who made it?

Sir Isaac Newton had a friend who, like himself, was a great scientist; but he was an infidel, while Newton was a devout believer, and they often locked horns over this question, though their mutual interest in science drew them together. Newton had a skilled mechanic make him a replica of our solar system in miniature. In the center was a large gilded ball representing the sun, and revolving around this were smaller balls fixed on the ends of varying lengths, representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, in their proper order. These balls were also geared together by cogs and belts as to move in perfect harmony by turning the crank. One day, as Newton sat reading in his study with his mechanism on a large table near him, his infidel friend stopped in. He was scientist enough to recognize at a glance what was before him. Stepping up to it he turned the crank slowly, and with undistinguished admiration watched the heavenly bodies all move in the relative speed in their orbits. Standing off a few feet, he exclaimed, “My! What an exquisite thing this: Who made it?”

Without looking up from his book, Newton answered, “Nobody!” Quickly turning to Newton the infidel said, “Evidently you did not hear my question. I asked who made this thing?” Looking up now, Newton solemnly assured him that nobody made it, but the aggregation of matter he so much admired, had just happened to assume the form it was in. But the astonished infidel replied with some heat, “You must think I’m a fool! Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius, and I’d like to know who he is.”

Laying his book aside, Newton arose and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and said: “This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker: yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without a designer or maker! Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such incongruous conclusion?” The infidel was at once convinced and became a firm believer that “Yahweh is God”.
Bk33.24

a one-sided game..

One day in school Sister Monica asked the children to write a composition on jealousy, and Gerry, a fifth grader, wrote this one:

“Jealousy is mine because I make it myself. I pick out some guy and go feelin’ jealous. Last year I picked Ricky Herrin to be jealous on. I just jelled and jelled on him because he made the first team and I didn’t. Boy! I jealoused him all year. Every time he made a touchdown and me sittin’ on the bench, I added another layer of jealousy to my growing stack. Finally, I decided that I hated Ricky. Boy! How I hated him all over the place!”

“Funny thing about the whole thing was that was that every time Ricky would speak to me when we met, and then when I barely nodded he just kept right on speaking. He even got me out of a nasty mess with the principal one day. I found out that Rick did not know that I was jelling on him, and then one day I says to myself: ‘What the heck! This guy doesn’t even know I’m sore at him. I’m forgetting the whole thing. I’m the only one that’s feeling bad about this mess.”

“Ricky and I are good buddies now, and I think that jealousy is a one-sided game. It’s like eating green apples, it doesn’t bother anybody but yourself, and you get an awful stomach-ache from it.” (Treasury of Catechism Stories)
Bk35.25

by the book

My doctor had recommended surgery and referred me to a specialist.

Arriving early for my appointment, I found the door unlocked and the young surgeon, deeply engrossed in reading, behind the receptionist’s desk. When he didn’t hear me come in, I cleared my throat.

Startled, he closed the book, which I recognized as the Bible. “Does reading the Bible help you before or after an operation?” I asked. My fears were dispelled by his soft one-word answer: “During.” – Saint Luke’s Messenger
Bk36.33

Lenin Reflects..

Perhaps no man ever worked so hard at what he thought was the salvation of a nation as Lenin did. Yet, during a lucid conversation in his last illness he confessed to a former classmate and confidant:

“I have deluded myself. Without doubt, it was, I suppose, necessary to free the oppressed masses. However, our methods resulted in other oppressions and gruesome massacres. You know I am deathly ill; and in my most awful nightmare, I feel myself drowning in an ocean of blood formed by countless victims. To save Russia, what we needed (but it is too late now) was ten men like Francis of Assisi. Ten like him, and we would have saved Russia.” Lenin at the end of his life, 1924
Bk32.24

jottings

When a little girl was told that her favourite aunt had missed the plane with which she was coming to visit her family, she was at the point of tears. And when her mother told her not to grieve because her aunt was coming the next day at the same time, she sobbed “but then she will miss the plane again.”
Bk23.10

words of wisdom..

There is a story frequently told of a Hindu servant boy who asked his master what a man had to do to become wise.

The master took him into the Ganges river and held his head under water for several seconds.

“What did you think of while I was holding your head down?” asked the master.

“Only one thing,” replied the servant, “I wanted air.”

M: “How badly did you want air?”
S: “More than anything else in the world.”
M: “Did you think of wealth or rewards or ambitions?”
S: “No master, only air.”

“Very well, my son, when you want wisdom as you just wanted air, then you will become wise.”
Bk33.23

drifter..

When a beggar asked a lady for a handout, she replied: “I’ll give you a dollar, not because you deserve it but because it makes me feel good to do so.” The drifter responded, “Thank you ma’am, but how about making it ten dollars and thoroughly enjoy yourself.”
Bk20.26

do what you can..

You can't control the length of your life..
But you can control its width and depth.
You can't control the contour of your face..
But you can control its expression.
You can't control the weather..
But you can control the atmosphere of your mind.
Why worry about things you can't control;
when you can keep busy controlling the things..
that depend on you.

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example..

“One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is a prayer.” St. Teresa of Avila

These are strong words from St. Teresa. Many times we are caught up with seeking out pleasures in this world, with disregard of God’s plan for us. If we seek only happiness in this life, we will have received our heaven here on earth. We should mean what we say when we pray the ‘Our Father’; we say ‘Thy will be done’, not ‘my will be done'.
FW

an unexpected treat

A young lad entered a very busy diner on a beautiful but hot Saturday afternoon, and stood waiting in line. When it was his turn he asked the waitress at the counter how much it cost for a double scoop of ice cream on a cone. She answered a bit impatiently, “It’s fifty cents”.
So he dug awkwardly into his pockets and brought out all his change. After carefully counting he asked, “How much is it for a single scoop?” The line-up was getting longer now and she said quickly, “It’s 35 cents for a single scoop”. So he again counted and then exclaimed, “OK then I’ll have a single scoop please”. She quickly scooped the ice cream and gave it to him with the bill. After enjoying and finishing the ice cream she saw him go to the cash register and pay his bill. He waved good-bye and said, “Thanks Ma’am”. She waved and then went to pick up his plate. Upon staring at the counter she almost started to cry; for this young boy decided on the single in order to leave her a 15 cent tip!
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jottings..

You cannot get rid of your temper by losing it. Bk19.46
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Some people are carried away by the sound of their own voice, but not far enough. Bk19.46

in God's will is our peace..

A writer tells us of going with a party down into a coal mine. On the side of the gang-way grew a plant which was perfectly white. The visitors were astonished that there, where the coal dust was continually flying, this little plant should be so pure and white. A miner who was with them took a handful of coal-black dust and threw it upon the plant, but not a particle adhered. Every atom of the dust rolled off. The visitors themselves repeated the experiment, but the coal dust would not cling. There was a particular enamel on the folds of the white plant to which not even the finest speck of the black dust could adhere. Living there amid the clouds of black dust, nothing could stain its snowy whiteness.

This is a picture of Christian life. This is an evil world and we travel continually among the ungodly. Unholy influences breathe upon us, but it is our mission to remain pure amid all the vileness, undefiled and unspotted from this world. If God can keep a little flower stainless, white as snow, amid clouds of black dust; can He not keep hearts in likewise purity in this world of sin? He can—if we will but let Him! He did this for Mary, His sinless Mother. By His grace He can transform our hearts and life so that sin can no longer cling to them. Yes, in God’s will is OUR PEACE.
Bk23.Fwd.

everything is possible..

Some time ago a Muslim came up to a bishop who had come to Jerusalem with a group of pilgrims and asked him in a loud voice, to answer some questions regarding the Blessed Sacrament. When the bishop agreed, the Muslim asked “How is it possible for bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ?”

The bishop replied: “You have not always been as tall as you are now. You have grown since childhood and today you have more flesh and blood than you had then. What is the reason for this? Your body changed the food you ate into flesh and blood. Now, if the human body can change food and drink into flesh and blood, surely God can do so too.”

Satisfied with this reply, the Islamite asked further: “But how is it possible for Christ to be present in his entirety in the small host?”

“The landscape that you see with the blue sky above it,” responded the bishop, “is something immense, while your eye is very small. Yet your tiny eye contains in itself the whole gigantic picture of the landscape. Does it then seem so impossible for Christ to be present in His entirety in the small host?”

“But how is it possible,” the Muslim continued, “for the same body of Christ to be present simultaneously in all your churches?”

“To God nothing is impossible,” answered the bishop. “This answer alone should be sufficient. However, do we not meet something similar in everyday life? When I speak to a single individual, he hears me and considers what I say. If I should address a thousand persons (via broadcast) they would all hear the same message. Or, when you look into a mirror you see your image reflected in it but once. When you break the mirror into a hundred pieces you see the same image of yourself in each one of the hundred fragments of glass. If such a phenomenon occurs in everyday life, how should it be impossible for the Body of our Lord to be present in many places at the same time?”
Bk21.8

the eagle

A man standing at Niagara Falls saw an eagle swoop down on a frozen lamb encased in a floating piece of ice. The eagle stood upon it as it drifted towards the rapids. Every now and then the eagle would proudly lift its head into the air to look around him as if to say: I am drifting towards danger, but I know what I am doing. I will fly away and make good my escape before it is too late.

When he neared the falls he stopped and spread his powerful wings and leaped for his flight; but alas, while he was feasting on the dead carcass, his claws had frozen to its fleece. He leaped and shrieked and beat upon the ice with his wings until the ice-frozen lamb and eagle went over the falls and down into the chasm and darkness below.

What a graphic picture of the sinner, intending to stop before he goes too far and risks being lost forever.
Bk21.43

learning something..

Over a hundred years ago a university student found himself on a train by the side of a person who seemed to be a well-to-do peasant. He was praying the Rosary and moving the beads with his fingers.

"Sir, you still believe in such outdated things?" asked the student of the old man.

"Yes' I do. Do you not?" asked the man.

The student burst out into laughter and said, "I do not believe in such silly things. Take my advice. Throw the Rosary out through this window, and learn what science has to say about it."

"Science? I do not understand this science. Perhaps you can explain it to me," the man said humbly with some tears in his eye.

The student saw the man was deeply moved. So. to avoid further hurting the feelings of the old man, he said: "Please give me your address and I will send you some literature to help you on this matter."

The man fumbled in the inside of his pocket coat and gave the boy his visiting card. On glancing at the card, the student bowed his head in shame and became silent. On the card he read: "Louis Pasteur, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research, Paris."

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Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease. His experiments confirmed the germ theory of disease, also reducing mortality from puerperal fever (childbed), and he created the first vaccine for rabies. He was best known to the general public for inventing a method to stop milk and wine from causing sickness - this process came to be called.. “Pasteurization”. He is regarded as one of the three main founders of microbiology.
Louis Pasteur died in 1895, near Paris. He died while listening to the story of St Vincent de Paul, whom he admired and sought to emulate. He was buried in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, but his remains were re-interred in a crypt in the Institut Pasteur, Paris, where he is remembered for his life-saving work. Both Institut Pasteur and Université Louis Pasteur were named after him.

advice

when you reach the end of your rope .. tie a knot and hang on!
Bk10.11

gaining mastery

Some years ago a great tragedy occurred in England. The following eyewitness account was given by E.G. Clark: “After the man had shown his complete mastery over several lions, tigers, leopards, and hyenas, he concluded his act by introducing an enormous boa constrictor nearly thirty feet long. He had bought the reptile when it was two or three days old, and for twenty-five years had handled it daily so that he considered it perfectly harmless and completely under his control. As the huge serpent slithered along, its head erect, its bright eyes sparkling, the entertainer gave a pre-arranged signal to the powerful creature. As it had done every day before, it began to coil its heavy folds around him. Higher and higher it rose until the man and the serpent seemed blended into one, and the hideous head of the snake was raised above his own. Suddenly the trainer gave a muffled cry, and the audience broke into applause. Their cheers however, froze on their lips, for it soon became obvious that the man’s scream was a death wail of agony. Without warning, the boa constrictor’s serpent-nature had returned, and its shiny, rippling body embraced him for the last time. The crowd heard bone after bone crack as the killer tightened its hold. The man’s plaything had become his master and destroyer.”
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What a picture of sin this presents. One may toy with it and consider himself free. But the day will come when it will ‘take over.’ Eventually Satan will gain mastery if we let him into our life!
Bk7.28

how brave?

A young lad from Cincinatti overheard his father saying that his older brother needed a blood transfusion immediately. The youngster thought it over a while and though he wasn't quite sure what 'these blood transfusions' were, he asked his father, "Dad, can't I give Bud the blood transfusion?" The parents thought it over, and soon the mother took the boy to the clinic. Within fifteen minutes the nurse had removed the half pint of blood that was needed. The boy's jaw was set even though he was shuddering a bit. He raised his manly tear-dimmed eyes to his mother and quietly asked, "Mom, do I die now, like Jesus?" The mother almost fainted when it became clear to her how brave her boy had been. With a burst of love she drew his slightly protesting form to herself as she realized that he had thought that he was giving his life that his brother might live.
Bk1.17

a good scare

a good scare is often worth more to a man than good advice.
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If God were to explain a trial it would destroy its purpose of calling forth simple faith and implicit obedience.
Bk1.iv

prayer of a child

A grandfather was walking through his yard when he heard his grandaughter repeating the alphabet in a tone of voice that sounded like a prayer. He asked her what she was doing. The little girl explained, "I'm praying, but I can't think of exactly the right words, so I'm just saying all the letters, and God will put them together for me, because he knows what I'm thinking."
Bk1.4