Three summers ago I went on a pilgrimage to Fatima in central Portugal. The city is famous for the Marian apparations that took place there in 1917. I celebrated masses in the Basilica and in the Sanctuary with a group of Dutch-Filipino pilgrims. Aside from checking out Fatima’s shrines, museums and bookstores, I also visited nearby towns and communities.
One place that is worth mentioning is Cova da Iria. For it was there where I met an old woman sitting at a well. She claimed to be a relative of Lucia, one of the three peasant children who witnessed the apparition of the Virgin Mary. The other two were Francisco and Jacinta. The old woman explained to me that Cova da Iria was the place where the Virgin Mary first appeared to the three seers. She added that the first thing the Virgin said to the children was “Be not afraid, I will not harm you.”
She related to me many other things – the miracle of the sun, the visions of hell, the deaths of the seers, and the number of times she had to repeat all these information to a curious tourist. But the most curious thing of all is that she was talking to me in Portuguese and I understood everything she said. To think that I have not studied Portuguese at all.
I spoke to her in Italian and she seemed to have understood everything I said as well. To think that she did not know any other language except Portuguese. We were speaking in entirely different languages yet we understood each other perfectly.
The experience taught me something about understanding and being understood – that the most important thing in any communication process is not grammar, nor syntax, nor spelling, nor the language itself, but the will to understand and be understood.
is it not always suppose to be?
not so long ago,someone wise & very dear to me told me,”for two people to really understand each other,they only have to open their hearts and talk honestly then listen to what the other says and even try to understand what is not said.”
from what i’ve experienced these last few months,i have learned that it is not the language that creates a wall between two people but rather the absence of compassion & the will to really understand each other.
ei padre, nice blog. 3rd time around na makapunta ako dito. we have the same niche of blog theme, though mine is more of a reflection type. anyhow dre I’m personally inviting you to my blog, its nice to have a fellow religious (I’m an ex-cap seminarian) on the net.
Pax Et Bonum Dre!
I like this the Will to Understand & Be Understood.
They’re 3 countries in Europe have a very special place in my heart Fatima/Portugal is one of them.
Yes Fr Bobby, I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks to this very enlightening thoughts of yours. You are loved.
I know my friends are finding it hard to understand my eccentricities lately, but I am glad that the ones I hold dear have it within them the WILL to understand. Thank you for putting up with me. We might be speaking in different languages now but it is just comforting that we are still able to understand each other perfectly. After all, that is what friendship (in the true sense of the word) should be about. Cin cin!
Understanding someone requires a lot of work. You can’t just succumb to his sine qua non right there and then to satiate him to the brim to get closer, instead, pause for a moment and listen. Feel his needs… his motives. You can even get skeptical @ times. And then… obey!
Auntie Chang, I understand why you are like that sometimes. But frankly, I do not see much eccentricity in you. What I see is your many strengths and abilities as well as your commitment to help others which motivates me to do the same.
Dear Stephen… our website’s connection to the Vocation Page has been deleted as the company that was hosting it no longer has our account… so, I was wondering if you could help us out… I have all the files for the old site, it needs some panel-beating, polishing up, and some imaginative, creative young appeal, but the details will still be the same… I was wondering if you could help again from where you are and have a look, and lets know what we have to do… what cost… what??? etc…
looking forward to hearing from, your brother MSC, Chris