Father Charles Puthota

Listening to the priest speaking about Jesus’ resurrection, 7-year-old Jack asks: “What was the first thing that Jesus said when he rose from the dead?” The priest says: “You know, children, the Gospels do not really say anything about it.” The little Katie says: “I know what Jesus said.” “Do you really, Katie? What did he say?” The girl says: “Jesus said, ‘ta-da.’”

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” is Richard Bach’s allegorical story about our search for meaning and perfection.

Some years ago it was reported in The New York Times that some Wall Street executives attended Bible study groups: “The meeting... begins with a prayer: ‘Lord, help us apply the truths in your words to our business lives.’ … A passage from Scripture is then read and prayerfully discussed.” Speaking about the importance of these meetings, one executive said, “If I couldn’t come here, I don’t know what I would do!”

There is a story from William Barclay about a missionary in rural India who had just finished telling the story of Jesus to a crowd of people.

By Father Charles Puthota - In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy, seeing a record of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony in Schroeder’s hands, asks him what he is going to do with it. Schroeder says he is going to take it home and listen to it. She asks him if he is going to dance or march to it. “No, I’m just going to sit and listen to it,” he replies. Lucy persists: “You mean you are going to whistle or sing to it?” Schroeder insists he is just going to listen to it. As he leaves, Lucy gazes at him in disbelief, exclaiming, “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”