MIRACLE STORIES OF
THE HOLOCAUST
I Kept My Promise
to Mama - Even in
Auschwitz
By Mirish Kiszner
Gershon and Shimon
held on to each other as
they endured the worst of
human cruelty. They
never forgot their
mother's parting words,
and indeed they managed
to stay together and to
care for each other
through the inferno of
Treblinka and the evils of
Bergen- Belsen.
Then they arrived in
Auschwitz.
Mengele, may
his name be
blotted out,
stood at the
platform in his
impeccable suit
and shiny boots,
casually
swinging his finger to the
right and to the left. For
each person assigned to
"Life," an S.S. guard
would hurry to affix a red
stamp on the forehead.
Those fated for the gas
chambers were not
stamped.
The long line of
suffering prisoners
meandered slowly ahead.
Broken, beaten and
humiliated, but with a
powerful desire to live,
Gershon dragged his
brother along. His heart
pumped wildly. His dear
brother Shimon, so
scrawny and sickly,
appeared half dead. He
could hardly hold himself
up. Would Shimon make
it past the discerning gaze
of this Angel of Death?
In a moment, all of
Gershon's doubts
vanished as the Nazi
nonchalantly flicked his
finger to the left…and
then, before he could
even think, it was his
turn.
His mind numb,
Gershon did not
quite grasp that
he had been
slated to the
right -- to life.
Like a shadow,
he languidly
followed his brother to
the left side, before an
S.S. guard shoved him to
the right and brutally
stamped his forehead
with that red, tell-tale
mark that separated him
from his brother.
Tears welled up inside
him, blocking his vision.
He had promised his
mother. They had been
through so much
together, caring for each
other’s wounds, splitting
their morsels of food, and
miraculously they had
never been separated.
How could he break his
promise now?
Slowly, a plan began to
take shape in Gershon's
mind -- a dubious, daring
plan, but it was a plan
nonetheless -- built on
unquenchable hope,
inspired by a long-ago
promise.
With a prayer in his
soul and heart
pummelling within his
chest, Gershon hurried
over to where his brother
was standing. Fervently
he kissed his brother's
forehead. And then he
kissed it again. Shimon
stared blankly,
apathetically, as his
brother showered him
with wet, sloppy kisses.
Gershon appeared as
though he was not aware
of anything else going on
around him. Like a man
possessed, he kissed and
kissed.
But from the corner of
his eyes, Gershon
remained on the lookout.
When he was sure that
the Nazi's weren't
watching, he quickly
pressed his forehead with
the red mark granting him
the right to live against
Shimon's forehead.
Satisfied, he backed up to
inspect his handiwork. A
red stamp now appeared
on his brother's forehead.
Wasting no time, he
dragged his brother to the
right, and not a moment
too soon.
God was with him on
that day.
"Both of us survived the
war, Mr. Bochner; we were
spared. No one else in our
entire town survived."
He fell into a reflective
silence. Shlomo Bochner,
mesmerized by the story,
remained motionless in his
seat.
"Many years have passed
since then. My brother is
gone and I am already an
old man. But I have no
children.
"I sent you the money
because I owe a debt of
gratitude to God. I
survived the war. I
survived together with my
brother! I want to help a
couple who does not have
children. I want the couple
to experience the joy of
having children."
4 September 2016
23rd Ordinary Sunday
A Medical Mission of
Hope
The late humourist and
columnist Erma
Bombeck supported the
work of Esperança, an
organization she
described as “a handful
of dreamers who thought
they could run a boat up
and down the Amazon
dispensing medicine,
love and life itself.”
Actually Esperança
(meaning hope) was
founded in the 1970s by
the late Franciscan
priest-physician Luke
Tupper. Father Tupper
believed that medicine
should be a holy
profession, and that
“each person we
encounter should be
treated with dignity and
respect.”
Esperança still attracts
medical professionals
and other volunteers to
do immunizations,
surgery and other
medical and dental
procedures on countless
individuals in South
America, Central
America, Africa, and the
United States. Their
reward? The satisfaction
of serving their brothers
and sisters in need.
Physicians…pray to the
Lord that He grant them
success in diagnosis and
in healing. Sirach 38:12,13
May there always be
physicians who imitate
You, Divine Healer.
Monday, 5 September
Who God Is Looking
For
One of the songs on Matt
Maher’s album Saints
and Sinners is called
Firelight, and it was
inspired by Mother
Teresa’s long struggle
with darkness. The
singer-songwriter was
surprised that this was
treated as a scandal by
many news outlets.
He said, “I [wondered],
‘What did you expect?’
This brave woman goes
to the poorest place on
the planet and literally
goes to help people die
with dignity. I don’t know
anybody who wouldn’t
struggle with finding the
presence of God.”
Instead of turning
people away from the
faith, Maher believes
Mother Teresa’s witness
in this sense should
actually draw more
people to the Church:
“That struggle that
[Mother Teresa] had, to
me, I feel like we could do
a whole ad campaign for
vocations around it and
say, ‘This is who God’s
looking for. God’s looking
for people who don’t
have all the answers.
God’s looking for people
who are willing to admit
their own frailty.’ But
once again, I think that
sometimes we’re afraid
of people seeing fully
who we are. Yet God uses
all of it for His glory.”
You who have made me
see many troubles and
calamities will revive me
again. Psalm 71:20
Help me to admit my own
fears and weaknesses,
Jesus.
Tuesday, 6 September
Itzhak Perlman’s Best
Teacher
During her life, violin
teacher Dorothy DeLay’s
students considered her
the best teacher in the
world. She was also their
counsellor and friend.
Probably the most
famous of her former
students is Itzhak
Perlman. But DeLay did
more than teach him how
to play his chosen
instrument; she helped
build his self-confidence
after polio had left him
with severe disabilities.
Thirty years later,
Perlman said of her, “She
believed in me. There
was a time when my
parents and Miss DeLay
were the only people in
the world who believed I
could have a career. The
fact that I was
disabled…People looked
at me with distorted
vision. And she never did.
She was able to see.”
To see and bring out
the best in others is one
of the most precious gifts
one person can ever give
another. Open your
eyes—and praise the
good you see around you.
Bear one another’s
burdens. Galatians 6:2
Giver of every talent and
ability, help teachers and
parents to encourage
young people’s gifts.
Wed, 7 September
Angry Letter Leads to
Life-Changing Work
During the early 1940s,
Jane Harris worked as a
writer in the world of
advertising and celebrity
publicity. A devout
Catholic, she felt troubled
by the fact that she was
hobnobbing with actors
while American
servicemen were dying
overseas.
Harris started seeking
work that she felt was
more in line with what
God wanted her to do.
One day, she read a
newspaper ad with the
headline: “Calling All
Christopher Writers!” It
encouraged writers who
believed one person
could change the world
to contact a “James
Keller.”
Harris, who had lost
her youthful idealism,
felt outraged, and
responded with her own
letter: “Dear Mr. Keller:
Change the WORLD? You
have a lot of nerve to
promote the idea.” She
then challenged him to
tell her how exactly he
proposed to do that.
A few days later, Harris
received a letter from
Father James Keller,
founder of The
Christophers, asking to
meet with her. She didn’t
realize he was a priest
and felt mortified by the
error. However, Father
Keller didn’t mind. After
their meeting, he hired
Harris, making her one of
the first Christopher
employees.
Be…slow to anger. James 1:19
Thank You for turning
mistakes into blessings,
Father.
Thursday, 8 September
THE NATIVITY OF THE
B.V.M.
Giving Youth More
Hope
Young adult novelist Joan
Bauer earned one of her
two Christopher Awards
for the novel Hope Was
Here. And hope is a
virtue that she wants to
impart to young people.
During an interview on
Christopher Closeup
about her latest book,
entitled Tell Me, she said,
“Kids have become very
jaded. They’ve seen a lot
of role models fall.
They’ve seen difficulties
in the world. And yet,
one of the reasons that I
love thinking about
stories through the eyes
of a young person is
there’s still this idealism.
There’s still this positive
core.”
Then she shared a
personal story about the
power of hope: “I got a
letter about Hope Was
Here [from] a girl who
had leukaemia. She got it
when she was 12. She
read Hope Was Here all
during her
chemotherapy. It was
the only thing she read.
And she said, ‘Mrs. Bauer,
I don’t know what to tell
you other than that I
don’t have leukaemia
anymore, and that book
helped me. It just helped
me.’…When [kids] find
something that has hope,
I think they really want to
grab onto it. So let’s give
them more.”
You, O Lord, are my hope. Psalm 71:5
Instead of dwelling on
negativity, Lord, turn my
mind to hope.
Friday, 9 September
St Peter Claver
Guide to Contented
Living
The famed German
writer Goethe offered a
list of nine requisites for
contented living. They
are as timely now as they
were when he wrote
them 200 years ago:
Health enough to
make work a pleasure.
Wealth enough to
support your needs.
Strength enough to
battle your difficulties
and overcome them.
Grace enough to
confess your sins and
forsake them.
Patience enough to
toil until some good is
accomplished.
Clarity enough to see
some good in your
neighbour.
Love enough to move
you to be useful to others.
Faith enough to
make real the things of
God.
Hope enough to
remove all anxious fears
concerning the future.”
Goethe showed
wisdom in these
thoughts, perhaps
especially in the use of
the word “enough.”
Often we seek much
more than we need when
contentment and
gratitude can come from
having “enough.”
There is great gain in
godliness with
contentment; for we
brought nothing into the
world, so that we can
take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:6-7
Grace me with divine
contentment, Jesus, for in
having You, I do have
everything.
Saturday, 10
September
This is for All Those
People
When Michael Keaton
won a Golden Globe
award as Best Actor for
the film Birdman, he
delivered a memorable
speech that highlighted
the importance of family
in his life:
“In the household in
which I was raised, the
themes were pretty
simple: work hard, don’t
quit, be appreciative, be
thankful, be respectful.
Also, never whine ever,
never complain, and,
always, for crying out
loud, keep a sense of
humour.
“My name’s Michael
John Douglas, I’m from
Forest Grove,
Pennsylvania. I’m the
son— seventh child—of
George and Leona
Douglas. And I don’t ever
remember a time when
my father didn’t work
two jobs. When my
mother wasn’t saying the
rosary or going to Mass
or trying to take care of
seven kids in a rundown
farmhouse, she was
volunteering at the Ohio
Valley Hospital where I
was born in the hallway.
I’ve got six wonderful
brothers and sisters…
“My best friend is kind,
intelligent, funny,
talented, considerate,
thoughtful…He also
happens to be my son,
Sean. I love you with all
my heart, buddy. This is
for all those people.”
Honour your father and
your mother. Exodus 20:12
Thank You for the gift of
family, Creator.
THREE MINUTES A DAY
VOLUME 49/50
THE CHRISTOPHERS
“You must concentrate
on pleasing God alone,
and if He is pleased,
you must be pleased.”
WISDOM STORIES TO LIVE BY
LOVING WITH ALL YOUR HEART
A young man who
went to a rabbi and said, “I know that we are commanded to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, all our strength. But I know that my heart and soul and mind and strength have bad parts in them. So how can I love God?” After a pause the rabbi replied, “It seems you will just have to love God
with the bad parts too.”
Source: Unknown
Consider this: Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well, the saying goes. But G.K. Chesterton amended it: Anything that is worth doing is worth doing even badly! Do you refuse to
sing until you are as good as Pavarotti?
Do you refuse to dance until you are another Anna Pavlova?
How did we learn to walk? By walking badly, by toddling, by falling down innumerable times. How did we learn to write our names? How do we learn to love?
Source:
FR PHILIP CHIRCOP, sj