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