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When
they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. There
was a man in the crowd who cried out, "Teacher, I beg you, look at my
son; he is my only child. For a spirit seizes him and he suddenly
screams and it convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it releases
him only with difficulty, wearing him out. I begged your
disciples to cast it out but they could not." Jesus said in
reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with
you and endure you? Bring your son here." As he was coming
forward, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion; but Jesus
rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and returned him to his
father. And all were astonished by the majesty of God.
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With
their mothers gone over 70 miles for food, and now on their way back,
the father Penguins have been waiting for three months without food and
have witnessed the birth of their chicks. When the females return
to the mass of countless males and chicks, they find their families by
sound without error and recognize the cries of chicks they have never
seen. Then the males must leave for food. The mothers then take
over raising their chicks. After a while, even though a strong bond has
developed between
mother and child, the mothers must go for food again, leaving their
chicks. The mothers return, and their sounds bring the chicks to the
proper males. During the next several months, the parents take
turns going back to the sea for food, and occasionally the new family
spends time together. Finally the chicks will make it on their
own, and the cycle of the "March of the Penguins" begins again.
In a remarkable way, the work of the parent Penguins parallels the work
of
parents in our world: you mate, you go to work, you feed the kids, you
raise the kids, then you let them on their own.
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Mothers and fathers must love their
children. The principle is true for
humans today and decades ago and even for some animals such as the
Emperor Penguins. Among humans and penguins, there is a hard-wired
feeling to protect their young.
Jesus recognized it and rewarded it in the Gospels when he healed the young people brought to him by loving parents. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus knew that the boy would continue to live in a loving family. In the documentary "March of the Penguins," the love of father and mother is evident as they take care of their one child that they have generated. Even as the parent penguins have to starve themselves and risk incredible hardships as they protect their chick, they instinctively do everything in their power to protect the one they have brought into the world. The movie is a statement to parents of the importance of loving their children in every situation, even as the parents must endure difficulty. Through every difficulty, there must be a love for their children. Such a love will generate healthy futures, and should make the children grateful for their lives on earth. |
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THOUGHT
What are the most important virtues a
Christian family should show?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, we
are all members of a family, families that we have grown into early in
life, as well as families that we ourselves generate later on in our
lives. Help us understand and follow the virtues that make a
family be truly healthy. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |