A young Tony Melendez playing.
A reflection for the 5th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Year C. The readings are Isaiah 6:1-2; 3-8; Psalm: 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and Luke 5:1-11.
All this talk about the Zika Virus causing children to be born with a deformed heads has made me think of a whole lot of other children who were born with deformities in the late 50s, early 60s. At the time, pregnant women were given a drug, Thalidomide to help them with their morning sickness. As a result, thousands of babies were born with severe deformities. One of these children was born in Nicaragua. His name is Tony Melendez. Tony was born without arms but he never really saw himself as disabled or even different. Everything you can do with your hands and arms, he is able to do. He can draw, he can write, he drives – he can throw a Frisbee… he can probably even do some things you and I can’t do. At some point, while growing up, Tony figured that he could learn to play guitar and he did. He’s actually pretty good.
In 1987 Tony was singing and playing guitar with his Church group and that year Pope John Paul II was in Los Angeles and Tony was invited to play. He sang a song called Never Be the Same. After that moment, I don’t think Tony’s life was ever the same. When he was done, Pope John Paul got up and jumped down from the stage (to the dismay of his security, I’m sure), walked over to the platform where Tony was sitting and kissed him. (You can watch the video here below.) The look on Tony’s face is one of humility; he’s moved, a bit embarrassed, perhaps. The Pope then says, “Tony, Tony… you are truly a courageous young man. You are giving hope to all of us. My wish to you is to continue giving this hope to all the people.” That night, Tony Melendez had a powerful and moving encounter with the divine – that was an encounter with God and it led to a call. It changed his life and to this day, Tony Melendez continues giving hope to all the people.
This is what always happens after we have a meaningful encounter with God; it leads to a call. Today we have three readings and three call stories, Isaiah’s, Paul’s and Simon Peter’s – they are very different; different people, different locations, different circumstances, but all very similar. In fact, very similar to Tony’s.
A reflection for the 4th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Year C. The readings are Jeremiah 1:4-5; 17-19; Psalm 70; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 and Luke 4:21-30.
Check these out:
The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Co., 1903: “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.”
The New York Times published in 1936: “A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.”
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM said in 1943: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
A Record label executive said in 1962: “Four-piece groups with guitars particularly, are finished. The Beatles have no future in show business.”
Ken Olson, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. said in 1977: “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
An anonymous publishing executive wrote to J.K Rowling in 1996 saying that: “Children just aren’t interested in witches and wizards anymore.”
And Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, 2007: “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.”
Funny, eh?
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A reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, Cycle C. The readings are Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Philippians 1:4-6, 8, 11 and Luke 3:4-6.
The word of God came to John in the desert….
When I was younger, I was listening to music all the time. We had tapes and tape recorders and then Boomboxes and then Walkmans (remember Walkmans?) and we were listening to music all the time. When I was in college I remember telling people that I could not study if I didn’t have music on. Seems a little crazy to me now – It must be a teen-age thing. But that’s the world we live in; a world that is saturated with noise, with activity, with distractions – all the time. Today’s Gospel tells us that the word of God came to John in the desert. Perhaps that means that if we need to hear the word of God, we have to go into the desert. And leave the music behind!
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A reflection on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year B. The readings are Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm: 93; Revelation 1:5-8 and John 18:33b-37.
On a July Sunday morning, 13 years ago I was at Downsview Park in Toronto waiting for Pope John Paul II to arrive for the final Mass of WYD 2002. The WYD Choir was singing selections from Handel’s Messiah, “and He shall reign forever and ever…” and it was raining like it’s never rained in Toronto. I remember thinking, “he is raining forever and ever!” I was thinking of that day as I was preparing for today’s Feast of Christ the King, because even though I’ve heard that song dozens of times, I’ve never made the connection that the reason why He reigns is because He’s a king! We celebrate this feast – the Solemnity of Jesus Christ King of the Universe every year and still I have a real hard time picturing Jesus as king – that’s not an image that works for me. I suspect it’s because I have not had many great models of kings in my life. I mean, what do you think of when you think of kings? Game of Thrones? I remember learning about King Henry XVIII. Not the best examples of kingly behaviour. These are men who are more concerned about their own pleasures and desires and for their need to hold on to their power than their duty to serve the people.
Today we have three readings and three qualities of the Kingdom of Jesus that are very different than those kingdoms of earth.
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deacon pedro 