It is not a well-known fact that Antoni Gaudí, the famous Catalan architect and designer, begged for money so that the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Family or “Sagrada Familia” in Barcelona, Spain would not be interrupted. Once, when he went to visit a very wealthy person to ask for money, this person, […]
The Greek philosopher Diogenes, also known as Diogenes the Cynic, whose house was a barrel on the beach, always had intelligent answers for those who challenged him and most of the time they were very accurate ones. One of these smart answers was related to adulation or flattery. He was eating some wild herbs when
One of the tribes of East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), the Kamba tribe, has a very interesting legend. It is said that many, many years ago the men who lived in those regions were desperate because everyone died, some when they were young, some when they were old, but either way death was present in
There was once an emperor who summoned all the young men of his kingdom because it was time to find a partner for his daughter. All the young men came and the king told them “I am going to give a different seed to each one of you, after 6 months you will bring me
The empty flower pot Read More »
Once the abbot of a monastery had this dream: there were many monks in a monastery, each one doing his own task. All of them were surrounded by demons who tried to tempt them in different ways, but in vain, for the monks were holy enough to reject those temptations. At a certain point a
Paul Claudel tells this story in his novel “The tidings brought to Mary”: Jacques Hury is working for his fiancée’s father Vercors when he sees someone stealing wood. Jacques is a righteous and very strict man. He wants to cut off this man’s ear because he believes that everyone deserves punishment for their wrongdoings. When
The logic of the Gospel Read More »
There is a parable in the Eastern tradition that speaks of a poet—poets in the oriental culture are considered moral leaders, those who guide the people with their wisdom. For that reason, they are considered as men who have an important or divine mission. The poet in this parable was sad about his situation, because
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Sophie, a cleaning woman, was Catholic. One of the gentlemen in the large building where she worked said to her, “Hey, Sophie, I understand that you are a Christian.” “Yes, sir, I am a child of God, my Lord and my King,” was her immediate reply. “Oh! So, you must be a princess, since God
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The Karate Kid is an American martial arts drama film. Part two, that was released in June of 1986, starts right after Daniel LaRusso defeated Johnny Lawrence in a karate fight, which was the end of the first part of the movie. John Kreese, Johnny’s teacher, very angry because his student lost, attacks him in
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Once a priest was asking for help to open a house of mercy. He began asking people to support this work of mercy, and they started helping him. However, he had this dialogue with one of his potential benefactors: – Father, do you want me to contribute to your work or commit to it? –
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