BOUNTEOUS BLESSINGS

It was a Christmas Eve. A mother and her child were shopping in a large super market. There was a heavy rush of customers as the shop was to be closed on Christmas day. The shop was decorated beautifully. At the exit, a large bowl full of toffees was placed for the children. A stout gate-keeper was asking the children coming out of the store to have a handful each of the sweet toffees as Christmas gift.

When the mother and child came out, he politely asked the child to take the gift. But he stood still. The mother compelled him, but he was not willing to take it. Since more children were coming out, the gate-keeper took a handful of sweets from the bowl and put them into their carrier bag. The child was happy. When they were outside, the mother asked the child why he refused to take the toffees himself. He showed her his tiny hands and told innocently, My hands are small, Mommy; but the gate-keepers hands were so large in size. If I collect a handful, it will be too little. But he filled his large hand and gave me all of it. That was much more than what I could have collected! I was waiting for him to do it.

The childs attitude teaches us an important lesson about the abundance of Gods grace being bestowed upon us. What we acquire by our own efforts is too little compared to the infinite gifts of God. If we seek Gods grace, He will shower His gifts on us. Gods hands and mind are infinitely larger than ours. His gifts will be the best and most suitable for us and much more than what we can ask or think of {Ephesians 3:20}.

Jesus promised, Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you {Matthew 7: 7, Luke 11: 9}. I have come in order that you might have life life in all its fullness {John 10: 10}.

He gives generously to the needy, and His kindness never fails {Psalms 112:9}.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should pray to God, who will give it to him; because God gives generously and graciously to all {James 1:5}.

And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause {2 Corinthians 9: 8}.

And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs {Philippians 4: 19}.

Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son! For by the sacrificial death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which He gave to us in such large measure! {Ephesians 1:6-8}.

By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit my web-site: http://www.moralstorieschristian.blogspot.com

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What Exactly Is a Hero?

Once, many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in the middle of Wyoming. Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide. In closing she called me a hero.

That got me to thinking about what a hero really is. Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someones life?

Today I decided to look up the word hero in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant.

It read A person who does something brave. As I read on, it also said A person who is good and noble. That statement impressed me more than did the part about being brave.

That got me to thinking about something very important. Say I was walking into the local Wal-Mart Store and I happened to open and hold the door for someone as a courtesy. As they passed me by, I say How are you today?

Most of the time that would be no big deal, but this time lets say it was for someone who is deeply depressed and near the end of the rope. That may have very well been the only kindness or courtesy shown to them in a very long time.

Having been near the end of my rope, after my marriage of twenty years ended, I was in such a condition. I was within hours of trying to get up enough nerve to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.

I went on to write many stories which last week saved the life of a teenage boy. In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero.

I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages. Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and vindictive attitude against the world. The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten. Hopefully, most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared. If it works we will also become heroes.

Gee, who would have ever thought that anyone can become a hero, and possibly save a life, just by being kind and courteous to others? The best part of all is that becoming a hero is free to all who wish to wear such an honour.

By Roger Dean Kiser

God has instilled greatness within each of us that is meant to be used to bring glory and honour to His name. The gifts that we have been given may seem miniscule to us, but it can mean the world to someone in need of what we possess. We should never undervalue our gifts thinking that we are not special enough to touch someone else and encourage them to continue on.

God has us here for a special purpose that is meant to minister grace to those near to us to let them know that All will be well and nothing by any means shall be able to harm them. Believe in yourself this day and allow the Lord to use you to encourage and bless someone else that is in need of what only you can give. (Isaiah 54:17) (Philippians 2:13-15)

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that will show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. -- 1 Peter 2:9

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No Pain No Gain

No Pain No Gain… Accept the Pain, Future will be Fruitful…

Don't feel the work you are doing is pain, because there will be always a reason for that pain or work.

So face the pain, for the pain you face, there will definitely be happiness ahead.

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LOVE WITHOUT LIMITS

St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) was a saintly Franciscan priest of Poland. He was arrested and imprisoned by Gestapo, the German secret police under the Nazi regime. Later he was shifted to the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland.

One day, one of the prisoners in the concentration camp was found to be missing. The authorities assumed that he had escaped, though later it was found that he had died by drowning in the camp latrine. It was ruled that instead of the missing prisoner, ten prisoners from the same barracks should be starved to death, to deter further attempts for escape. Of the ten prisoners selected to be killed, one was Franciszek Gajowniczek. Hearing the sentence of doom, he cried out desperately, Oh, my poor wife, my poor children! I shall never see them again. The prisoners present were in tears seeing this scene.

Hearing his cry in agony, Fr. Kolbe boldly stepped forward and said, I am a Catholic priest. Let me take his place. I am old. He has a wife and children.

The request of Fr. Kolbe to die instead of Franciszek was granted. The ten prisoners including Fr. Kolbe were shut in a closed chamber and left to die by starvation. Fr. Kolbe strengthened the prisoners and led them in prayer, rosary and singing of hymns. The prisoners died one after another by dehydration and starvation. Fr. Kolbe stayed alive, enlightening them by his words and prayer.

Finally, on 14th August, 1941, Fr. Kolbe was killed by injecting poisonous carbolic acid into the vein in his left hand. He readily raised his hand for receiving the deadly injection, with a prayer on his lips. The cell in which Fr. Kolbe was killed is now a shrine, a source of inspiration to innumerable pilgrims.

Franciszek Gajowniczek died at the age of 95 in 1995, 53 years after Fr. Kolbe saved him. He could witness the canonisation of Fr. Kolbe by Pope John Paul II on 10th October, 1982.

St. Maximilian Kolbe was a martyr of charity, a true follower of Jesus who taught and demonstrated the Gospel of love and sacrifice. Jesus said, My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you. The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them {John 15:12, 13}.


By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit the web-site: http://www.moralstorieschristian.blogspot.com

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NICE NEIGHBOURS

Miss. Maria was a poor, old woman staying alone in a cheap house in the outskirts of New York City. She subsisted on the meager pension granted by the Government to unemployed poor people.

She was kind and considerate to everyone. She was fond of children. They enjoyed her company and her nice words. She enlightened them by her wise words and interesting illustrations. She was loved by all her neighbours. They were willing to support her financially, but she thankfully refused all their offers. Still, they were waiting for a chance to help her.

On the first of a month, she returned home after collecting her regular pension. Later, she could not find the money in her house. She assumed that she had lost it on the way. She put up a notice on a board near her house stating that she had lost 100 dollars on the road and anyone who finds the money may kindly give it to her. She then went to the church and returned soon.

Reaching home, she was surprised to find several packets dropped into her house through an open window. She examined them and found that each contained exactly 100 dollars and a note that the money was picked up from the road. Obviously, these were the voluntary contributions of her loving neighbours, who were awaiting a chance to help her. She removed the notice soon, saying, "If it remains here, many more may find out the missing money!" Later, she could recover the missing money from her own house as it had been misplaced by her by mistake.

When we show kindness to others, others will shower it on us, especially when we are in need. But we must be kind to all, expecting nothing in return.

"Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them! {Matthew 5: 7}

By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit the web-site: http://www.moralstorieschristian.blogspot.com

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Non-Violence in Parenting

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbours, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, 'I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together.'

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, 'Why were you late?' I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, 'The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait,' not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: 'There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it.'

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered.

I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence.

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A PRINCIPLED PRESIDENT

In the eighteenth century, in a stormy night, a huge tree got uprooted and fell across a busy road in Baltimore in the state of Maryland in the USA. A team of soldiers were deputed to clear the block. They cut the branches of the tree and tried their best to move the large log from the road. But they could not move it as it was very heavy. Their superior officer, a stout and strong man on horseback, was watching their work, giving strong directions and stern commands, without any physical participation in the work.

A passer-by on a white horse saw the scene. He asked the officer why he did not lend a helping hand to the sweating soldiers instead of giving loud oral orders. The officer replied in a rage, "I am the officer in command of this operation. I am their superior officer. It is below my dignity to work with them."

The traveller readily removed his hat and coat and joined the soldiers. Toiling together, after much effort, they could remove the log and clear the block on the road. While departing, the traveller told the officer, "When you have a difficult work, you can call me. I will come to help you." "Who are you?" asked the officer. "I am George Washington," replied the stranger as he speeded on his horse. The officer was struck with wonder and shame. The stranger was the President of the USA and the Commander-in-Chief of the US military.

George Washington (1732-1799) who commanded the American forces during the historic War of independence was the first President of the USA. He was a principled leader, a great statesman and a renowned philanthropist.

Kindness and compassionate love to all, especially to the poor and underprivileged, is the sign of genuine greatness and real leadership. A leader is one who knows the way, shows the way and goes the way. He should not be like passive sign boards which show the way silently, without active involvement in the movement.

Jesus taught His disciples, "The greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant But I am among you as one who serves" {Luke 22: 26, 27}.

Jesus advised, "The greatest one among you must be your servant {Matthew 23: 11}. Jesus promised, "Everyone who makes himself great will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be made great {Luke 14: 11, Luke 18:14}.

Humility is the greatest of graces.

By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit the web-site: http://www.moralstorieschristian.blogspot.com

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A DARING DONATION

An orphanage in a remote village in Vietnam was bombed in the Vietnam War. Many children were wounded and some died. The French missionaries who owned the orphanage and the vigilant villagers tried their best to rescue the children. But medical care was not available. Some of them ran to the neighbouring town and sent a message to the MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) Unit of the American military. The mobile medical unit rushed to the orphanage with a team of doctors, nurses and other staff and started their operation to save the wounded children. An eight year old little girl was badly wounded. She had lost a lot of blood and was in a very critical state. The only step to save her life was an immediate blood transfusion.

They examined her blood. It was of a very rare group. A donor with a compatible blood group was needed urgently. None of the members of the medical team or the staff of the orphanage or the available villagers had a matching blood group. They tested the blood of the children and identified a few little boys with the required blood group. As the members of the team were not proficient in the local language, they could not communicate with the boys clearly. They tried their best to request them to volunteer to donate blood to save the dying girl. One little boy stepped forward, ready to donate his blood. During the transfusion he started to sob and appeared to be mentally disturbed. The staff tried their best to console him.

Then a Vietnamese nurse arrived. She talked to the boy and enquired in the local language about the cause of his worry. She had a long conversation and hearing her words of assurance, the boy appeared to be remarkably relieved. His sobs were replaced by a smile. He was peaceful and jubilant. The nurse then explained the real situation. When the team requested his blood to save the girl, the poor boy had a major misunderstanding. He thought that they were demanding ALL the blood in his little body. He believed that when all his blood is drained, he would die. Still he was ready to offer his blood to save the girl. The barrier of language made the team unable to explain the details to him. The words of the local nurse consoled him considerably.

The American staff then inquired why the boy volunteered to donate his blood though he feared it would end his life. The Vietnamese nurse replied that she had asked the same question to the boy. His answer was, Because she is my friend!

Jesus taught, My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you. The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them {John 15:12, 13}.

St. John reminds us, My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action {1 John 3:18}.

By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit the web-site: http://www.moralstorieschristian.blogspot.com

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Let Go...

The following is a very meaningful story which is called "Let Go", and written by Dr. Billy Graham.

A little child was playing one day with a very valuable vase. He put his hand into it and could not withdraw it. His father too, tried his best, but all in vain. They were thinking of breaking the vase when the father said, "Now, my son, make one more try. Open your hand and hold your fingers out straight as you see me doing, and then pull."

To their astonishment the little fellow said, "O no, father. I couldn't put my fingers out like that, because if I did I would drop my penny."

Smile, if you will--but thousands of us are like that little boy, so busy holding on to the world's worthless penny that we cannot accept liberation. I beg you to drop the trifle in your heart. Surrender! Let go, and let God have His way in your life.

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