The Best Kept Secret

There were 3 rural parish priests who had a problem with birds nesting in the nooks and crannies of the ceilings of their churches. One had a shotgun and fired a few shots at the ceiling and they flew off, only to return soon after. The second rigged up a net and caught them, put the net in his truck, drove them 100 miles and released them and when he got back to his church they were already back. The last one had one of those high pressure car washing devices which he filled with Holy water and Baptised the whole flock; and never saw them again. 

Many in the last few generations align to tradition without knowing why and maintain a skin deep relationship with the church and often no relationship at all with their God. 

When I was taught about religion; it was by religious sisters, who could talk about hell with such clarity and detail that we all knew they had been born and raised there! I could probably pass a test on the Catechism but didn’t have a clue who God was really or how this could be a part of life beyond having to go to Mass on Sunday; and this unimpressive start was before sin entered the picture much. 

Who God is and what He can be for a follower of His, is probably the best kept secret in the church and strangely religion often stands in the way of its discovery, distracts from the goal rather than leading to it. Grace has its own timing of course, but it’s seldom entirely independent. The catalyst is generally a witness, someone who does know God, who has experienced that touch of grace in a way which brought about a transformation in their lives and can then do the same for the listener. God is experiential, a theoretical one won’t captivate anyone, He is living and acts mightily in the here and now, not merely historically. 

When someone opens their heart to God, in all sincerity, then it’s like being unplugged from the Matrix.., to suddenly see the world as it really is, who we are, and who God is. And then the journey begins together and we realize all He can be for us. The most beautiful thing to realize is that we are not alone. There is a good Father on whom we can rely entirely for everything we need; there is no need to be afraid of life anymore, you are in safe hands. But we must be intentional about seeking him out, trusting Him and being aligned with His Spirit through prayer. 

How can the current or next generations ever know God unless there are authentic witnesses to tell them the church’s best kept secret?

The Water Prison....a story from China

By Bishop John Tong

People have reason to be afraid of water, as those who have experienced the water prison realise. What is a water prison ? Imagine a small, dark dungeon with a narrow concrete table or altar in the middle of it.

The room is flooded so that only the table is above the water level. The guards take two stubborn prisoners who need to be taught a lesson and put them on the table every morning. The prisoners sit on the concrete, back to back, with no space to move until bedtime.

After 40 days the men should be either crazy or ready to sign any confession, if they have not already fallen into the water and drowned.

A Catholic Priest was put into a water prison. His companion complained and cursed from the first day, but the Priest decided to meditate and make a private retreat.

Before long the non-Christian prisoner became curious as to how his partner could be so serene under such circumstances. He began to ask him questions.

The Priest took the opportunity to explain the Gospel and the teachings of the church to him and eventually the catechumen asked 'There is water here, what is to prevent me from being baptised?'. And so the Priest baptised him, there & then, just as Philip baptised the Ethiopian eunuch in the Acts of the Apostles.

The Non-Christian had at first been afraid of the water around his small table, but not when the Spirit came.

No one knows the day or the hour...a story from England

A few years ago now, when we lived in Coventry,  a lady had a Mass offered for her sick brother-in-law who was a cancer patient, she was looking after him, a full time job at that stage.

After Mass a few of the parishioners were invited back to the house for tea and biscuits. They talked for a while and she shared her concerns for her brother-in-law.

Whilst She was a devout Catholic; her brother-in-law had no time for God at all. A very intelligent man, the living room was filled with plaques and certificates that hailed his achievements in his academic and professional undertakings and as a civic leader and local hero, but faith was absent and she feared for him as he had already exceeded the life expectancy predicted by the doctors, another credit to his will of iron.

That evening he was not at home, but at the hospital scheduled to receive a blood transfusion. The nature of his illness meant that he had a low blood count and so needed regular transfusions.

After tea, the group decided to pray together for a while, first for the lady who was so exhausted in every way and also for her patient. After praying for forgiveness of sins, they prayed for the current problem with his blood, also that he would be relieved of his pains and be able to sleep again (it had been almost a year since he had a nights sleep, every few minutes he woke up because of the pain), and also for him to open his heart to God and receive the faith.

Meanwhile in the hospital, at the same time, 9pm, the patient was hooked up to a machine which measured his blood count, while the doctors were preparing for the transfusion. The blood count was measuring a low level, then suddenly it went up and was reading what would be considered Normal. The doctors were a bit baffled by this, but continued with the transfusion. (The patient told his sister-in-law about this strange event, on his return, before she told him that he was being prayed for). That same night he slept like a baby too, and was able to do so in the next few months with little or no pain killers.

The same group of parishioners visited him again after his release from the hospital and whilst he became more open and requested prayers, as he always felt better afterwards, he was still unwilling to believe what God had done for him. (perhaps the blood count machine was malfunctioning, perhaps the pain killers were working better all of a sudden, maybe its psychological , if you know you're being prayed for maybe it makes you feel better !etc etc) The more people that witnessed to him the wonders of God, the more hardheaded he seemed to become !

Some months passed and on January the 3rd , he passed away. 

On January the 2nd he was rushed to hospital with a chest problem, which turned out to be Pneumonia. 

But on January 1st, at his own request, he was Baptised and became a Catholic:the peace and joy that filled him at that moment visible to all present. 

The Lord knew the day and the hour and He answers prayers !

No one knows the day or the hour

A few months ago a lady had a Mass offered for her sick brother-in-law who was a cancer patient, she was looking after him, a full time job at that stage.

After the Mass a few of the parishioners were invited back to the house for tea & biscuits. They talked for a while and she shared her concerns for her brother-in-law.

Whilst she was a devout Catholic, he had no time for God at all. A very intelligent man, the living room was filled with plaques and certificates that hailed his achievements in his academic and professional undertakings and as a civic leader and local hero, but faith was absent and she feared for him as he had already exceeded the life expectancy predicted by the doctors, another credit to his will of iron.

That evening he was not at home, but at the hospital scheduled to receive a blood transfusion. The nature of his illness meant that he had a low “blood count” and so needed regular transfusions.

After tea, the group decided to pray together for a while, first for the lady who was so exhausted in every way and also for her patient. They prayed for the current problem with his blood, also that he would be relieved of his pains and be able to sleep again (it had been almost a year since he had a nights sleep, every few minutes he woke up because of the pain), and also for him to open his heart to God and receive the faith.

Meanwhile in the hospital, at the same time, 9pm, the patient was hooked up to a machine which measured his blood count, while the doctors were preparing for the transfusion. The blood count was measuring a low level, then suddenly it went up and was reading what would be considered Normal. The doctors were a bit baffled by this, but continued with the transfusion. (The patient told his sister-in-law about this strange event, on his return, before she told him that he was being prayed for). That same night he slept like a baby too, and was able to do so in the next few months with little or no pain killers.

The same group of parishioners visited him again after his release from the hospital and whilst he became more open and requested prayers, as he always felt better afterwards, he was still unwilling to believe what God had done for him. (perhaps the blood count machine was malfunctioning, perhaps the pain killers were working better all of a sudden, maybe its psychological , if you know you’re being prayed for maybe it makes you feel better !etc etc) The more people that witnessed to him the wonders of God, the more hard headed he seemed to become !

Some months passed and on January the 3rd 2006, he passed away.

On January the 2nd he was rushed to hospital with a chest problem, which turned out to be Pneumonia.
But on January 1st, at his own request, he was Baptised and became a Catholic the peace and joy that filled him at that moment visible to all present. The Lord knew the day and the hour and He answers prayers !