麻豆约拍

From Father Brian D鈥橝rcy, a Catholic Passionist priest:

After a long and dreary winter I鈥檓 beginning to see little signs of Spring. The evenings are noticeably brighter; snowdrops are plentiful, and despite the incessant rain, gorgeous little lambs gambol on the hills.

I鈥檝e had to make a conscious decision to shake myself out of my winter doldrums and look at life more positively. Winter imprisons us in its dark depressions if we allow it to. There鈥檚 a time to come out of hibernation, as it were, and give free range to our imagination 鈥� to decide to live again.

I really like the story of the two men who were confined to bed in a hospital ward. Both were gravely ill. One man鈥檚 bed was beside the window in the ward, the other man couldn鈥檛 see anything. Each day the man beside the window described comforting scenes for his friend. He spoke of the colourful flower beds, well-groomed lawns and young nurses sitting on the benches. The other patient appreciated his descriptions but as the days went by, he became a little jealous that he couldn鈥檛 enjoy such views.

Within days the poor man by the window sadly died and next day his friend was moved over to the window. He couldn鈥檛 wait to look at the scenes. When he did, all he saw was a bleak concrete wall. It was then he realised that his former friend had used his imagination to paint those pleasant pictures. In fact he learned the poor man was blind as a result of his tumours. Cancer may have stolen his life, but it couldn鈥檛 diminish his hope.

Recently a drug rehabilitation centre in Buenos Aires celebrated its fifth anniversary. The staff received a telephone call from one of its biggest supporters 鈥� Pope Francis, who helped establish the centre when he was Archbishop there. The Pope left a simple message to the centre鈥檚 staff: 鈥淒on鈥檛 let them聽 steal your hope.鈥�

There鈥檚 an Arabic proverb which says it even better: 鈥淗e who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything."