OCEAN OF MERCY

A catechist was concluding  her class on forgiveness of sins and the sacrament of reconciliation. She asked a question to her children, "Tell me, what we must do first, to obtain forgiveness of sins?" An innocent child replied, "Sin!"

                    A young woman, who led a sinful life, became thoroughly depressed and decided to commit suicide by jumping into the sea from a tall rock on a sandy beach. As she walked along the beach towards the rock, she felt that she should write her sins on the sand before ending her life. She sat down and wrote her major sins on the sand and stood up to read it. Suddenly a strong wave washed the shore and erased her words completely. Seeing the blank beach, she recalled and realized the power of God's forgiveness. She rushed to a church and confessed her sins. She started a new life of peace and hope.

                   St. Anthony of Padua was in the confessional. A penitent person came for confession, but he was overcome with repentance, sorrow and nervousness and so could not utter even a word. The saint advised him to go home, write his sins on a piece of paper and return with it. When he returned, he was asked to read the sins one by one. As he read out each sin, the inscription of the sin vanished from the paper miraculously. Finally, at the end of the confession the paper became blank. The saint asked him to burn the paper showing him that God has forgiven and forgotten all his sins.

                   A young man approached Archbishop Fulton. J. sheen and asked him how he could be sure that his sins would be forgiven by God after the Sacrament of confession and reconciliation. The Archbishop led him to a beach and asked him to collect a handful of sand. He then asked him to throw the sand into the sea.  Then he asked the young man if he could recover or recognize the grains of sand he had thrown away. The man understood the power of God's forgiveness. When God forgives our sins, he casts our sins into an ocean of mercy, kindness, forgiveness and forgetfulness. St. Isaac the Syrian taught, "Our sins are as so many grains of sand cast into the ocean of God's mercy."

                 The Lord says, "Now, let us settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool" {Isaiah 1:18}.

© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.

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FOOLISH FRIENDS

 A rabbit and two ducks were intimate friends. They used to meet on the bank of a river and have detailed discussions. One day the ducks told the rabbit that they had found a carrot farm on the other bank of the river. The rabbit was excited and sought the help of his friends to cross the river, reach the farm and relish the carrots. The ducks agreed to carry him across the river.

                       They devised an ingenious plan to cross the river. The two ducks entered the river and stayed close to each other. The rabbit carefully mounted on their back and stayed still, placing his forelimbs on one duck and his hind limbs on the other duck. Then the ducks slowly swam across the river, staying close to each other. The rabbit cautiously balanced his body on top of the moving birds.

                       As they reached the centre of the river, the ducks saw a large number of fishes swimming together. In the excitement of finding a delicious meal in the shoal, the ducks quickly swam to either side to catch the prey. They forgot about the poor rabbit who fell down into the deep river as the ducks moved away. The ducks remembered their mission only after they finished their feast. But, by that time the rabbit had drowned. The foolish ducks were sorry to miss their dearest friend. They cursed their crazy craving for food.

                       The Book of Proverbs in the Holy Bible advises, "Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined" {Proverbs 13: 20}.

                       St. John advises, “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}.

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

© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.

For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit our web-sites:

http://www.moral-stories.com
http://christian.moral-stories.com

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