QUOTES

QUOTES

THE UNWILLING GUITAR

THE UNWILLING GUITAR

When I was doing my novitiate this particular story was told in the goodnight about a Guitar who was unwilling to be tuned and polished. As I was learning guitar I was taken up by this story and it has a huge impact in my life.  So I would like to share it with you because we are in one way or the other in a formation whether as a religious or as a lay people. So here I begin... 


Once upon a time there were 5 new brand Guitars. They were well tuned and were of the top brand. Their cost was high and were beautiful in their appearances. They were bought and taken by the popular band and they did sound great whenever they were being played. Everyday the guitarist cleaned, polished and tuned them before the practice or before the performance. This tuning was done daily and the guitars found it really difficult to bear it up. Anyway they had to allow the guitarist to do so in order to sound well and to be famous among the audience. 

But as the days passed by one of the guitars did not like the guitarist much due to the tuning process. It was very painful and tough for it to bear. It's whole body was being rubbed and polished. So this guitar decided to escape from this tuning business. So one day as the great occasion  came for the guitarist to perform in front of the huge crowd this guitar decided to hid itself before the tuning session began. 


As usual the guitarist came to tune the guitars but to his astonishment he could not find one of the guitars.He frantically searched for it but  could not find it. Anyway he tuned the four guitars and went. No sooner the guitarist left the place the hidden guitar came out of it's hiding place and jumped around merrily and began to mock the other guitars telling and showing their expressions when they were tuned. Anyway it was very happy. But when the time came for the performance the guitarist came and picked up the guitars and strummed it, all sounded great except the one which hid itself from the tuning session. So the guitarist left that guitar in the corner of the room and walked away with the other four. They sounded great and all people applauded for them. Again and again those four guitars were strummed and people asked for one more. When the performance was over these four guitars came back to the room with joy and happiness. They were appreciating each other for their show, whereas the left out guitar was feeling miserable. He had nothing to say except to regret his mistake of not allowing itself to be tuned though it was painful and tough. 

Dear friends this story seems simple and funny but it has got a great lesson. As humans no one likes to be corrected and no one likes to go through a difficult and painful process. Even I do not like to be corrected every now and then and so are you. But the lesson we get from the above story is that one has to humble oneself in order to learn something. There is joy after every birth pang. There is success after every failure, and every bitter and painful experience carries a lesson that we need to learn.


So let's ask ourselves today, do we behave like that guitar who was unwilling to be tuned? Do we escape the painful and tough experiences in our life? If so, we will also be left like that guitar in that miserable condition. 


Let's be open to the corrections and piece of advice that we get form our Superiors, parents, friends and juniors.Remember friends, in order to have a beautiful rose blooming in your garden we need to prune it and  if we want to get good harvest we need to prune and cut the unnecessary elements form the plant, then only we will get good harvest. So it is in our lives we need to be pruned and corrected so that we may also bear good and abundance food. 


-He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 
(Jn 15:2)

PROVERBS

PROVERBS

1. Four things on earth are small, 

yet they are exceedingly wise;

the ANTS are a people without strength,

yet they provide their food in the summer; 

the BADGERS are a people without power,

yet they make their homes in rocks;

the LOCUST have no king, 

yet all of them march in rank;

the LIZARD can be grasped in the hand,

yet it is found in kings' places.  (30:24-28)

2. If you have been foolish, 

exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, 

put your hand on your mouth.

For as pressing milk produces curds,

and pressing the nose produces blood,

so pressing anger produces strife. (30:32-33)

3. Give strong drink to one who is perishing, 

and wine to those in bitter distress;

let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.

Speak out for those who cannot speak, 

for the rights of all the destitute.

Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. (31:6-9)

4. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, 

and let her works praise her in the city gates. (31:30-31)

5. If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat, 

and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;

for you will heap coals of fire on their heads

and the Lord will reward you. (25:21-22)

6. With patience a ruler may be persuaded, 

and a soft tongue can break bones. 

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

or else, having too much, you will vomit it. (25:15-16)

7. Under three things the earth trembles; 

under four it cannot bear up:

a SLAVE when he becomes king

and a FOOL when glutted with food; 

an UNLOVED woman when she gets a husband, 

and a MAID when she succeeds her mistress. (30:21-23)

How to make the best use of TIME?

How to make the best use of TIME?



Take time to think, it is the source of power.

Take time to work, it is the price of success.

Take time to play, it is the secret of being ever young.

Take time to read, it is the foundation of knowledge.

Take time to be freindly, it is the road to happiness.

Take time to love and be loved, it is the privilege of God.

Take time to laugh, it is the music of the sour.

Take time to pray, it helps to live in Christ and be led by His spirit.

Dear freinds, let's just reflect and see if we are taking time to do the above things. I am sure we hardly give time for such kind of deeds or actions. But Christ was always there giving time for all. He took time to be with His Father in His prayer. He took time to be freindly even to the sinners, He gave time to love and to laugh with the ordinary people of His time. So as leaders and would be leaders in any field we need to take time for such things and must make best use of the time given to us. remember time and tide waits for none.

Example Teaches, Not Books

Example Teaches, Not Books

The authorities is a part of China decided to introduce football as one of their sports. So they bought rule books, drilled the teachers in them, and told them to go out and teach the subject.

The boys memorized the rules, the teachers gave lectures and even drew diagrams on the blackboard. Then there were written tests and almost everyone failed. They were discouraged. 

Then a young sports man form Europe visited the place immediately made out why their efforts had been in vain.

"Good heavens," the visitor exclaimed, "you'll never learn to play football form books. You've got to learn by playing..."

So he bought a football, took the boys out onto the field and within a couple of hours taught them more than they had learned in the last six weeks from books."

Msgr. Arthur Tonne

Tonic for the Heart in 1000 bottles Vol. 1

-Frank Michalic , SVD

Dear friends, at times we do act like the Chinese authorities who tried to teach football only by following the rules and books. We try to go by the rules but it is not only through books and rules we learn things but through our daily experiences. I remember as a child I  learnt to keep away from the fire after having touched it. I am sure you too learned the same way.

We at times are so worried about the rules and regulations that we forget to perceive that our examples are the best method of teaching our students as well as our companions. This is the basic point Msgr. Arthur Tonne is giving us in his story "Example teaches, not books."

Even Jesus Christ taught His disciples more by His examples than by  teaching through the Torah. So friends lets try to teaches others through our examples than through books. 

GOSSIPING

One day someone ran up to the wise man Socrates and whispered, "Socrates, listen to this bit of gossip about your friend."

"Wait!" quickly answered Socrates. "Have you first passed it through the three sieves?" 

"What three sieves?"

"Yes,, my friend, three sieves. Now let's see whether what you want to tell me passed through them. The first is truth. Are you sure that what you are going to say is the truth?"

"Well," stuttered the man, "actually I heard the story secondhand."

"Hmmm,"answered the wise man. "Well, let's go on and see whether it can pass through the second sieve. Is what you are going to say, kind?"

"Not exactly," said the informer. "In fact it's the opposite."

"So that takes care of that. Now tell me:is it necessary?"

"Hardly."

"Well, if what you want to tell me is neither true nor kind nor necessary, skip it."

From Tonic for the Heart Vol 2

Dear friends, how do we act in our day to day life? Are we like Socrates or like the other person who is eager to gossip about others? This story gives us a good lesson, do we need to gossip or is it necessary to listen to others gossiping about their friends? 

I am sure all of us do enjoy and take part in gossiping about the third person but let's try to imitate Socrates and his theory of three sieves. Is the gossip true, kind and necessary? Let's try to remind ourselves next time someone who comes to gossip and when we gossip the three sieves of Socrates. Let's stop gossiping.