go up to him, hand him this dollar, and speak to him with respect. Tell him you are giving him this dollar in the name of Christ.”
“Oh,” objected Norman. “I don’t want to do that.”
His father insisted, “Go and do as I tell you.”
So Norman ran after the old man, caught up with him and said, “Excuse me, sir. I give you this dollar in the name of Christ.”
The old man looked at him in absolute surprise. Then a wonderful smile spread over his face. A smile that made the boy forget the beggar was dirty and unshaven. Normal could see the real face of the man through the streaks of grime – his essential nobility. Graciously, with a sort of bow, the beggar said, “I thank you, young sir, in the name of Christ.”
Norman sums up the experience thus: My irritation and annoyance faded like magic. And suddenly I was happy. The very street seemed beautiful. In fact, I believe that in the moment I held that man in full and complete esteem, I came very close to Christ Himself. And that, of course, is one of the most joyful experiences any person can ever have.
– What thoughts, feelings, occurred to you while you went through the story?
– What do you think is the ‘moral’ of the story?
– taken from “Persons Are Gifts”, by Hedwig Lewis, SJ
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2 Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19
David went and brought the ark of God up from Obed-edom’s house to the Citadel of David with great rejoicing. When the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fat sheep. And David danced whirling round before the Lord with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth round him. Thus David and all the House of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with acclaim and the sound of the horn. They brought the ark of the Lord and pt it in position inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered holocausts before the Lord, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. He then distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, a roll of bread to each, a portion of dates, and a raisin cake. Then they all went away, each to his own house.
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Mark 3:31-35
The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.” He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and my sister and mother.”
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About a year ago, when I had been working in my job for over a year, I was faced with the unfamiliar task of filing my income tax. I had no experience in this at all, and was simply told to check out the IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) website to find out more. I found out that below a certain income level, I did not need to pay income tax. One day, I remarked to my father that I was keeping my income below that level so that I did not have to pay income tax. What he said to me then has left a deep impression on me.
He said: “Don’t worry about having to pay income tax, but be grateful that you have enough money so that you can be taxed.” Since that time, I no longer worried about keeping my income tax below a certain level, because I also came to realise why we have taxes – so that the government who collects the revenue may distribute them fairly. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work, but sadly is not true in a number of other countries.
This is exactly what David did – as king, he collected the wealth of the people through taxes and later, he distributed the revenue to all people so as to ensure that everyone had a little piece of the pie that was rightfully theirs. In the past, the priest who celebrates Mass used to distribute the offertory collections to all the people, especially to those most in need. This is the beauty of communion – when everyone belongs to the same community, we look out for one another. This is also why tax evaders are punished by the state – because through their selfishness, they harm the good of the community.
Does the Catholic Church have something similar? Yes, we do. We have what is called indulgences. Millions of people do good deeds and pray for the pope and the Church everyday. What happens to these results of these good deeds and prayers? They go into what is called the storehouse of merit, which is kind of like a spiritual treasury, which also ‘stores’ the merits that Christ has won for the salvation of all mankind. Hence our merits are united in communion with that of Christ.
These merits are then distributed to those who are in need of it e.g. those who pray for help, etc. (Fortunately for us, it is all automated. I don’t know how it works, perhaps angels have something to do with it.) Wikipedia has a good list of acts for which indulgence is granted, so you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to receive indulgences.
In any case, once in a while, the pope, like David, has the authority to distribute the wealth of the treasury to all who fulfil certain conditions. In the case of David and his people, the people had to be there to receive the shares. In the same way, the pope’s conditions usually require us to be at a certain location in order to receive the shares.
Perhaps the most important part about these indulgences is that they can not only be used for ourselves, but for the souls of others, in particular, the souls in Purgatory who cannot do anything to earn merit, but have to rely on us who are still living to pray for them. They are, as Christ said, our brothers and sisters and our mother because the very fact that they are in Purgatory shows us that they did the will of God and are destined for Heaven. That is why it is such an important duty of Catholics to pray for the souls in Purgatory. It can be equated to charitable works that are done for the poor who likewise can do nothing to get out of their poverty, but are equally our brothers and sisters, as we are all children of God.
Let us make an effort to gain a plenary indulgence for a soul in Purgatory today, by praying the Rosary in a church, in a family, or in a religious community, and by receiving the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion.
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Prayer:
Dear Lord, we pray that more Catholics may come to realise their share in the great spiritual treasury of the Church, to receive from that treasury, and to share their own material and spiritual wealth with those who are lacking in either. Amen.
Give Thanks to the Lord for: The spiritual treasury of merits that never runs out.
Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 30 Jan – 2 Samuel 7:4-17; Mark 4:1-20
Thu, 31 Jan – 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29; Mark 4:21-25; Memorial for St. John Bosco, priest, religious founder
Fri, 01 Feb – 2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17; Mark 4:26-34
Sat, 02 Feb – Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40; Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Sun, 03 Feb – Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12a; Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Posted by Catholic Writer 
OXYGEN 