Mulla Nasrudin and the Wise Men

The philosophers, logicians and doctors of law were drawn up at Court to examine Mulla Nasrudin. This was a serious case, because he had admitted going from village to village saying: "The so-called wise men are ignorant, irresolute, and confused." He was charged with undermining the security of the State.

"You may speak first," said the King.

"Have paper and pens brought," said the Mulla. Paper and pens were brought.

"Give some to each of the first seven savants." The pens were distributed.

"Have them separately write an answer to this question: "What is bread?" This was done. THe papers were handed to the King who read them out:

The first said: "Bread is a food."

The second: "It is flour and water."

The third: "A gift of God."

The fourth: "Baked dough."

The fifth: "Changeable, according to how you mean 'bread.'"

The sixth: "A nutritious substance."

The seventh: "Nobody really knows."

"When they decide what bread is," said Nasrudin, "it will be possible for them to decide other things. For example, whether I am right or wrong. Can you entrust matters of assessment and judgment to people like this? Is it not strange that they cannot agree about something which they eat each day, yet are unanimous that I am a heretic?"

Four In A Bed

After his wife died, Mulla Nasrudin married a widow. But things did not go smoothly because Mulla constantly talked about his former wife and the woman constantly talked about her dead husband.

One night, lying in bed, they began to talk about their former spouses again, when sudenly Mulla shoved his wife off the bed. The woman was so upset about this incident that the next day she complained about Mulla to her father. The father-in-law asked Mulla why he had pushed his daughter off the bed. Mulla said:

"Believe me, it was not my fault. With my former wife and her deceased husband, there were four of us in the bed, and there was not enough room, so she just fell off!"

Compus

Someone brought a compass that he had found and asked Mulla Nasrudin if he knew what it was. Mulla looked at the compass and began to cry. A few minutes later, he stopped crying and began to laugh. The man asked: "Why did you cry and why are you laughing now?" Mulla said: "I cried because I thought how stupid you were not to know what a tiny object like this is. Then I laughed, because when I thought about it, I realized that I didn't know what it was either."

Insight Course Table of Contents

Insight Course Table of Contents

TURN THE WORLD AROUD

We are all inter connected..... related to each other.  If we only try to get to know each other.... care  for each other...& try to understand each other....then we can truely be happy

LENT UNPLUGGED

A Lenten Reflection

If God had a Face book account, what would His “shout out” be? If He had Twitter, what would He "tweet" about? Would He keep tabs on us through our blogs? What would be playing on His MP3? Nowadays, it is almost second nature for people to text, surf or chat. ‘Face to face’ interaction is done through daily electronic posts of what is happening on each other’s lives.

Personalities can be gleaned through avatars and expressing one's feelings can be as easy as creating emoticons. Hours are spent poring over little digital screens, clicking on a mouse or rotating track wheels. The wonders of modern day technology had many of us addicted to the trappings of our “electronic appendages”. Without it, we “virtually” fade away.
Technology in itself is not a bad thing (even the Pope has a YouTube channel), but, as with all good things, moderation is the key. Pope Benedict XVI in his Lenten message to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square urged everyone “to find moments of silence and reflect on life in the light of God’s love.”

When did you last time read the Bible and pondered on His words? A trip to the confessional?
How about doing a “techno” fast? Try giving up your gizmos during these final days of Lent for a few hours and free your mind of distractions. St. Chrysologus said that “Fasting is the soul of prayer; mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.” A “techno” fast is a small sacrifice to make compared to the wonders it can do to our relationship with God.

Take a moment this Lent to untangle ourselves from the electronic clutches of the laptop, the “crackberry”, the MP3 or the game console. Get offline, unplugged and connect with Him instead. Devote some heart to heart “face time” with God. Lent is the time to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice He made because of His immense love for us.

Our gadgets and gizmos are akin to worthless pennies compared to the greatness of His love. Isn’t it beautiful that with God, there is no need to log on because He is available ALL the time and for all eternity? No password required. Take off the earplugs and the headsets, all we need to hear is Him!
So … if God had a Twitter account, He will probably tweet “What are you doing now? I am free anytime.” His MP3 will most likely play “I Will Be Here” and His Facebook shout out? “Let’s talk!”. His emoticon will be a big welcoming (and forgiving) smile and his text message – “I lOVE yOU!”

“May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor.” – Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI

THE JOY OF BEING A SALESIAN

Yeah... you see these youngsters... so full of life... they live with passion for life. They fight to win and enjoy moment of victory like they have conquered the world...
But for many of them real life is quite a different story. They are labeled as failures or good for nothing at times. They are accused of being worthless.
Give them little appreciation, love & encouragement and your see how their entire life is transformed... They forget the pain and take on the stage... rocking and turning the world upside down.

Young people need to be told that they are loved.
If you tell them that, then they will teach you how to live life.
I feel thrilled when I see them happy. I am a salesian working for the young.... but working with them is like learning how to be happy. I teach them how to live. They teach me how to live happily.
have you ever thought what it would be if you were called to be a Salesian
Think about it... it may be God telling you where to find true happiness... in the midst of young people.

That you are young is enough to make me love you very much.
-Don Bosco

The "R. A. C. E."

"R" for "Reading". Reading refers to constantly learning more about my faith, about the teaching of the Church, about Christ and His plans, whether by reading books, listening to tapes, attending lectures and study circles etc. if I make no effort to learn Christ's point of view, I will end up adopting someone Else's point of view-the TV's, the newspaper's, my boss',my professor's? In our "age of information"' with Church teaching available from myriad sources, we have no excuse for not knowing what we believe.

"A" for "Apostolate". An "apostle" is someone who is "sent out" to perform a task. When we become followers of Christ we are given the all-important task to: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."(Mt. 28:19-2) If a cell is not reproducing, it is probably dying; if I am not bringing others closer to Christ, I am probably not close to Christ myself.

"C" is for "Cross". The Cross -suffering, sacrifice, self-denial- was Christ's chosen instrument to redeem the world, to reestablish communion between God and man. If self-denial and sacrifice(i.e. doing things God's way when I would prefer to do things some other way, accepting the trials he allows me to undergo even when they make my heart bleed) are not present in our lives, how can we stay close to Christ? As Christ put it: "Then he said to all, "If anyone one wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."(lk. 9-23)He didn't make it optional.

"E"for "Encouragement". We can't do it alone. There are no Christian "Lone Rangers" -at least, not for long. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"(Mt. `18-2-). We need the encouragement of friends and companions who share our priorities, and we need the encouragement of those who are further along on the journey, who can guide and direct us.

In Short... If we frequent the sacraments, pray & fulfill the purpose for which God has created me then we can run the "RACE" in order to win.