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 THE
MAN, THE MAN AND THE HAT
- by Carolle Bautista
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I heard this story once about a man, who, together with his
friends from his office, went to a rafting adventure in a remote town.
Before starting the journey towards the river, they were all given one hat
each to use. They enjoyed the rafting experience and when they were
finally done, they have to walk back all the way from where they came
from. Along the way, they saw several poor children staring at them by th
 e
side of the tracks, and one by one, some of the men, started giving away
their hats to these poor little souls. Then more children popped out by
the tracks, hearing the news of how the other children got their free
hats, until there were no longer enough hats to give to the children. One
man decided to keep his hat because, anyway, not all hats would suffice
for all the children, even if he gives up his own. The poor little
children reminded him of his own son of the same age. With this in mind,
the first thing he did as soon as he reached home was to put the hat on
his son's head. But alas! What did his son do? His son threw the hat on
the floor and was not a bit interested. Anyway, his son has a lot of
other hats more beautiful and expensive than this one.
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All the men in the story sacrificed their hats for
someone. The children who needed it accepted it with joy and satisfaction
while the one who thought he was not impoverished did not care about the
hat at all.
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This story reminds me in many ways of the Lenten Season
when we try to remember how Jesus sacrificed His own life for our sins.
Do we appreciate what Jesus had done for us by dying on the Cross? Or
just like the boy who has everything he ever wanted, do we take Christ for
granted and never pay attention to Him? Are we preoccupied with so many
worldly things that Jesus has no place in our hearts? And as parents,
have we set good examples for our children to follow, so that one day, we
could say we have raised God-loving children? (Surely, if our child does
not appreciate the things, like the hat in the story, the love and the
time that we give him, there is something wrong with him...or with us...or
both, and maybe, to a certain extent, with our relationship with God.)
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So many questions, so little answers. Do we really know
ourselves and what we really need? Maybe we will never find out, unless
today, we start thinking of how we can get reconciled with God. In fact,
this is the very essence of Lent -Penance. Sacrifice. And realizing
within ourselves what the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross means to us.
Then, we begin to 'ACT' and care for the Lord and for others...just like
all the children who were joyful upon receiving their "free" hats. These
children could even have passed for good evangelists, only that, what they
spread was the news about some 'charitable' men giving away their hats.
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To make our personal sacrifice more meaningful during Lent,
let us be reminded of what is written in Colossians 3:1-2: 'Since, then,
you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things.'
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May God and His words always dwell in our hearts!
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TELL US LIKE IT IS!
- Has something
wonderful and unique happened in your life lately? Did God answer your
prayer in a very unexpected way? Did you, like Isaiah, meet God’s
whisper?
- Have you felt
His powerful hand working in your life recently?
- Everyday,
people are experiencing God’s mighty Word in their lives and it is a
pity that very few know about it. Do you have a story to tell? Some Good
News to share?
- E-mail us (genesis@catholic.org)
or fax us (021-6627384), and tell us about it. That’s right! You don’t
have to be a great writer to do this. We can help you write it – just
tell us like it is!
- Don’t forget
to write the subject: “Let Me Tell You A Story”
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IN THIS ISSUE:
HIS Servant
by Bro. Pete Lapid
The Father Speaks
By Fr. S. Binzler, SJ
Our Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place of Refuge
By Philip Yuson
Reflection
By Fr. Agustinus Tupen Belo, PR
Community Life
By Tintin Magbitang
Straight from the Heart
By Carolle Bautist
God Answers Prayers
By Beth Manibog
On Focus
By Sansu Garin
Saint for the Month
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