Marcelino Pan Y Vino and "I Thirst"

http://leelibros.com/biblioteca/index.php?q=marcelino_pan_y_vino_0

Was it a mere coincidence that I happened to watch the programme 'Movie Light 'in Goodness TV last night? The way Fr. Benny narrated the story of the Spanish movie "Marcelino Pan y Vino" ( Marcelino Bread and Wine)and the tear jerking visuals  really do make one think a little deeper on the Love of the Crucified Saviour! 

Surprisingly, it is not the usual miracle - like Jesus consoling and pacifying an abandoned orphan kid- that makes the theme of the movie . On the contrary, it is the abandoned boy who is consoling the suffering Man on the Cross. The five year old boy, who has not yet been taught who Jesus is, feels a sort of empathy towards Him, when he finds Him abandoned in the cluttered attic of the monastery, . He knows the pain of abandonment, after all! So he sets out to console and pacify the Lonely Man on the Cross in the attic! The boy feels that the Man is hungry and thirsty, and he sneaks Bread and Wine from the monastery kitchen and offers it to the Suffering Man on the Cross. By the time, the Man has also become the boy's sole Friend and Confidante!! Now comes the miracle. The statue of Jesus on the Cross comes alive. He reaches out His hand to accept the boy's bread!Later, He even comes down from the Cross to sit on the huge chair drawn to the table by the little boy.The climax of the story brings all the friars, including the superior up to the attic, as they burst out in tears - of repentance, I'm afraid! What a story! And how convincing!!!
    I thought I had forgotten all about this movie, until this  morning ,when I happened to read, rather was driven to read ( by who else but my dear Angel) the "33 Days Morning Glory" by Fr. Michael E Gaitley MIC. And there in lay the decoding of the symbolic meaning of Marcelino Pan y Vino! The true meaning of the movie lies in a letter written by Mother Teresa of Kolkota to her Missionaries of Charity, just four years before her death. She was inspired to write this letter on March 25, 1993, after reading the Lenten Message of Pope John Paul II on "I Thirst". Let me cite the whole section as Fr. Michael has done in his book:

      You all know in your mind that Jesus loves you – but in this letter Mother wants to touch           your heart instead. Jesus wants to stir up our hearts, so not to lose our early love, specially         in the future after Mother leaves you. That is why I ask you to read this letter before the            Blessed Sacrament, the same place it was written, so Jesus himself can speak to you each         one.

Why is Mother saying these things?. After reading Holy Father’s letter on "I thirst," I was struck so much – I cannot tell you what I felt. His letter made me realize more than ever how beautiful is our vocation. How great God’s love for us in choosing our Society to satiate that thirst of Jesus, for love, for souls – giving us our special place in the Church. At the same time we are reminding the world of His thirst, something that was being forgotten. I wrote Holy Father to thank him. Holy Father’s letter is a sign for our whole society – to go more into this great thirst of Jesus for each one. It is also a sign for Mother, that the time has come for me to speak openly of the gift God gave September 10 – to explain fully as I can what means for me the thirst of Jesus.For me Jesus’ thirst is something so intimate – so I have felt shy until now to speak to you of September 10 – I wanted to do as Our Lady who "kept all these things in her heart." That is why Mother hasn’t spoken so much of I Thirst, especially outside. But still, Mother’s letters and instructions always point to it – showing the means to satiate His thirst through prayer, intimacy with Jesus, living our vows – specially our 4^th vow. For me it is so clear – everything in MC exists only to satiate Jesus. His words on the wall of every MC chapel, they are not from the past only, but alive here and now, spoken to you. Do you believe it? If so, you will hear, you will feel His presence. Let it become as intimate for each of you, just as for Mother – this is the greatest joy you could give me. Mother will try to help you understand – but Jesus himself must be the one to say to you "I Thirst." Hear your own name. Not just once. Every day. If you listen with your heart, you will hear, you will understand.Why does Jesus say "I Thirst"? What does it mean? Something so hard to explain in words – if you remember anything from Mother’s letter, remember this – "I thirst" is something much deeper than Jesus just saying "I love you." Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you – you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.The heart and soul of MC is only this – the thirst of Jesus’ Heart, hidden in the poor. This is the source of every part of MC life. It gives us our Aim, our 4^th vow, the Spirit of our Society. Satiating the living Jesus in our midst is the Society’s only purpose for existing. Can we each say the same for ourselves – that it is our only reason for living? Ask yourself – would it make any difference in my vocation, in my relation to Jesus, in my work, if Jesus’ thirst were no longer our aim – no longer on the chapel wall? Would anything change in my life? Would I feel any loss? Ask yourself honestly, and let this be a test for each to see if His thirst is a reality, something alive – not just an idea."I Thirst" and "You did it to me" – Remember always to connect the two, the means with the Aim. What God has joined together let no one split apart. Do not underestimate our practical means – the work for the poor, no matter how small or humble – that make our life something beautiful for God. They are the most precious gifts of God to our Society – Jesus’ hidden presence so near, so able to touch. Without the work for the poor the Aim dies – Jesus’ thirst is only words with no meaning, no answer. Uniting the two, our MC vocation will remain alive and real, what Our Lady asked.The thirst of Jesus is the focus of all that is MC. The Church has confirmed it again and again – "Our charism is to satiate the thirst of Jesus for love and souls – by working at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor." Nothing different. Nothing else. Let us do all we can to protect this gift of God to our Society.Believe me, my dear children – pay close attention to what Mother is saying now - only the thirst of Jesus, hearing it, feeling it, answering it with all your heart, will keep the Society alive after Mother leaves you. If this is your life, you will be all right. Even when Mother leaves you, Jesus’ thirst will never leave you. Jesus thirsting in the poor you will have with you always.That is why I want the Active Sisters and Brothers, the Contemplative Sisters and Brothers, and the Fathers to each one aid the other in satiating Jesus with their own special gift – supporting, completing each other and this precious Grace as one Family, with one Aim and purpose. Do not exclude the Coworkers and Lay MCs from this – this is their call as well, help them to know it.Because the first duty of a priest is the ministry to preach, some years back I asked our Fathers to begin speaking about I Thirst, to go more deeply into what God gave the Society September 10. I feel Jesus wants this of them, also in the future – so pray Our Lady keeps them in this special part of their 4^th vow. Our Lady will help all of us in this, since she was the first person to hear Jesus’ cry I Thirst with St. John, and I am sure Mary Magdalen. Because she was there on Calvary, she knows how real, how deep His longing for you and for the poor. Do we know? Do we feel as she? Ask her to teach – you and the whole Society are hers. Her role is to bring you face to face, as John and Magdalen, with the love in the Heart of Jesus crucified. Before it was Our Lady pleading with Mother, now it is Mother, in her name pleading with you – "listen to Jesus’ thirst." Let it be for each what Holy Father said in his letter – a Word of Life.How do you approach the thirst of Jesus? Only one secret – the closer you come to Jesus, the better you will know His thirst. "Repent and believe," Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor – He knows your weakness, He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you. He is not bound by time. Whenever we come close to Him – we become partners of Our Lady, St. John, Magdalen. Hear Him. Hear your own name. Make my joy and yours complete.Let us pray.

 http://www.mcpriests.com/15legacy/varanasi.htm
Excerpts from a letter to the Missionaries of Charity, Easter, 1993.
 

http://www.saintlyquotations.com/2013/06/mother-teresa-quotation-kiss-from-cross.html

Mother Teresa: The Kiss from the Cross

Suffering has to come because if you look at the cross, he has got his head bending down - he wants to kiss you - and he has both hands open wide - he wants to embrace you. He has his heart opened wide to receive you. Then when you feel miserable inside, look at the cross and you will know what is happening. Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close that he can kiss you. Do you understand, brothers, sisters, or whoever you may be? Suffering, pain, humiliation - this is the kiss of Jesus. At times you come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you. I once told this to a lady who was suffering very much. She answered, "Tell Jesus not to kiss me - to stop kissing me." That suffering has to come that came into the life of Our Lady, that came in the life of Jesus - it has to come in our life also. Only never put on a long face. Suffering is a gift from God. It is between you and Jesus alone inside.

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta