The Lion’s Whisker

The Lion’s Whisker

Long ago in Ethiopia, a woman married a widower who had a son. Her joy was great when she went to live in the home of her new husband, for she longed for a child. But the child refused her affections, saying, “You are not my mother.” He refused her cooking, tore her mending, and turned away from her kindness.

After some times, the sorrowing woman decided to seek the help of a wise hermit who lived on the mountain. “Make me a potion,” she begged, “so my step-son will love me as I love him.”

“I can make such a potion,” he said, “but the ingredients are very difficult to obtain. You must bring me a whisker of a living lion.”

The woman went away in great distress but determined not to give up. That night, while her family slept, she crept out of the village to the edge of the desert carrying a bowl of meat. She knew that a great lion lived near some rocks quiet a distance away. She walked under the night sky as close to the lion as she dared. Hearing him roar, she dropped the bowl and ran back home. Again the next night, she sneaked from the house with a bowl of meat. She walked farther into the desert until she could see the form of the lion on the distant rocks. She set down her bowl and ran home.

Every night she drew closer to the lion before setting down her bowl and fleeing for home. Every night the lion ate food. Finally one night, after many weeks, she places down her bowl and stepped back but did not run. She watched the huge cat come slowly forward and eat from the bowl. The following night, she placed down the bowl and did not move away. The lion came slowly forward and began to eat from the bowl. She reached out and stroked his fur. He made happy sounds in his throat. “Thank you, dear friend, “She said and carefully snipped a whisker from his chin. She moved slowly away and then ran all the way to the wise hermit’s hut.

“I’ve brought you the whisker of a living lion,” she called, running into his hut. The hermit was sitting before his fire. He took the whisker and examined it closely. “You have indeed,” he said, and dropped the whisker into the fire.

“What have you done!” she cried. “That was the whisker for the love potion. You don’t know how hard it was to obtain. It has taken me months to win the trust of the lion.”

“Can the love and trust of a child be harder to obtain than that of a wild beast?” he asked her. “Go home and think on what you have done.”

The woman returned home and slowly, with love and patience, won the trust and love of her step-son.

To have hope is to believe that history continues open to the dream of God and to human creativity.

To have hope is to continue affirming that it is possible to dream a different world, without hunger, without injustice, without discrimination.

To have hope is to courier of God and courier of God’s people of good will, tearing down walls, destroying borders, building bridges.

To have hope is to believe in the revolutionary potential of faith, is to leave the door open so that the spirit can enter and make all things anew.

To have hope is to believe that life wins over death.

To have hope is to begin again as many times as necessary.

To have hope is to believe that hope is not the last thing that dies.

To have hope is to believe that hope cannot die, that hope no longer dies.

To have hope is to live.

By Missionary Sisters of St. Charity.

God bless the peace makers

Sacred Heart of Jesus, your kingdom come!

For all those who seek the Lord with sincerity of heart and for all lovers of peace living and deceased, who have risked their lives that God’s kingdom would be reached, especially my beloved Dad John Oladimeji Fatoyinbo. For his relentless effort in individuals, family and community reconciliation, may our world know peace and joy.

The Emptiness of life

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand. They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water’s edge, with gate and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands and sat down to build another castle. I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships with other people endure. Sooner or later, a wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh. 

Cosmogentic Principle - Thomas Berry

Cosmogentic Principle

            Cosmogentic principles referred to the governing themes and basal intentionality of all existence. I will explain cosmogenetic principle of the mother earth in these three terms: Autopoiesis, differentiation and communion.

            Mother earth has a self-organizing power within it. This self-organizing power is the inner dimension of the mother earth. It posses within it whatever that can change it. It is self-manifested. It is only the mother earth that posses the qualities of the mother earth. No other mode of expression in the universe has these qualities other than mother earth. Scientific findings have tried to explain the mother earth in terms of experiences over the years, yet they have not been able to fully explain the inner dimension of the mother earth. Natural happens such as earth-quakes, volcanoes, tsunamis etc, cannot be fully determined. If scientists or ecologists can say with all certainty when an earth-quake will occur then, we can say that they have fully understood the inner dimension of the mother earth. This inner complexity of the mother earth that exceeds our human understanding made us to be aware of our own inner dimension too that we can never fully comprehend. This inner dimension is what is called autopoiesis.

            The mother earth is not isolated from other creatures. In fact, the mother earth is in communion with each and every other creature. For example, when the heaven pour forth rain, the mother earth receives it. In turn, it brings forth new life, in connection with other focus in the Mickey Way galaxies, such as grass; tree, animals drink to its fullest and humans feed themselves from its abundance. And when all the living creatures have completed their circle, they return to the mother earth that first gave then life. The mother earth creates a deep consciousness around us and within us. This deep consciousness helps us to be appreciative of our communion with other mode of expressions in the universe.

            Mother earth is different and distinctly unique from other mode of expressions. Its roles are irreplaceable. For instance, if the mother earth fails to perfume its role, such as accommodating other creatures, feeding them and housing them, what else in the universe will fulfill this role?

            Every creature in the universe shares many things in common. At the same time, they have different role, which differentiate them form one another. Their different inner dimensions make them unique and allow every creature to live in community, so that what is lacking in one creature can be fulfilled in the other.