Women of Strength

It's International Women's Day... and the internet has been raging with articles, most good - some not...

 
My parish at OLPS Chembur regularly participates in the Vacation Bible Joy program  - a bible camp created by the Archdiocese of Bombay for our school children during the vacations. A couple of years ago the theme of the VBJ was Biblical Women of Strength, which showcased most of the strong women who were part of the Women's Day post on the Archdiocese of Bombay Facebook Page this morning.

Where's the music?

Right about here... Whom should I start with? 

How about the great-grandmother of King David?


Ruth (around 1100 B.C) 

One of the favorite songs at weddings for many years has been the Song of Ruth. 

However, this song is not a romantic song sung by a wife to her husband, but is actually a song by the Ruth to her also widowed mother-in-law Naomi when Naomi decided to return to Judea from Moab. Ruth followed her mother-in-laws guidance and marries a distant family member Boaz (The entire account pans out in the biblical Book of Ruth).


Esther (around 400 B.C) 

 

Esther was the Jewish bride of the Persian king Xerxes, who protected the Israelites living in the kingdom with the wisdom and guidance of God... (The Book of Esther).

Hannah (maybe around 1200 B.C)

Hannah's importance in the Bible is in reiterating the POWER of prayer. She yearned for a son, and thanks to her persistence in faith was blessed with Samuel, who she dedicated to the temple as she had promised before his birth. He went to be the last of the Judges, a prophet and the anointer of the Kings to come. Here's Hannah's Prayer in song.

 

Mother Mary

The most powerful of all Biblical Women is by far, the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Even today people throng to pay devotions to Mother Mary in Fatima, Lourdes and closer to home for novenas at Mahim, and to a lesser extent, Chembur. Among the many songs devoted to her, I have a special attachment to Momma Mary, a song I first heard sung by Fr. Robyn Selwyn S.J.

There are many more inspiring women that we can learn from - in the Bible and in the life of the Saints. Do check out my favorite resource on Saints at www.franciscanmedia.org 

Meanwhile, registrations are currently open for the next round of VBJ in Chembur. Do register your kids.

 

There's A Time For Everything

A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to reap.

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to tear down, and a time to build.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;

a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

Have your heard these words before?

I heard these words as part of the Readings this morning - from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes (Chap 3: 2-8)

Also, the cantor at the Mass (yours truly!) could only think of one hymn that perfectly encapsulated the theme of TIME... In His Time - Maranatha Music.

As the day progressed, another song came into my head - a folk rock song with no biblical leanings that I know of. When I checked the lyrics, I was pleasantly surprised that they matched those from the same passage of Ecclesiastes. Turn Turn Turn - an international hit that reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for The Byrds in December 1965 was written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s.

The passage has even more significance today - being the day of the Autumnal Equinox  - a phenomenon we learnt about in school geography. September 22/23 is officially designated as the day that the sun crosses the Equator marking the change of seasons. While the Northern Hemispere heads for winter, the bulk of my family based in New Zealand are looking forward to summer. Yes, the sun is responsible for the seasons. And the Seasons in the Sun. The song written and performed in French by the Belgian poet-composer Jacques Brel in 1961, was translated by Rod McKuen and subsequently released by The Kingston Trio in 1964. You possibly heard the song in the 1999 recording by Westlife or the 2004 version by Nirvana - but I like this version.

And as TIME moves ahead and the SEASONS change, I'll leave you with a quote to remember and reflect...