Fr. Boyer told this story about a time he was sitting on an airplane while it was loading passengers. A young man sat down next to him and noticed his cleric collar.
The young man asked Father, “Are you saved?”
Father replied, “Well, I would prefer to think that I am being saved.”
The young man asked, “What do mean?”
Father said, “I hope that I am more saved today than the day I was baptized.”
The young man nodded quizzically in half agreement.
Then Father noticed a ring on the young man’s finger and asked, “Are you more married today than on the day of your wedding?”
Before school started, the faculty and staff of my high school had a retreat. Fr. Boyer lead a wonderful, insightful, and motivating discussion on the virtues needed to be a disciple of Christ. Jesus teaches these virtues to his apostles and disciples in Luke’s Travel Narrative: The Journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27). What follows are some of my notes.
This list has been making the email circuit. It is the Bible condensed down to only 50 words. This list hits upon the Golden Thread that runs throughout the Bible, but at the expense of the beauty in the story.
God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained
Brian, the senior religion teacher, delivered the morning prayer before an all-school assembly yesterday. Before the prayer, he told us this story:
There was a farmer working out in his field one day. A traveler was walking down the road next to the field. The traveler motioned for the farmer to come over to talk.
The traveler asked, “Good day sir. I am on my way into the next town. May I inquire if the next town is friendly and hospitable?”
The farmer asked, “How did you find the last town?”
The traveler replied, “I found the last town to be unfriendly and not very hospitable.”
The farmer replied, “Sir, you will find the next town just as friendly and hospitable as the last town.”
The traveler thanked the farmer for the information and went on his way. The farmer went back to tending his field.
Later, a second traveler came down the same road heading in the same direction as the earlier traveler. He too motioned for the farmer to come over and talk.
The second traveler asked, “Good day sir. I am on my way into the next town. May I inquire if the next town is friendly and hospitable?”
The farmer asked, “How did you find the last town?”
The second traveler replied, “I found the last town to be very friendly and most hospitable.”
The farmer replied, “Sir, you will find the next town just as friendly and hospitable as the last town.”
The second traveler thanked the farmer for the information and went on his way.