Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
GospelLuke 1:39-45 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
In
those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town
in Judah,and she entered the house of Zechariah and
greeted Elizabeth.And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby
leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,and she exclaimed with a loud
cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of
your womb!And why is this granted to me
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?For behold, when the sound of your greeting
came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
I never fail to be moved, delighted and inspired by this 'Dance of Life' between St Elizabeth pregnant with John the Baptist and Mary pregnant with Jesus.
About fourteen years ago I celebrated Mass on the
Feast of the Visitation in a home for girls where most come from a background
of abuse. One girl of 16, whom I'll call 'Gloria', was pregnant. She was from
another part of the Philippines and had been working in a restaurant and said
that one of her co-workers was responsible. Gloria was very angry and would not
accept the baby she was carrying who was by this time around six months, as I
recall. I invited her at the end of the Mass to come forward for a blessing for
herself and her child. She agreed. With her permission I placed my hand gently on her stomach, as
Elizabeth and Mary do in the painting below, while I prayed.
'Gloria' told me afterwards that she could feel the
baby moving as I blessed them both - and she had a smile on her face. She was
able to go home to her own place some time later where she gave birth. Perhaps you could say a prayer for her and for her child, now aged about 14.
Rogier van der Weyden captures the sacredness of
the lives of the unborn Jesus and John the Baptist. El Greco captures the swirl
of a dance of life, the flowing blue robes suggesting the joy of the two
pregnant mothers, Mary and Elizabeth. Luca della Robbia's sculpture shows the
sacred intimacy of the moment that Mary and Elizabeth met, each carrying a
precious life, Mary's child the Son of God, God-become-Man.
Today's gospel has particular relevance in the context of on-going public debates
in a number of countries about abortion, including Ireland and the USA. When I
used this material three years ago the Republic of Ireland was about to
introduce abortion on demand up to twelve weeks, the new law to come into
effect on New Year’s Day 2019, the Solemnity of the Motherhood of Mary. 6,666 legal abortions took place in that year and 6,577 the following year.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
+++
One of a number of ministries to both women and men
who have been directly affected by abortion is Rachel's Vineyard. I have
connections with Rachel's Vineyard,
Ireland, which has brought its healing retreat to such places as the
Faroe Islands, Hungary, South Korea and Lebanon.
Del Verbo Divino
San Juan de la Cruz
Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino:
¡ si les dais posada !
Concerning the Divine Word
St John of the Cross
Translation by Roy Campbell
With the divinest Word, the Virgin
Made pregnant, down the road
Comes walking, if you'll grant her
A room in your abode.
Posada is a Spanish word meaning 'lodging' or 'accommodation'. In many Spanish-speaking countries and communities Las Posadas is a novena in preparation for Christmas. This tradition is a 'cousin' to that in the Philippines known as Simbang Gabi.
Latin text (early 16th century): Nesciens mater virgo virum peperit
sine dolore salvatorem saeculorum. Ipsum regem angelorum sola virgo lactabat,
ubere de caelo pleno.
Translation: Knowing no man, the Virgin
mother bore, without pain, the Saviour of the world. Him, the king of angels,
only the Virgin suckled, breasts filled by heaven.
Gospel Luke 3:10-18 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
The crowds asked John, “What then shall we do?”And he
answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has
none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”Tax collectors also came to be baptized and
said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”And he said to them, “Collect no more
than you are authorized to do.”Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And
he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false
accusation, and be content with your wages.”
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the
Christ,John answered them all, saying, “I baptize
you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of
whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and with fire.His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his
threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff
he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached good
news to the people.
Groot
Nederlands Jongerenkoor with Musica Sacra Chorus
Rejoice in the Lord
alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rejoice in the Lord
alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Amen.(Philippians 4:4, 6-7,
Authorised [King James] Version.)
Note: this translation uses 'alway',
not 'always'.
The above
is a setting by
George Rathbone of the first and last verses of today's Second
Reading. It emphasises a basic theme of Advent: Joy. And today the Church
focuses on that. We call the Third Sunday of Advent 'Gaudete Sunday' from
the Latin opening word of the Entrance Antiphon, 'Gaudete in Domino semper,'
'Rejoice in the Lord always'
The First
Reading begins with the same theme: Sing aloud, O daughter of
Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O
daughter of Jerusalem! (Zephaniah 3:14).
'Ligaya'
is the Tagalog word for 'joy' and is a common enough name for girls in the
Philippines. It is the name used for the girl at the heart of the story below,
though not her real name, which was a particularly beautiful one. St Joseph is
one of the central figures in the gospels read at Mass as we approach Christmas
and is highlighted in the gospel for Friday, 17 December, Matthew 1:1-17, and in the gospel for Saturday, 18
December, Matthew 1:18-24. It was through St Joseph, the Husband of
Mary, that Jesus was born of the line of David, as God had promised. And by
naming Jesus, as the angel asked him to do, St Joseph became the legal father
of Jesus.
I published
the story below, written by Korean Columban lay missionary Columba Chang
Eun-Yeal, in the November-December 2015 issue of MISYONonline.com, the magazine of the
Columbans in the Philippines of which I was then editor. It had appeared there
before in the November-December 2002 issue. I have used it in Sunday Reflections a number of times
because it is a story that shows the joy that only God can give, a joy that
usually comes from within a very painful situation, a situation where one's suffering may well
be the result of the grave sin of an aggressor, as in this case.
I MET ST JOSEPH IN MANILA by Columba Chang Eun-Yeal
The author
There may be as many as close to ten million Filipino overseas workers spread all over the world. They greatly help the country’s economy by the money they send home. However sometimes they may be taken for granted for those at home who think that they have an easy life abroad. Read Aling Maria’s story below and find out the dangers that OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers), and their counterparts from other countries, face and the abuses they experience. We thank ‘Mang Pepe’ for his help in writing this article in which we’ve changed the names.
'Mang' and 'Aling' are Tagalog honorifics for a man and woman, respectively, older than oneself. 'Tatay' is the equivalent of 'Papa' and 'Daddy'.
I met Mang Pepe and his daughter Ligaya through my work with Caritas Manila. I visit the family regularly. They live in a poor part of the city and Mang Pepe makes a living by doing odd jobs. My work takes me to families affected by HIV/AIDS. I knew Mang Pepe’s story before he shared it with the congregation at the Saturday evening Mass in Baclaran Church on 7 December 2002 at the end of a celebration organized by Caritas Manila for World AIDS Day.
Mang Pepe and his wife Aling Maria were having difficulties putting their five children through school. This sometimes led to arguments. Eventually Aling Maria decided to work in the Middle East. She felt happy when accepted as a nursing aide with a two-year contract in the UAE. She prepared her documents. She and Pepe sold their house and lot for her fare and placement fee. She flew out on 5 February 1989, full of hope for her family’s future financial stability.
Aling Maria soon discovered that her contract as a nursing aide was terminated just a few months after she arrived, without any hope of renewal. But she didn’t want to go back to the Philippines with an empty pocket. She decided to take the ‘TNT’ (tago ng tago, Tagalog for hidden, ie illegal) route. She managed to find a series of jobs as a saleslady, cashier and office worker.
Columba Chang, left, with friend in Manila
Hope turns into a nightmare
As an illegal worker, she was often subjected to different abuses like underpayment, long hours of working without a day off and so on. But the worst thing was when one of Aling Maria’s employers took advantage of her and made her pregnant. When she came home to the Philippines in October 1993 Mang Pepe and the family were very shocked to learn that Aling Maria carried a child in her womb. She hadn’t mentioned anything about this before. However, despite this they still welcomed her and the child with joy . . . but deep in their hearts there was a shadow of sadness, fear and uncertainty.
After a few days the tabloids reported that three Filipino overseas workers had been sent home because of being infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS – and that one of them was Aling Maria. These stories, and the rumors they spawned, continued for a month. Some relatives, neighbors and friends rejected Aling Maria. The children of Mang Pepe and Aling Maria were torn apart. Some wanted to quit school and leave the area. The family suffered greatly because of the stigma.
Aling Maria and Mang Pepe went to the Department of Health (DOH) for a series of blood tests. The tests confirmed what Aling Maria knew already, that she and her ‘little mercy child,’ as Mang Pepe called his wife’s daughter had HIV. The doctor gave them counseling and advice and information about HIV/AIDS.
Ligaya is born
Aling Maria decided not to stay in the hospital and continued to work as a pension plan insurance agent. In time she gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Ligaya. Gradually, however, Mang Pepe saw his dear wife turning into a picture of misery as she suffered from constant headaches and flu. Aling Maria was hoping for a miracle that would ease her agony. It was not to be. The HIV developed into full-blown AIDS. Her appetite disappeared until she couldn’t eat anymore. Mang Pepe and the children saw Aling Maria slowly dying. He prepared the family to accept her death as the will of God. She died on 15 December 1997, aged 46.
Like everyone else in Baclaran Church, I was deeply touched by Mang Pepe’s story, even though he had told it to me many times. I was touched by the great love of this simple man who accepted as his own a daughter who was the fruit of the brutal violation of his wife. Mang Pepe is ‘Tatay’ to Ligaya. Her schoolmates sometimes tease her because her features clearly show her Middle Eastern origins. But her Tatay stands by her, as do her brothers and sisters.
Proud to be her Tatay
Tatay Pepe is proud of Ligaya’s singing ability and smiled as she sang at the celebration in Baclaran. Ligaya is very proud of her Tatay and knows the depth of his love as a father. She has very uncertain health and is often in the hospital. The shadow of AIDS hangs over her.
St Joseph named Jesus, the Son of Mary, and thereby became his legal father. He loved Mary, his wife, and raised Jesus as his own son. Mang Pepe has gone through the agony of knowing that his wife was violated overseas, after dishonest employers had taken advantage of her in other ways. When she brought home a child who was not his, he made her his own. This latter-day St Joseph in Manila has given much joy to his daughter Ligaya as she has given much joy to him and others, like myself, who have come to know and love her.
+++
‘Ligaya’ died in the latter part of 2004. I was in Baclaran Church at the invitaion of Columba the day that Mang Pepe told his story and came to know ‘Ligaya’ as a friend. Shortly before she died I had the privilege of talking to her on Columba’s mobile phone. She was a delightful child. The light of heaven upon her.
In preparing Sunday Reflections last week I didn't avert to the fact that Sunday, 5 December, was
the 230th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 35. My apologies to the great man whose house in Salzburg, Austria, I visited in the spring of 1988. Here is a recording of his setting of Ave verum corpus, a Eucharistic hymn dating back to the 13th
century. He wrote the music for the feast of Corpus Christi, just a few months
before he died.
Offertory, Corpus Christi Mass
Thursday, 3 June 2021
Chapel of the Chair of St Peter
St Peter's Basilica, Rome
Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, passum,
immolatum in cruce pro homine cuius latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine
exto nobi praegustatum in mortis examine.
Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary, having
truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for mankind, from whose pierced side
water and blood flowed: Be for us a foretaste [of the heavenly banquet] in the
trial of death!
+++
God gifted all of humanity through Mozart and his music. Let us commend his soul to God.
GospelLuke 3:1-6 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
In the fifteenth year of the reign
of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea,
and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of
the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,during the
high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came
to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.And he went into all the region around the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins.As it is
written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and
the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.’”
This is Handel's setting of the last part of today's gospel.
Charles Kuralt was an American journalist who
worked for many years for the CBS TV network in the USA. He was especially
noted for his 'On the Road' features on the CBS Evening News. These started in
1967, the year I was ordained, and I became familiar with them when I went to
study in the USA the following year.
I vividly remember one particular story - they were
never from the highways but from the byways of the United States - about a man
somewhat on the older side who lived in a small town somewhere in the heartland
of the country. I forget the particular state. The nearest town was only a few
kilometres away but there was no road connecting the two. People had to take a
very long way around to get from one to the other.
The residents of both towns tried for years to
persuade their politicians to build a road connecting them, without success. So
this particular elderly citizen decided he'd start to build a road himself,
using planks. When Charles Kuralt caught up with him he hadn't got very far -
but he had started.
This man was engaged in what the Handbook of
the Legion of Mary calls Symbolic
Action. The Handbook was written almost entirely by Frank
Duff, the founder of the Legion.
The Handbook says, It
is a fundamental Legion principle that into every work should be thrown the
best that we can give. simple or difficult, it must be done in the spirit of
Mary . . .
But sometimes we are faced with works
which are really impossible, that is to say, beyond human effort . . .
'Every
impossibility is divisible into thirty-nine steps, of which each step is
possible' - declares a legionary slogan . . .
Observe:
the stress is set on action. No matter what may be the degree of the
difficulty, a step must be taken. Of course, the step should be as effective as
it can be. But if an effective step is not in view, then we must take a less
effective one. And if the latter be not available, then some active gesture
(that is, not merely a prayer) must be made which, though of no apparent practical
value, at least tends towards or has some relation to the objective. This final
challenging gesture is what the Legion has been calling 'Symbolic Action.'
Recourse to it will explode the impossibility which is of our own imagining.
And, on the other hand, it enters in the spirit of faith into dramatic conflict
with the genuine impossibility.
The sequel may be the collapse of the walls of that
Jericho.
I saw Charles Kuralt's broadcast some time between
1968 and 1971. In the autumn of 1982 I was working in a hospital in Minneapolis
as a chaplain on a three-month Clinical Pastoral Education programme. Charles
Kuralt came to town while I was there to give a lunchtime lecture in an
auditorium near the hospital and I went along to hear him. When he invited
questions from the very large audience someone asked him, What happened
to that road the old man began to build? So I wasn't the only one who
had remembered the story.
Mr Kuralt told us that the man had since died - but
that the road between the two towns had finally been built by the authorities.
The chances are that the man featured in Charles
Kuralt's story, since he was from the heartland of the USA, was familiar with
today's gospel. St John the Baptist is quoting the Prophet Isaiah and asking
each of us to Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. He assures us that Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill
shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough
ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of
God.
Jesus asks for our cooperation. When he was faced
with the hungry crowds he asked the Apostles what food they had and then told
them to feed the people. Their cooperation with their feeble resources enabled
him to show God's bounty in a way they could not have imagined. At Cana Jesus
told the servants to fill the water containers - and changed the water into the
equivalent of about 600 bottles of the very best wine. (I once read a
commentary that advised the reader to take that in a symbolic sense. I really
don't see why we should diminish God's bounty! What Jesus did is indeed a
symbol of God's bounty precisely because it was an act of that bounty in a
specific situation.)
We have no idea what God can do with a seemingly insignificant or purely personal action. When the young St Anthony of the Abbot went of to live as a hermit in the desert, rather like St John the Baptist, he had no idea that it would lead to the foundation of monasteries of contemplatives around the world.
Jesus, through the words of Isaiah repeated by St John the Baptist is calling us to actively prepare for his coming, in so many unexpected ways in our daily lives, through joys and sorrows, through the Mass and the sacraments, and in glory at the end of time. We are also preparing to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. However, that First Coming in the flesh has already taken place.
St John of the Cross wrote in The Ascent of Mount Carmel, When he (God) gave us, as he did, his Son, who is his one Word, he spoke everything to us, once and for all in that one Word. There is nothing further for him to say. This is part of the Second Reading in the Office of Readings for Monday in Week 2 of Advent.
There is nothing further for him to say.
St John of the Cross goes on to write in the same passage, Consequently, anyone who today would want to ask God questions or desire some vision or revelation, would not only be acting foolishly but would commit an offence against God by not fixing his eyes entirely on Christ, without wanting something new or something besides him. God might give him this answer, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.' I have already told you all things in my Word. Fix your eyes on him alone, because in him I have spoken and revealed all. Moreover, in him you will find more than you ask or desire.
The writings of St John of the Cross and of other great theologians do not reveal to us anything new but rather bring us into a deeper understanding of the Word. Likewise, the messages that the Church recognises as having been received in such places as Lourdes, for example, do not reveal to us anything new but rather emphasise some aspect of the Word, usually a call to penance and to prayer, in other words, Prepare the way of the Lord.
God asks us to look to the future in active, sometimes symbolically active, hope like the old man in Charles Kuralt's story. Be ready to meet Jesus in whatever guise he comes and whenever he comes, each day, at the hour of our death, at the end of time.
And there will be signs in sun and
moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity
because of the roaring of the sea and the waves . . . (Luke 21:25;
today’s gospel).
We begin Year C, which highlights St Luke's Gospel
GospelLuke 21:25-28, 34-36 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“And there
will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of
nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is
coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.Now when these things begin to take place,
straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.
“But
watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation
and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you
suddenly like a trap.For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the
whole earth.But stay awake at all times, praying that you
may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place,
and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The God in whom we believe is a God of reason - a reason, to
be sure, which is not a kind of cold mathematics of the universe, but is one
with love and with goodness (Pope Benedict in Auschwitz).
Pope Benedict's Angelus Talkon the First Sunday of Advent,
29 November 2009. [I
have highlighted some parts.]
Dear Brothers and Sisters
This Sunday, by the grace of God, a
new Liturgical Year opens, of course, with Advent, a
Season of preparation for the birth of the Lord. The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution on
the Liturgy, affirms that the Church 'in the course of
the year... unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from the Incarnation and
Nativity to the Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope
of the Coming of the Lord'. In this way, 'recalling the mysteries
of the redemption, she opens up to the faithful the riches of her Lord's powers
and merits, so that these are in some way made present for all time; the
faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving grace' (Sacrosanctum
Concilium, n. 102). The Council insists
on the fact that the centre of the Liturgy is Christ, around whom
the Blessed Virgin Mary, closest to him, and then the martyrs and the other
saints who 'sing God's perfect praise in Heaven and intercede for us' (ibid., n. 104) revolve like the planets around the sun.
This
is the reality of the Liturgical Year seen, so to speak, 'from God's
perspective'.
And from the perspective, let us say, of humankind, of history and of society
what importance can it have? The answer is suggested to us precisely by the
journey through Advent on which we are setting out today. The
contemporary world above all needs hope; the developing peoples need
it, but so do those that are economically advanced. We are becoming
increasingly aware that we are all on one boat and together must save each
other. Seeing so much false security collapse, we realize that what we need most
is a trustworthy hope. This is found in Christ alone. As the Letter to the
Hebrews says, he 'is the same yesterday and today and for ever' (Heb 13:
8). The Lord Jesus came in the past, comes in the present and will come
in the future. He embraces all the dimensions of time, because he died and
rose; he is 'the Living One'. While he shares our human
precariousness, he remains forever and offers us the stability of God himself.
He is 'flesh' like us and 'rock' like God. Whoever yearns for freedom, justice,
and peace may rise again and raise his head, for in Christ liberation is
drawing near (cf. Lk 21: 28) as we read in today's Gospel. We can
therefore say that Jesus Christ is not only relevant to Christians, or only to
believers, but to all men and women, for Christ, who is the centre of faith, is
also the foundation of hope. And every human being is constantly in need of
hope.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Virgin Mary fully embodies a
humanity that lives in hope based on faith in the living God. She is the
Virgin of Advent: she is firmly established in the present, in the 'today' of
salvation. In her heart she gathers up all past promises, and
encompasses the future. Let us learn from her in order to truly enter this
Season of grace and to accept, with joy and responsibility, the coming of God
in our personal and social lives.
Three years ago on 24 November I was
travelling on a bus here in Ireland. I overheard a passenger say to another
person, It's Christmas now. Not quite. There was still a full month
to go before the beginning of the Church's Christmas Season begins on the evening of 24 December
either with the Vigil Mass in the early evening or, more commonly, with the Mass
During the Night, formerly known as the Midnight Mass.
Advent is the liturgical season that
has been largely sidelined, even in Catholic institutions such as schools which
usually hold Christmas parties before Christmas has even begun. In my last few
years in the Philippines I tried, with some success, to have these parties
called Advent parties. Some groups I was associated with adopted the term while
others compromised with the 'Pre-Christmas' party. I reminded them that a
wedding banquet takes place after the wedding and a baptismal
party takes place after the birth and baptism of the child.
In El Greco's painting of the
Visitation above we see two women, Mary and St Elizabeth, vibrant with a dance
of life, each carrying a child in her womb. Each was preparing for the birth of
her child. And the young Mary, in the early stages of pregnancy, went
specifically to be of help to her much older relative who was, according to
tradition, about six months later in her pregnancy. Mary wanted to help
Elizabeth prepare for the birth of St John the Baptist.
In the opening sentence of his
Angelus talk Pope Benedict states clearly that Advent is a Season of
preparation for the birth of the Lord.
In the weekday Masses in the earlier
part of Advent we listen to a prophecy from the Old Testament and then a gospel
reading that shows how that prophecy has been fulfilled with the coming of
Jesus. This is meant to bring us hope for the future, that God who came into
the world more than 2,000 years ago as a human being and is now risen from the
dead will continue to be with us as individuals and as a community as we
journey towards eternal life.
And Mary continues to bring Jesus her
Son to us and to lead us to her Son, in accordance with the will of the Father.
Pope Benedict's Angelus message ends with these beautiful words: In her
heart she gathers up all past promises, and encompasses the future. Let us
learn from her in order to truly enter this Season of grace and to accept, with
joy and responsibility, the coming of God in our personal and social lives.
Ad
te Domine, Alessandro Scarlatti
Antiphona
at introitum Entrance Antiphon Cf Ps
24[25]:1-3
Ad te levavi animan meam, Deus meus,
To you, I lift up my soul, O my God.
in te confido, non erubescam.
In you, I have trusted, let me not be put to shame.
Neque irrideant me inimici mei,
Nor let my enemies exult over me;
etenim universi qui te exspectant non confundentur.
and let none who hope in you be put to shame.
American Thanksgiving Day
I'm posting this on American Thanksgiving Day. I am grateful for the Thanksgiving Days I spent in the USA, for the many American friends I have and for the wonderful hospitality I have received in the USA while studying and visiting there. I wish readers of this blog who celebrate today, a great family day where the stranger is welcome, a Happy Thanksgiving Day!
Visitation
