GLORY IS LIGHT

A certain warrior received a medal for each battle he won. His friends admired his courage and the women adored his charisma.

After some years the medals were so numerous that they covered his whole uniform.

One afternoon, in the middle of a difficult combat, the warrior was almost hit by his enemy’s sword.

SAINTS IN CIRCULATION

During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men to the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there.

After investigating they reported: "The only silver we can find is in the statues of the saints standing in the corners."

To which the radical soldier and statesman of England replied: "Good! We'll melt down the saints and put them in circulation!"

That brief but direct order states the essence of the practical goal of authentic Christianity. Not rows of silver saints crammed into the corners of cathedrals, but melted saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity.

FLINGING YOUR HAT OVER THE WALL

Two intrepid Irish boys used to spend their days exploring the rolling countryside.

They journeyed over rivers and through valleys, past farms and flocks. When they got hungry, they’d help themselves to what God offered them through the unwitting generosity of local farmers.

One day, the boys came upon a high wall that guarded an orchard and blocking their path. It seemed impassable. For a moment, they considered turning back and ending their journey. Then, in a flash of unspoken agreement, they took their caps off their heads and flung them over the impassable wall. Now they had no choice but to continue.

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Sometimes when you reach a dead end, maybe a high wall in what you are trying to achieve, do you give up or do you throw you cap over the wall and seek to continue?

FOCUS

One day some visitors talked about a common friend who was given six months to live and four years later was still alive but a very changed man.

The Teacher noted that contemplation of one’s death can give one a radically new perspective on life. “A driver’s mind gets very focused when he realizes he is being followed by a police car!”

DETERMINING BEHAVIOUR

Harold and James walked to the newsstand, and James bought a paper, thanking the owner politely. The owner, however, did not even acknowledge it.


“A sullen fellow, isn’t he?” Harold commented as they walked away.


“Oh, he’s that way every night,” shrugged James.


“Then why do you continue being so polite to him?” Harold asked.


James replied, “Why should I let him determine how I’m going to act?”

MEMORY

In a very respectable hotel an old fellow in charge of the cloak room had been in the job for years and never bothered to give a ticket when coats were handed over to him.

A reporter got interested in him and asked the manager how the old man was able to keep track of so many courts without dockets.

“Oh, don’t worry about old Ted. He’s been doing that job for years, Never had a complaint,” said the manager.

The reporter decided to put him to the test on the next busy Saturday night. When leaving he asked for his coat and when he received one, he said, “How do you know if this is my coat?”

“I don’t,” replied Ted.

“Then why did you give it to me?” asked the reporter with a hint of triumph.

“Because that’s the coat you gave to me, sir,” said Ted.

IT ALL SEEMS SO OBVIOUS

Rabbi Ben Zoma was asked: 

"Who is wise?"

"He who always finds something to learn from others," said the Rabbi.

"Who is strong?"

"The man who is capable of dominating himself," responded the Rabbi.

"Who is wealthy?"

"He who knows the treasure he has: his days and hours of life, which can change everything which goes on around him."

"Who deserves respect?"

"He who respects himself and his neighbor."

"These things are all so obvious," commented one of those present. The Rabbi concluded by saying:

"That is why they are so difficult to observe."

WOODEN BEAMS IN OUR EYES

A man once stole a piece of food and was ordered by the king to be hanged. When asked if he had any last words, the thief replied, “Know, O King that I can plant an apple seed in the ground and it will grow and bear fruit overnight. It is a secret that my father taught me and I thought it would be a pity if it died with me.”

A time was appointed the following day for planting the seed. The thief dug a hole and said, “This seed can only be planted by someone who has never stolen or taken anything which did not belong to him. Being a thief, I cannot, of course, do it.”

The king asked his prime minister to plant the seed, but he hesitated and said, “Your majesty, when I was young, I recall keeping an article that did not belong to me. I cannot plant the seed.”

The treasurer, when told to plant the seed, begged the king’s pardon, saying that he may have cheated someone out of some money. The king, in his turn, recalled that once he took and kept a precious object belonging to his father.

The thief turned to them and said, “You are almighty and powerful persons. You are not in want of anything, yet you cannot plant the seed. Yet I, who stole a little food to stay alive, am to be hanged.”

The king, pleased with the man’s wisdom, pardoned him.