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IN
THIS ISSUE:
Cover
Page
by Bro.
Pete Lapid
The
Father Speaks
By Fr.
Siegfried Binzler, SJ
Our
Faith
By Fr. KJ Veeger, MSC
Place
of Refuge
By
Philip Yuson
Sharing
By
Sunita Dias
Surabaya
Corner
By
Ramon Martillano
Sharing
By Gina
Masindo
Here's
the Latest
By
Tintin Magbitang
Reflection
Homily
Sermon by Father Florianus
Catholic
News
By
Armand Sol
Saints
for the Month
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 ollowing
fairy tale from the famous brothers Grimm should not be read as
such, but in metaphorical sense to a wisdom of life as found in may
world religions. It presents also in a visual manner St.
Paul’s words, “God purposely chooses what the world
considers non-sense in order to shame the wise; He chose what the
world looks down on and despises.” (1 Cor. 1:27-28)
-
- Once
upon a time there was a king who felt that he was about to die. He
started asking himself whom of his sons could succeed him in
governing the kingdom. Two of his sons were very intelligent and
strong, while the third one usually did not talk much and was called
“blockhead.”
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- Then
the king decided to test them one by one and asked who could bring
him the most beautiful dress. He blew three little feathers in the
air and told the sons to take their direction. The first two
feathers flew east and west bound and the two eldest sons were happy
to go away from home. The one went to the east; the other to the
west. Already from the beginning they were certain that they would
be the winner. For the third feather fell precisely under the nose
of their youngest brother on the ground. He sat down and was sad.
However, sitting down he suddenly saw a trapdoor in the floor.
Opening it, a staircase appeared leading downstairs. He descended
until he arrived at a door. After knocking, some toads opened it. If
asked for, they could help him with a dress so beautiful, that
nowhere in the world a better one could be found. Getting what he
wanted, the blockhead returned to his father.
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- The
two elder brothers had not even taken the slightest pain to search
for something beautiful, convinced as they were that their youngest
brother would still be empty-handed at his return home. They brought
the first roughly woven garb they saw and bought it from a
herds-woman. The king told them that on base of what he saw, his
kingdom had to go to the youngest son. But both eldest sons could
not accept that. They reasoned and came up with all kinds of
objections, so that finally the father decided to test them once
again. They had to look for the most beautiful ring and give it to
him. The same happened as before. Two went away, while the third
brother felt sick at heart. But again the toads brought him a ring,
in beauty not to be compared with any other one. Now, too, the
father concluded that the kingdom should be given to the youngest.
Again a hot-tempered dispute took place that could be ended by a
third test only. They had to find the most beautiful girl. For the
third time, the toads came to the aid of the young man. He had taken
a little toad in his hand, and immediately it turned to a girl of
rare beauty. The elder brothers had been satisfied with the first
peasant girl they met. Nonetheless they remained stubborn and did
not want to surrender themselves to that “blockhead.” They
demanded a competition in high-jumping through a hoop. Both thought
that the girl of their youngest brother lacked the strength needed
for that, because she was very light. They expected victory on the
side of their strongly-built peasant daughters. However, when the
three girls jumped, the peasant women broke their legs at the moment
they hit the ground. Whereas the slender girl, light as a little
feather after her jump through the hoop, easily reached the ground.
That was enough for the king. He gave the kingdom to his third son.
He governed the country with wisdom and for a long time.
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- As
said in the beginning, the story must be read and interpreted in the
context of human life and God’s designs. For example, the little
feather that came right down in front of the third son shows that
our heavenly Sovereign wants each one of us to do His will and so
reach his final destination. It must be done within the concrete
situation and condition of life. We must willingly accept the
limitations and see them as leading to the Father. It must be done
in one’s own place.
-
- The
third son was initially discourages and sad because of his bad luck
and poor condition in life. But once he had accepted them, they
became his return-route to God. Many people are like the first and
second brother. Joyfully they take the opportunity to be on an
adventurous journey away from the daily routine and duties imposed
by their own environment. They are happy to escape them! They are
stubborn and want to achieve their end in a heroic manner.
-
- Another
example is given to us in the “toads.” They are ugly little
frog-like animals – despised by many! Yet in the fairy tale they
are instrumental in the success of the youngest brother. Many people
rather like to hide their insignificance and what they see as ugly
in their life makes them ashamed. Yet these “negative” aspects
may yield treasure in our life. Reading again the story, we may
discover a lot of human wisdom and see God’s Word visually and in
images. Why not try it?
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