LOVE IS "I STILL KNOW WHO SHE IS".

It was a busy morning, approximately 8.30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his eighties arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in hurry as he had an appointment at 9.00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looked at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I went to evaluate his wound.

On closer examination, it had healed nicely, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be , and will not be.

The Farmer and the Preacher

There’s a classic old story about a conversation between a farmer and a preacher. The story goes that the preacher was driving down a country road when he came upon the most beautiful farm he’d ever seen in his lifetime spent traveling rural roads. He could only compare it to a beautiful painting. It was by no means a new farm, but the house and buildings were well constructed and in perfect repair and paint. A garden around the house was filled with flowers and shrubs. A fine row of trees lined each side of the white gravel drive. The fields were beautifully tilled, and a fine herd of fat dairy cattle grazed knee-deep in the pasture. The site was so arresting the preacher stopped to drink it all in. He had been raised on a farm himself, and he knew a great one when he saw it

It was then he noticed the farmer, on a tractor, hard at work, approaching the place where the preacher stood beside his car. When the farmer got closer, the preacher hailed him. The farmer stopped the tractor, idled down the engine, and then shouted a friendly “hello!” The preacher said to him, “My good man, God has certainly blessed you with a magnificent farm.” And then, there was a pause as the farmer took off his cape and shifted in the tractor seat to take a look at his pride and joy. He then looked at the preacher and he said, “Yes, He has, and we’re grateful. But you should have seen this place when He had it all to Himself.”

Well, the preacher looked at the strong, friendly features of the farmer for a moment, smiled, and with a wave of his hand climbed back in his car and continued on his way. And he thought, that man has given me my sermon for next Sunday.

Every farmer along this road and in this country has been blessed with the same land, pretty much, and the same opportunity. Each has worked his farm according to his nature. Every farm, every home of every family in the country is the living reflection of the people who dwell in it. He understood that the land we’re given was not the acres we buy for our farm or the lot on which we build or buy a home, but rather the life we give it, what we do with what we have. Our lives are our plots of ground, and that’s the land we sow and from which we are then obliged to reap the resulting harvest. And the way we’ve sown will be reflected in every department of our lives.

Well, the farmer that the preacher had just talked to would reap an abundant harvest, not just when the time came for gathering his crops, but every time he looked around the place, every time he returned from town to that white gravel drive and trees that lined it and the fine home and gardens that stood at the end of it. He was grateful for what he had. But he knew that it was not what is given us that makes the difference, but rather what we do with it, what we make of what we have. Yes, sir, the preacher thought as he smiled and drove his car along the road to town. He had his sermon for next Sunday, and it would be a good one.

Each one of us is a farmer. Our lives are the plots of ground that have been given to us free and clear. If we’re wise, we too, will reap the abundant harvest, for the planting is left strictly to us.

Earl Nightingale

Remembering Agnes, a Girl Who Glorified Christ

Dan Graves, MSL

Christ has the power to turn even a young teenager into a heroine. Agnes (also known as Ines) was just twelve or thirteen when she was dragged before a Roman judge. The accusation against her was that she was a Christian. It seems that she came from a well-to-do family and that several youngsters from noble families looked at her as a prospective mate. In those days of youthful marriages, she was not considered too young. However, she rejected all proposals. In anger, one of the rejected boys denounced her to the authorities.
Aat that time, the dreadful persecution of Diocletian raged. Tens of thousands of Christians suffered for their faith all across the Roman Empire. The pagans were determined to break Christians to their will.
A wicked judge ordered Agnes to sacrifice to the pagan gods. She was hauled before idols, but instead of pouring out libation, she made the sign of the cross. Furious, the judge threatened her with fire or torture on the rack. Agnes said she welcomed torture. She meant to remain pure for Christ.
Tradition says that the exasperated judge then tried to break her by throwing her into a public whorehouse. At the very least, he embarrassed her by publicly stripping her naked. Ambrose of Milan (who lived in the same century) mentioned this in his writings. In spite of everything, Agnes clung to her integrity and her faith.
Finally the judge ordered her head cut off. Agnes' death may have been a key event in ending the persecution against Christians. It shocked the pagans. That a beautiful young girl could be killed simply because she refused to marry made them ashamed. After all, their own law forbade execution of a virgin. Furthermore, although they were used to seeing adults die fearlessly for the faith, they were impressed that faith could put the heart of a brave man into so young a girl. And, of course, they wondered what could be so threatening about an innocent thirteen-year-old girl that Rome found it necessary to execute her.
Soon after her death, Agnes became a favorite saint. One of Emperor Constantine's daughters built a church at the site of Agnes' grave. A Pope wrote an epitaph for her. Her bones have been examined and show that she really was as young as history says. Someone composed a hymn in her honor and legendary acts appeared which told about her. She was probably executed on this day, January 21, 304. At any rate, she is remembered on January 21st. (The Romantic Era poet, John Keats, wrote a poem called "The Eve of St. Agnes" about a girl who elopes--a work completely contrary to the spirit of the martyr).
Agnes' symbol is a lamb, because her name means "pure" in Greek and is similar to the Latin word Agnus, which means lamb. When popes confer a portion of their power on bishops, they send them a woolen cloth called a pallium. These are woven from the wool of lambs consecrated on St. Agnes' day.

Bibliography:

1. "Agnes of Rome." http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta05.htm.
2. Butler, Alban. "St Agnes, Virgin, Martyr." Lives of the Saints. Various editions.
3. Kiefer, James. "St. Agnes of Rome." http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Agnes.htm
4. Kirsch, J. P. "St. Agnes of Rome." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1907.
5. "St. Agnes of Rome." Catholic Online Saints.

 Source: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/remembering-agnes-a-girl-who-glorified-christ-11629635.html?utm_source=This%20Week%20in%20Christian%20History%20-%20Christianity.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01/16/2013

Faithful Old Dog Awaits Return of Master Dead for Seven Years

Hachiko the Faithful Dog

Hachiko is on now on display at the Tokyo Museum of Art.

Each year on April 8th at a solemn ceremony in Tokyo's Shibuya railroad station, hundreds of dog lovers do homage to the loyalty and devotion of an Akita dog, Hachiko, faithful pet of Dr. Eisaburo Ueno, a professor at Tokyo University.


Hachiko was born in Odate, Japan in November 1923, a white male Akita dog. At the age of two months, he was sent to the home of Professor Ueno of the Agricultural Department of the Tokyo University. The professor's home was in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. The professor commuted to the agricultural department in Komaba and the agricultural experimental station in Nishihara.


Tragedy struck on May 21, 1925, when Dr. Ueno did not return because he had suffered a stroke and died at the university. Hachiko was eighteen months old. The next day and for the next nine years, Hachiko returned to the station and waited for his beloved master before walking home, alone. Nothing and no one could discourage Hachiko from maintaining his nightly vigil. It was not until he followed his master in death, in March l934, that Hachiko failed to appear in his place at the railroad station.

A rare photo of Hachiko

Hachiko was sent to homes of relatives or friends, but he always continued to await his master, who was never to return, at the train station.


The fidelity of Hachiko was known throughout Japan, owing to an article, "Faithful Old Dog Awaits Return of Master Dead for Seven Years" in the October 4, 1933 issue of Aashi Shinbun (Asahi News). Upon his death, newspaper stories led to the suggestion that a statue be erected in the station. Contributions the from the United States and other countries were received. 


Today, the statue of the Akita, Hachiko, pays silent tribute to the breed's faithfulness and loyalty. A bronze statue of Hachiko was put up at his waiting spot outside the Shibuya railroad station, which is now probably the most popular rendezvous point in Shibuya. Hachiko was mounted and stuffed and is on now on display at the Tokyo Museum of Art.