One of the best things that happened to me in my solitary life as a volunteer in rural Uganda was to have read for the first time the Holy Bible. The constant admonition of Fr.
 |
| Bible bought in Rome |
Domingos Oliveira, a Comboni missionary, to his parishioners to bring the Bible to mass sank into my consciousness. I had one of our Bibles in Manila brought to Uganda, but I could not bring it to church as it is bulky. The Bible is the super greatest book that I have ever read. Now I know after whom my friends Solomon, David, Emmanuel, Ruth, Naomi, Judith, Esther, among others,
 |
| The Exodus |
were named after. I am in complete awe of how the original writers kept track of the genealogy, the specifications of the temple construction, and the repetitive detailed description of the sacrificial offerings, and many more, when there was no word processor to aid them then. I love the Proverbs, and the
 |
| Dome of the Rock |
Ecclesiastes. They contain teachings on an individual's choices - to be arrogant or humble, wise or fool, happy or miserable, loquacious or guarded, careless or discerning, industrious or lazy.... and many more. The value formation, good manners and right conduct that we learned in school have their beginnings in this book written perhaps 3,000 years ago. I will forever cherish our family's
 |
| Old Jerusalem |
holiday in the Sinai Peninsula, Bethlehem and Jerusalem because I had walked in the paths of Moses, Jesus, and some biblical angels and saints.
Time is my God-given wealth and I am glad to have used a part of it to read the great teachings. I will continue to read a line or two each day.
 |
| Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year |
No comments:
Post a Comment