A
young wife decided to boil some ham for supper. Her new husband watched
her prepare it, but was curious as to why she cut a corner off. She
explained that her mother had done it, but she didn't know why. She
telephoned her mother the next day and asked her to satisfy his curiosity.
The mother thought for a moment and then replied that she wasn't sure,
but her mother had always cut a piece off and she was just carrying
on the tradition. The young wife was not satisfied with that so she
went round to visit her grandmother and asked her the same question.
And do you know what the answer was? The grandmother had never had
a pan big enough to hold a piece of ham!!
I loved that story when I heart it about four years ago - during
a homily! And I remembered it this week because I wondered if we sometimes
do things without thinking or understanding why.
So often we just follow what everyone else does so that we "fit
in". But if we know why we do things, it doesn't matter whether
other people do them, or not!
Basically I find myself alone, during Mass, making the sign of the
cross at the end of the Creed. This is because when I was being prepared
for confirmation, I was taught to cross myself then. As I have just
stated what I believe, I should also say to God - "I commend
to you my thoughts, my body, my strength and my heart!"
Do we really understand why we do things - if we do they enrich our
lives. If we don't they are meaningless.
A
young wife decided to boil some ham for supper. Her new husband watched
her prepare it, but was curious as to why she cut a corner off. She
explained that her mother had done it, but she didn't know why. She
telephoned her mother the next day and asked her to satisfy his curiosity.
The mother thought for a moment and then replied that she wasn't sure,
but her mother had always cut a piece off and she was just carrying
on the tradition. The young wife was not satisfied with that so she
went round to visit her grandmother and asked her the same question.
