Bits of the Gospel

Introduction A Christian family, modeled at the image of the Holy Trinity, must be so much cohered that whoever sees it sees unity, sees love, sees peace, sees harmony, sees stability and security.... These are some of the aspects of a family that render it attractive to the younger generation. Needless to say, backbiting and backstabbing, outbursts of anger and the desire to revenge, separation and divorce, to name but a few, render the institution of marriage unattrative to the younger generation. Holy Trinity and the Family St. John Paul II believed the family would play a vital role in the new evangelization. What would be a family that lives these values in an heroic way? It would be a living testimony of the Gospel of Life put in daily life. This way, the Christian family would not be a mere bystander in the Church’s evangelizing mission. We are in the midst of an eroding cultural crisis. Attempts to redefine marriage and the family are more compelling now that ...

Je, unaichukuliaje Biblia? Kwa maoni yako … - ni tunda la busara za mwanadamu? - ni kitambu cha hadithi na nahau? - ni Neno la Mungu? Biblia inasemaje? “Maandiko matakatifu yote ni uvuvio kutoka kwa Mungu.” (2 Timotheo 3:16) Ina maana hii kwako: - majibu ya kuridhisha juu ya mambo makubwa ya maisha (Methali 2:15). - misingi dhabiti ya maisha ya kila siku (Zaburi 119:105). - matumaini halisi ya maisha ya baadaye (Warumi 15:4) TUNAWEZA KUAMINI INACHOSEMA BIBLIA? Ndio, angalau kwa sababu tatu: ü       Mwendelezo wa ajabu Biblia imeandikwa ndani ya miaka 1600 na watu kama arobaini hivi. Wengi wao hawajulikani kamwe. ü       Uwazi katika kueleza historia. Wanahistoria kawaida hujaribu kuficha kushindwa kwa watu wao. Baadala yake, waandishi wa Biblia wanaripoti kila kitu bila kuficha mapungufu yao na ya taifa yao. (2 Nyakati 36:15, 16: Zaburi 51:1-14) ü       Kutimia k...

I'm in the house of a wonderful couple, Renato e Regina. The house located at Cislago in Varese, near Milan, is a true haven of joy. The couple talks of their days as workers (40 Years!). Now double that! Regina paints. I will share those paintings later. Renato is a musician, technology geek, and all. Believe me! Their two sons (now grown up, Beppe and Matteo) are still a great source of joy. I have spent my day with them today. They simply radiate joy. And their house, believe me, is an expanse of art. You can see it from every angle. Charity is an hallmark for them. The other couple is Luciano and Patrizia. Here is evident in talking, in eating, in arranging. Waoh! And the open sincerity of the two! You can see how they love each other. Patrizia fascinates everybody with her cookies (dolci). You are welcome into her home just to find her art there on the table! Luciano, the worthy husband to this noble woman, keeps everybody laughing. His generosity is immense. May be he go...

Flowers. You think of them as part of nature; and their place in the world of joy! (Well, the other side of this dream is that flowers are a language!) White roses speak of purity, of character and life; and you got to know how, the lilies speak of that too! Sometimes, there is truth in this: whither you go, nature speaks anyway!

Injili ya Kwaresima: Utangulizi Nafikiri sio rahisi sana kutoa tafakari kuhusu Mwana Mpotevu. Inaitwa pia Injili ya Baba mwenye huruma. Tutagundua kuwa ina majina zaidi ya haya leo. Mojawapo ya vipengele vinavyovutia zaidi vya Maisha ya Kiroho (mafundisho) ya Mt. Joseph Cottolengo ni msisitizo anaweka katika “Kuwa katika uhusiano mwema na Mungu”. Alitaka ziive kati ya wafuasi wake na Mungu. Na Injili hii (Luka 15:11-32) inatusaidia kutathmini kama tupo sawa. Labda inafaa kufikiria ni wana wawili wapotevu. Hebu tuitafakari pamoja kama Walezi wa Watoto Wa Shirika la Kipapa la Utoto Mtakatifu. Kupotelewa na Mwana! Huzuni. Niaminini kweli. Unaweza kuvumilia mara mia kupotelewa na kondoo au hata hela (haya 1-10) kuliko kuvumilia kupotelewa na mtoto. Injili hii utumika mara nyingi kama maandalizi ya maungamo. Inaonyesha picha ya Baba asiyekata tamaa, mwenye huruma kubwa. Hisia tunazopata kuhusiana na tabia ya huyu kijana aliyepotea, na kule kurudi kwake...

Coming up soon is Paa Langu Initiative. An undertaking for livelihood support of the poorest members of our society. We hope to raise funds to put up decent houses for the poorest members of our society, beginning with widows who are left to fed for themselves. Paa Langu is swahili for my roof. It is meant to answer to a request by one of the widows in our parish who showed up in my office one day and said, "Paa Langu limeanguka jana usiku", The roof of my house has caved in last night. Sobbing uncontrollably, she narrated how she had moved from one corner of her house to another when the heavy down puor was at its peak. Then, what she was fearing happened. The roof caved in. The sad story has made the Cottolengo Trust Tanzania think of ways of helping such people find a decent home. We are in the course of fundraising for such victims who have nowhere to go. We hope to support them put up houses that can stand the harsh weather of the Coast region of Tanzania. More wil...

Deliberately. By my own choice, having made up my mind. It's a choice with consequences! You choose joy, you may choose sadness. All will not be well anyway. If you are sad or happy, It is by choice. Look through the window, see the coming and going of people. My friends, that's a choice, for happiness or for sadness. You're your own maker. Literally! Some find what they're looking for, other fail to achieve their goal. Yet, how they live is a choice, for happiness or for sadness! Wait is good news for some, bad news for others. And you? What's your focus? Happiness or sadness? Deliberately. Be happy!