love; the gift of angels

Lifeline ( www.lifelinemagz.blogpot.com. ’lifeline magz’ on facebook. ’Lifeline Unec’ on twitter) Love: the gift of Angels ‘This is totally unimaginable! No, it can’t be real; it took her so long to make the decision of dating ND. This is the third time in their six month relationship that he scolded her and attempted to beat her……’ At 26, Amaka had been in about 12 relationships which were actually a ‘tasting the waters’ variant. ND wooed her for a year. She said no because time was no longer on her side.He was the normal tall, dark, handsome, good pay cheque kind of that guy who believes that, “get money and everything follows.” Amaka was light skinned, petite, beautiful, made ‘six figures’ every month and is what one will like to call ‘very comfortable.’ She is a regular church-girl, sings in the choir, attend Sunday services and goes for special conventions organized by big “pastors.” Their first two months were ‘magical.’ He took her to all the fool spots in town, spoilt her with designer perfumes and clothes, cards and so much more. She was beginning to believe that she has found her man until the honeymoon went over. It began with those little things; not picking her calls and giving silly excuses that he was in a meeting and was often too exhausted to call back. She then resorted to text messaging which he rarely replied or did in monosyllables. Most weekends were spent in his place doing the dishes and cleaning up. Sometimes he had come home with lipstick stains on his shirt and proffered the vague excuse that a colleague accidentally bumped into him unaware of the fact that his body boomed of female perfume. The height was when she took a sick absent from work only to look after his sick younger sister as he said he was ‘tied up with work.’ Guys were always flocking around her; colleagues at work, friends at church and some interested young men from her hometown but she always turned them down being a faithful love-struck girlfriend and what was her reward? A lying, cheating boyfriend; but Amaka continued because she believed that ‘somehow, things will turn around’ and he will get to see how much she loves him. She continued having this ‘delusion’ despite a tangible crop of her friends who kept on telling her that they actually see him with young ladies eating in expensive restaurants. She replies; ‘That must be his colleague from the office that he told me about’ I guess she believed and practices 1 Corinthians 13:4- love is kind, love is not jealous… then where did she really go wrong? A year later, she was left with a broken heart, a child to take care of and no shoulder to lean on. She kept praying to God because she knew she had ‘given all.’ Six months later, he came back apologizing and she accepted him; of course in tears. Valentine, his life was love. A priest in 270 A.D, during the great persecution, he helped Christians escape the persecution and administered marriage , which was then outlawed by the Roman empire and other sacraments, under Claudius II. ‘Marriage,’ he said, ‘do not make good soldiers!’ True? It follows suit that we all should pick a lesson from these two individuals- to love selflessly! Unlike a friend of mine who lied to his parents about money to buy unauthorized textbooks that he needs ‘before February 1st,’ when in actual facts, he wants to buy gifts for his girlfriend or a story I heard of a girl who absented herself for 24 hours only to resurface the next day with a ‘Bold 5!’ The story continues to even working class ladies who use their six months’ salary savings to get their guy a Val’s gift. Yes, all these later three loved but not selflessly. To do this calls for wisdom, not spending so much on one day for just a particular person and hoping to gain rewards or benefits. February 14th is a day that reminds us that love is the greatest of its contemporaries, faith and hope. It is a day to look around and see someone who is in need of a ‘touch of God’ and reach out to that person. As you do this, His peace surpassing all human understanding will dwell with you. Happy valentine. Adigwe Chika

on pope Benedict XVI

Lifeline( www.lifelinemagz.blogpot.com. ’lifeline magz’ on facebook. ’Lifeline Unec’ on twitter) Beyond the call of duty - Alex Perrottet | 12 February 2013 Imagine this. You gave fifty years to the world’s biggest organisation, were based in a foreign land, and had put in a couple of official resignation letters as you were getting old and wanted to go home. You were 78, after all. But then the CEO dies and you get voted as his replacement. Oh, and declining was not really the done thing. How long would you have lasted? I say that the man formerly known as Joseph Ratzinger has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Seven years after the baton was shoved in his hand, Pope Benedict XVI has done what John Paul II couldn’t afford to let him do -- retire. On 28 February at 8pm he will leave the Catholic Church in a popeless situation. That is, until a plume of white smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel --the symbolic product of a beneficial ballot-burning for Pope number 266. But sadly, you won’t hear much praise going the way of this brilliant man who has done the job for nearly eight years in the coming weeks. The politicking that we are led to believe the college of cardinals engage in to get the “top job” seems to me to issue from the same old talking heads that drone on about US Presidential elections, trying on such vacuous titles as “Vatican insider”, “papal expert” and -- my favourite -- “Vaticanologist”, for a little off-season practice. If you are an ex-priest for example, you are definitely the most sought-after voice on the subject, at least in Australian media. I have heard two speak already today. Enough with the political pontificating I say. Do people really think that Benedict threw his own zucchetto in the ring, to swap it for a white one as a fitting reward for his years of dedication? A New Zealand priest was once credited as saying that when a Pope dies (or resigns!), all the cardinals travel to Rome and, before heading home, leave one behind to be crucified. It does happen. At least it used to. The first successor of Jesus followed him to the cross, albeit upside down, as he didn’t feel worthy enough to die in exactly the same way. Dozens of others were brutally martyred in other creative ways. But anyone without a chip on their shoulder can see that every pope does get crucified in one way or another. And each one, in their own way, expresses the humility of a humble servant like Peter the Apostle did. I was with Pope Benedict on Sydney Harbour during World Youth Day in 2008. We were just cruising around, and did a little trip from Rose Bay around to Cockle Bay. Nice day, just him and me. Well OK, there were another few hundred on the boat, and hundreds of thousands lining the harbour. But it felt like we were just there together. Particularly at a moment when he looked directly at me - I was about three or four metres away and had been waving and smiling rather enthusiastically -- as if no one else was looking he changed his expression at me for a split second. He shrugged and gave me a look which clearly said: “Hey, I’m human after all, what’s with all the fuss?” The face matched his first ever words as Pope identically: “The Cardinals have elected me, a humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord.” The fact that Pope Benedict has dedicated the rest of his years on earth to prayer is a good sign to Catholics that his shock decision is a result of prayer. They can rest easy that the man knows what he is doing. With a great deal of humility and self-awareness, he has the clear notion that he is no longer up to the task. The fact that he has done things differently to Pope John Paul II is no slight on either of them. I was also lucky enough to meet John Paul II, who was recognised globally as an extraordinarily charismatic man. Should he have resigned, he would still have commanded all the world’s attention and certainly taken it away from his successor. I think that’s one reason he went right to the end. His body may have given out, but his mind was sharp as an arrow. Read anything from Pope John Paul II from his final years and you will be impressed. Pope John Paul II gave a heroic example of perseverance and commitment usually only seen and lauded when war heroes and, more commonly, sports heroes strap on the boots for another tour of duty. Pope Benedict XVI is a different man but equal in stature to John Paul. I am sure there is a great deal of wisdom in his decision, because he is the world’s wisest man. But ultimately, not a single soul other than him will ever know the deepest reasons he has. Only the Pope knows, and pundits can only pontificate. Alex Perrottet is a radio journalist based in New Zealand and was Master of Ceremonies at World Youth Day with Pope Benedict in Sydney 2008. Culled from the net.