成人快手

From Father Brian D鈥橝rcy, a Catholic Passionist priest:

I was once asked to give a talk to a class who were taking a course on The Theology of Story-telling. I hesitated because I wasn鈥檛 sure what The Theology of Story-telling meant. They gave me a book to read. I didn鈥檛 get past the first chapter when I discovered the following gem. 鈥淎ll stories are true, some of them actually happened.鈥� (John Shea) It鈥檚 true. The moral within the story is often more important than cold facts can ever be.

My childhood Christmases were made memorable by the neighbours who came to visit us in our little country house, and shared stories from times past. Through those stories I learned the history of our neighbourhood. It gave me a sense of belonging. We live under the illusion that we shape our stories; in fact our stories shape us. I believe that every story you tell is in some way the story of your own journey.

The purpose of a story is not to tell you what to think but to reveal to you the right questions to reflect upon.

Stories are at the heart of the bible. Through them I believe we learn how precious we are, and how privileged we are that God鈥檚 Son came to live among us as helpless little baby. We get to know a God in nappies long before we experience a powerful God or a mighty Saviour. That鈥檚 the whole point of the nativity plays so popular at this time of year.

The spiritual guru Father Anthony De Mello said 鈥淎 lost coin is found by means of a candle; the deepest truth is found by means of a simple story.鈥�

I spend much of my life listening to peoples鈥� stories of tragedy, failure and hurt. I鈥檓 always amazed that simply telling ones story, in itself brings healing; it seems there is no greater burden than an untold story. That鈥檚 why I think we owe it to each other to tell our stories.

In these rushed days perhaps you could make time to recall the stories from your childhood; they made Christmas magical. And if you haven鈥檛 the spirit of Christmas in your heart, you won鈥檛 find it under a tree.