God in all things

I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.

I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.

I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe.

I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you.

I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.

I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.

I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.

I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.

I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honour.

I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.

I can tell you about alcohol & drugs, but I can’t say “No” for you.

I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can’t achieve them for you.

I can teach you about kindness, but I can’t force you to be gracious

I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

A saint asked his disciples, ‘Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are set?’
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.’
‘But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?’ asked the saint. ‘Isn’t it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you’re angry?’
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.
Finally he explained, ‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.’
Then the saint asked, ‘What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small…’
The saint continued, ‘When they love each other even more, what happens?
They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other..’
MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

A turtle family went on a picnic.. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outings. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found it. For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements.

Then they discovered the had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home.

Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed– and the little turtle had not returned. Five years…six years.. Then in the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich.

At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, “SEE I knew you wouldn’t wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.”

The Moral Is…Some of us waste our lives waiting for people to live up to our expectations of them. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don’t do anything ourselves.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo S J

Thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.
Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice
clothes to wear. And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade
beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night.
I know that many have no bed.

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the
splattered mess, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory; they are so
convenient. Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs
defrosting so badly; it has served us faithfully for many years. It is full
of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.
Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today; it has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass
that needs mowing, the lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.
Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door.
My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me
says You have richly blessed my family. I shall do them cheerfully and I
shall do them gratefully. Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when
the alarm rings, Thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are
deaf. Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as
possible, Thank you, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising,
Thank you, Lord, that I have the
strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost,
Toast is burned and tempers are short, my children are so loud,
Thank you, Lord, for my family. There
are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like
the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times not balanced, Thank you,
Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry. Even though the
routine of my job is often monotonous, Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity
to work. There are many who have no job.
Even though I grumble and bemoan my
fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest,
Thank you, Lord, for life. LORD, THANK YOU !!!!

In ALL things, praise Him
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

A man was strolling along the beach one day when he spotted a bottle washed up on the shore. He went over and picked it up, and noticed a message in the bottle. He popped the cork out and inside was a weathered treasure map indicating that there was buried treasure to be found in the shallow waters below. But the man thought it was a hoax, so he slipped the map back in and threw the bottle back into the ocean…
A little later, another man was walking along the beach and the bottle had washed upon the shore. He too picked up the bottle, popped out the cork, and found the treasure map. This man, however, was curious enough to wade into the water and hoped it was buried shallow enough to find. But once the cold ocean waters reached up to his thighs, he decided to quit. “This is not worth it!” he thought to himself. So he scrambled back to shore and chucked the bottle back into the ocean….
A third man was walking by the beach and noticed the bottle washed upon the shore. He went over, opened the bottle and found the map. The map looked authentic enough, and promised great treasure… So he got himself a small raft and set out into the ocean to claim the treasure. He rowed out far enough into the ocean where the “X” on the map was and to his surprise, he saw the glint of something shining in the waters below. He dove into the ocean and swam towards the shining object below.. He could see that there was something that looked like a treasure chest, but he couldn’t quite reach it and the deeper he went, the greater the cold and pressure on his body and his mind..,” I am about to lose my breath, and the longer I take, my raft might be swept away!”, he thought. So the man decided to give up the hunt so he would ensure his own life and safety. When he reached the shore once more, he took the bottle from the raft and tossed it back into the ocean…
Finally, one more man was walking along the beach. He noticed the bottle, went over, popped it open, and was excited to find a map promising great treasure. He noticed someone had left a raft by the water’s edge, so he took it and paddled out. He too, got far enough to where the “X” marks the spot, and squinted into the waters and saw the shadow and glint of the treasure below. He took a deep breath and plunged into the waters. Like the man before him, the cold, darkness and pressure upon his senses increased as he got closer. He also realized that if he kept swimming, that he might lose his breath, the raft, and even his own life! But this treasure could be worth all the risk and he persisted. Just as he was about to give up, he grabbed the long chain that was binding the chest and pulled it up along with himself back to the surface.
He broke the surface of the water gasping and exhausted but with the treasure chest safely in his grasp. He paddled back to the shore, opened up the treasure chest and found what the map had promised–gold, and precious diamonds and jewels that would make him secure for the rest of his life.
A relationship with God is a similar treasure hunt. People hear the same message, but the way they receive it will determine the reward they might find. Eternal life is waiting for all those who are willing to take that risk to follow God all the way of life, where we find love, forgiveness and life everlasting…. for eternity.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

One day a woodcutter took his grandson into the forest for his first experience in selecting and cutting oak trees. These they would later sell to the boat builders. As they walked along, the woodcutter explained that the purpose of each tree is contained in its natural shape: some are straight for planks, some have the proper curves for the ribs of a boat, and some are tall for masts.
The woodcutter told his grandson that by paying attention to the details of each tree, and with experience in recognizing these characteristics, someday he too might become the woodcutter of the forest.

A little way into the forest, the grandson saw an old oak tree that had never been cut. The boy asked his grandfather if he could cut it down because it was useless for boat building – there were no straight limbs, the trunk was, short and gnarled, and the curves were going the wrong way. “We could cut it down for firewood,” the grandson said. “At least then it will be of some use to us.” The woodcutter replied that for now they should be about their work cutting the proper trees for the boat builders; maybe later they could return to the old oak tree. After a few hours of cutting the huge trees, the grandson grew tired and asked if they could stop for a rest in some cool shade. The woodcutter took his grandson over to the old oak tree, where they rested against its trunk in the cool shade beneath its twisted limbs.

After they had rested a while, the woodcutter explained to his grandson the necessity of attentive awareness and recognition of everything in the forest and in the world. Some things are readily apparent, like the tall, straight trees; other things are less apparent, requiring closer attention, like recognition of the proper curves in the limbs. And some things might initially appear to have no purpose at all, like the gnarled old oak tree.

The woodcutter stated, “You must learn to pay careful attention every day so you can recognize and discover the purpose God has for everything in creation. For it is this old oak tree, which you so quickly deemed useless except for firewood, that now allows us to rest against its trunk amidst the coolness of its shade. “Remember, grandson, not everything is as it first appears. Be patient, pay attention, recognize, and discover.”
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay for his hungry stomach, decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.
On the way through school, he found he had only one thin dime left and he was very hungry.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water.
The woman thought he looked hungry, so brought him a large glass of milk.
He drank it slowly, and then asked, ‘How much do I owe you?’ ‘You don’t owe me anything,’ she replied. ‘Mother has taught us, never to accept pay for a kindness.’
He said…’Then I thank you from my heart.’
Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.
Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.
He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life, from that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.
He looked at it, and then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.
The woman feared opening it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.
Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words…
‘Paid in full with one glass of milk.’ Signed, Dr.Howard Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: Thank You, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands.’
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
‘And what do you want?’ the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,’ he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
‘Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,’ Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. ‘He’s really, really sick…and I want to buy a miracle.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ said the pharmacist.
‘His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now So how much does a miracle cost?’
‘We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,’ the pharmacist said, softening a little.
‘Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.’
The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man He stooped down and asked the little girl, ‘What kind of a miracle does your brother need?’
‘ I don’t know,’ Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.’
‘How much do you have?’ asked the man from Chicago
‘One dollar and eleven cents,’ Tess answered barely audibly.
‘And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.’
‘Well, what a coincidence,’ smiled the man. ‘A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. ‘
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said ‘Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the miracle you need.’
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
‘That surgery,’ her Mom whispered. ‘was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?’
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost..one dollar and eleven cents….plus the faith of a little child.
In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need. A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law. I know you’ll keep the ball moving! Here it goes. Throw it back to someone who means something to you! A ball is a circle, no beginning, no
end. It keeps us together like our Circle of Friends. But the treasure inside for you to see is the treasure of friendship you’ve granted to me.
MY OATH TO YOU…
When you are sad…..I will dry your tears.
When you are scared…..I will comfort your fears.
When you are worried…..I will give you hope.
When you are confused……I will help you cope.
And when you are lost…And can’t see the light, I shall be your beacon….Shining ever so bright.
This is my oath…..I pledge till the end.
Why you may ask?….Because you’re my friend.
Signed: GOD
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things “in order”, she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favourite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

“There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.

“What’s that?” came the pastor’s reply.

“This is very important,” the woman continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”

The pastor didn’t know what to say. “That surprises you, doesn’t it?” the woman asked.

“Well, to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request,” said the pastor.

The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork’. It was my favourite part because I knew that something better was coming… Like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance. So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them : “Keep your fork…the best is yet to come”.

The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman the last time he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing, her favourite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, “What’s with the fork?” And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman about what it symbolized to her.

The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was indeed right.

So the next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore . We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the clinic. One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. “Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,” I thought as I stared at the stooped, shrivelled body. But the appalling thing was his face – lopsided from swelling, red and raw. Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus ’til morning.” He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. “I guess it’s my face… I know it looks terrible, but the doctor says with a few more treatments…”
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. “No thank you. I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag. When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint. In fact, every other sentence was prefaced with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favour, he said, “Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.”He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.” I told him he was welcome to come again.
And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 am, and wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish or oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.
When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbour made after he left that first morning. “Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!” Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.
Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse. As she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, “If this were my plant, I’d put it in the loveliest container I had!”
My friend changed my mind. “I ran short of pots,” she explained, “and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn’t mind starting out in this old pail. It’s just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden.” She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in Heaven. “Here’s an especially beautiful one,” God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. “He won’t mind starting in this small body.”
All this happened long ago – and now, in God’s garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand. Our Lives are not determined by what happened to us, but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings us but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and My fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.Psalm 91;2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And when you pass through the rivers, they will Not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, You will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour – Isaiah 43:2-3
God Bless You
Fr Eugene Lobo SJ