Humanity has taken great strides in the areas of science and technology, and yet there are many things that we still do not understand.
We can use technology to communicate with someone who is thousands of miles away, but technology cannot explain to us why we cannot communicate with a neighbour who lives by our side.
This must lead to the realisation that when all is said and done we will still fall short of understanding all the mysteries there are and have to depend on God.
We must keep in mind that the only Jesus that people today can see and touch is the Jesus that we make known through our words and actions.
He has allowed us to share in his mission.
This is also an enormous privilege, but entails a tremendous responsibility
One member of a community was given farewell party. During the party one of the other members got up to make farewell speak.
The one who was receiving farewell could not understand anything of the farewell message. She did not know Hindi.
There were four persons who did not know Hindi.
We are like the old man riding down the road on a donkey while he carried a 200 pound sack of wheat on his shoulder. Someone asked him why he didn't take the weight off of his shoulders and strap it to the donkey. "Oh, no!" he protested. "I couldn't ask the donkey to carry all that weight."
Many of us are carrying burdens today that we do not have to carry. Only our lack of faith, trust, and confidence that God really is alive and able to relieve us of our burdens keeps us in bondage.
Judging others comes too easily to some and often we judge only externals.
One must be aware that one is not in any superior position, which gives one the right to judge others. It is important to realise that it is possible that we might not be aware of all the reasons why a person behaves in a particular manner and so mistaken in our judgment. If we can give the benefit of the doubt to the person concerned and find reasons for his/her behaviour we will have done well.
Pope Benedict XVI travelled by helicopter to
In his homily, the Holy Father affirmed that, following the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, "we come to appreciate even more fully the sacredness of the family, which in God's plan is based on the lifelong fidelity of a man and a woman consecrated by the marriage covenant and accepting of God's gift of new life.
"How much the men and women of our time need to re-appropriate this fundamental truth, which stands at the foundation of society, and how important is the witness of married couples for the formation of sound consciences and the building of a civilisation of love", he added.
"In the family each person, whether the smallest child or the oldest relative, is valued for himself or herself, and not seen simply as a means to some other end. Here we begin to glimpse something of the essential role of the family as the first building block of a well-ordered and welcoming society. We also come to appreciate, within the wider community, the duty of the State to support families in their mission of education, to protect the institution of the family and its inherent rights, and to ensure that all families can live and flourish in conditions of dignity".
Benedict XVI told the children present "to let the example of Jesus guide you, not only in showing respect for your parents, but also helping them to discover more fully the love which gives our lives their deepest meaning. In the Holy Family of Nazareth, it was Jesus who taught Mary and Joseph something of the greatness of the love of God".
PV-PALESTINE/HOSPITAL/