The Elephant Whisperer

HOW  DID  THEY  KNOW? (from the internet: Snopes status not yet determined)        SOMETHING IN THE UNIVERSE THAT IS MUCH GREATER AND DEEPER THAN    HUMAN INTELLIGENCE.

THE ELEPHANT'S JOURNEY TO PAY RESPECT, BUT HOW DID THEY KNOW?

 

Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during US invasion in 2003. Anthony, Nana and calf (Photo courtesy of the Anthony family)

 
On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died.

He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons and numerous elephants.

Two days after his passing, the wild elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs.

Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend.

A total of 31 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African House.

Witnessing this spectacle, humans were obviously in awe not only because of the supreme intelligence and precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence's passing, but also because of the profound memory and emotion the beloved animals evoked in such an organized way:

Walking slowly - for days - Making their way in a solemn one-by-one queue from their habitat to his house.

Elephants gathering at the Anthony home (Photo courtesy of the Anthony family)

So, how after Anthony’s death, did the reserve’s elephants — grazing miles away in distant parts of the park — know? “A good man died suddenly,” says Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Ph.D., “and from miles and miles away, two herds of elephants, sensing that they had lost a beloved human friend, moved in a solemn, almost ‘funereal’ procession to make a call on the bereaved family at the deceased man’s home.” 
 

“If there ever were a time, when we can truly sense the wondrous ‘interconnectedness of all beings,’ it is when we reflect on the elephants of Thula Thula. A man’s heart’s stops, and hundreds of elephants’ hearts are grieving. This man’s oh-so-abundantly loving heart offered healing to these elephants, and now, they came to pay loving homage to their friend.”

Lawrence's wife, Francoise, was especially touched, knowing that the elephants had not been to his house prior to that day for well over 3 years! 
 

But yet they knew where they were going.

The elephants obviously wanted to pay their deep respects, honoring their friend who'd saved their lives - so much respect that they stayed for 2 days 2 nights without eating anything.

Then one morning, they left, making their long journey back!

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WHEN THINGS DON'T GO AS PLANNED, IT MAY BE GOD 'STIRRING UP THE POT'

If you seek God and work for Him in everything, without pause, the result will be miraculous. Translation: answer when He knocks.

When we have failure, we have to investigate the reasons behind it. It could just be a test, or as I just said, God’s way of nudging us from something that really isn’t good for us. It could also be the result of something wrong that we have done (or are still doing), and for which we must atone. Going back through our lives, we should review every major event, good and bad, and ask ourselves what we took from it. Did we learn from it? Did we improve? Are we focusing our prayers on getting over the hurdle the next time it comes? Remember that trials come in ways that are mostly unexpected – defeated only when prayer has been our preparation.

At other times, we should realize the need for trials. Tests afford an opportunity to step closer to Heaven. God is good and allows us to do some of our purgatory here on earth. We follow Jesus and His cross. When we realize that, there is no longer the room for bitterness. I remember a conversation I had with the former Marine who described the passing of his wife from cancer and how it brought him closer to God. The nurturing of her during that difficult death showed him spiritual truths that otherwise would not have been shown. His response of joy, even in this great “tragedy,” filled him with grace: to this day, many claim that his prayers have healed or converted them. Her death was a gift to the both of them! He later began a ministry of hand-fashioning gorgeous rosaries and shedding tears of joy while he made them.

These tears he rubs into the beads as sort of an anointing.

All of us should likewise reflect on our lives and meditate on why certain unfortunate things may have occurred and what we can learn and produce from them.

God gave us free will. We are like sparks from the fire of His love and the test of life is whether we will return to Him or continue on as sparks into darkness. When we make choices for love, we are coming back to His Light.

The most “unmiraculous” thing we can do is distance ourselves from Him through disbelief, indifference, or anger. Everything is set in our paths for a reason and the longer we walk with God, the more we recognize the truth that there are no accidents. All events have some kind of purpose; only God fully understands what that purpose is. But we can say this: often, He allows chaos to erupt around us.

He does that because He needs to stir in order to cook. He wants to rearrange things. Our task is to submit. When we die, God will not judge on whether we met every single challenge in an absolutely perfect way but rather by how we made the attempt. What He wants is acknowledgement of Him in all circumstances. 

[adapted from Michael Brown's The God of Miracles]

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From The Imitation of Christ:

VAIN is the man who puts his trust in men, in created things. Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ and to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble and humbles the proud.

If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest you displease God to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have.

Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God's judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.

SHUNNING OVER-FAMILIARITY

DO NOT open your heart to every man, but discuss your affairs with one who is wise and who fears God. Do not keep company with young people and strangers. Do not fawn upon the rich, and do not be fond of mingling with the great. Associate with the humble and the simple, with the devout and virtuous, and with them speak of edifying things. Be not intimate with any woman, but generally commend all good women to God. Seek only the intimacy of God and of His angels, and avoid the notice of men.

We ought to have charity for all men but familiarity with all is not expedient.

Sometimes it happens that a person enjoys a good reputation among those who do not know him, but at the same time is held in slight regard by those who do. Frequently we think we are pleasing others by our presence and we begin rather to displease them by the faults they find in us.

 

SHUN the gossip of men as much as possible, for discussion of worldly affairs, even though sincere, is a great distraction inasmuch as we are quickly ensnared and captivated by vanity. Many a time I wish that I had held my peace and had not associated with men. Why, indeed, do we converse and gossip among ourselves when we so seldom part without a troubled conscience? We do so because we seek comfort from one another's conversation and wish to ease the mind wearied by diverse thoughts. Hence, we talk and think quite fondly of things we like very much or of things we dislike intensely. But, sad to say, we often talk vainly and to no purpose; for this external pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation. Therefore we must watch and pray lest time pass idly. When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.
 

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FROM THE MAIL: RECALLING THE REPUTED WORDS FROM A NUN IN PURGATORY TO ONE IN A CLOISTER

A suffering soul in purgatory to Sister M. at a cloister in 19th century France (from Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory):

"If you could only know what I suffer! Pray for me, please. I suffer intensely everywhere. My God, how merciful You are! No one can imagine what Purgatory is like. Be kind and take pity on the poor souls.

"May 1874. I have been in the second Purgatory since the Feast of the Annunciation. On that day I saw the Blessed Virgin for the first time. In the first stage, we never saw her. The sight of her encourages us and this beloved Mother speaks to us of Heaven. While we see her, our sufferings are greatly diminished.

"You do well to pray to St. Michael and to urge others to do so. One is indeed happy at the hour of death when he has had confidence in some of the saints. They will be his protectors before God in that terrible moment.

"Make it a practice to live in the presence of God with a pure intention. God seeks devoted souls who will love Him for His own sake. These are very few. He wants you to be one of His true friends. Many think they love God, but they love Him for their own sakes.

"February 1875. Watch carefully over your interior life. Keep all your small troubles for Jesus alone. He is well able to make up to you for whatever He takes from you. Your life must be one of unceasing interior acts of love and of mortification, but God alone must know of it. Do nothing extraordinary. Lead a very hidden life, yet one closely united to Jesus.

"Love God very much. How happy are the souls that do this. They possess a treasure! The great penance of your life will be, not the absence of your Jesus but great sorrow for all the pain you have given Him, by your failure to love Him as you desire, in return for the overwhelming number of graces which He has showered upon you and which He will continue to shower upon you.

"Love everyone, but do not put your trust entirely in anyone, because Jesus wants to be your great confidant. Everything for Him and for Him alone. Perform all your actions in the presence of God as I have so often told you. Consult Him before all you do or say. Let your life be one of faith and love... Do nothing to distinguish yourself. Without offending anyone, avoid the company of those who are too unreserved and those who are uncharitable. As for yourself, be busy about your own affairs. Keep your opinions to yourself and never express them unless obliged to do so. Be preoccupied with only that one subject, the mainspring of your life, Jesus.

"December 8, 1875. Love God intensely. Do not fear your own suffering. Trust in Him, never in yourself. Die to yourself from morning to night... Do not breathe or live except for Jesus Christ. God must be your only confidant. Complain to no one except for Him. Be quite hidden from the eyes of everyone else.

"Feast of the Annunciation. When God wishes a soul to be entirely His, He begins by crushing it, very much as apples are crushed in the press—to extract its passions, its self-seeking, in a word, all its defects. When a soul is sufficiently broken, He reshapes it according to His will. If it is faithful, it is soon transformed. Only then does Jesus load it with His choicest graces and inundate it with His love.

"Jesus wants you to deal with Him, as with an intimate friend, without any fear whatsoever. It is true that His Majesty is frightening and that you are not worthy to have such intimate converse with your Jesus, but is He not the Master that enriches whomsoever He wills? Ask Jesus to make you rich in every virtue, as He wishes you to be, but in the meantime, shape your life in accordance with His inspirations. Enlarge your heart because what Jesus desires above all things is to see in it His love. What wonderful graces you will receive if you are faithful, graces you have never even thought of.

"May 12th. Mortify yourself corporally, but more especially spiritually. Forget yourself. Deny yourself in everything. Never look at what others are doing. God does not demand the same perfection from everyone. All are not enlightened in the same way, but you, whom Jesus Himself enlightens, look only to Him, let Him be your aim and object in everything.

"Never grow weary in your work. Begin each day as if you had so far done nothing. This continual renouncement of one’s will and comfort and one’s own opinions is a long martyrdom, but it is most pleasing to God. God wants you to be something special, not as regards your exterior, but in your inner soul. He asks of you a union with Himself, so great that you never lose sight of Him, even amidst your absorbing occupations.

"While on earth one truly cannot picture or imagine what God really is, but we (in Purgatory) know and understand Him for what He is, because our souls are freed from all the ties that fettered them and prevented them from realizing the holiness and majesty of God, and His great mercy. We are martyrs, consumed as it were by love. An irresistible force draws us towards God who is our center, but at the same time another force thrusts us back to our place of expiation. We are in the state of being unable to satisfy our longings. Oh, what a suffering that is, but we desire it and there is no murmuring against God here. We desire only what God wants. You on earth, however, cannot possibly understand what we have to endure.

"Be ingenious in mortifying yourself and in breaking your own will. Be especially nice to those who are less agreeable to you than to others, no matter what wrong they may have done to you. This means renouncing yourself and pleasing Jesus. Nothing else matters. It is on these occasions that you must silence the human will, but you must do it because Jesus wills it. Do not allow self-love to get the upper hand, but do all blindly to please Jesus alone."

[resources: Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory] 

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Praying the 27-day Family Tree novena

The first nine days for our Father’s side.
The next nine days for our Mother’s side.
The next nine days for yourself.
The Creed, Our Father, three Hail Mary’s and Glory be.
Then fourteen times:
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be and
Eternal rest grant unto them O! Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon them and may they rest in peace. Amen.
Make an act of Contrition.

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Dear Michael Brown of Spirit Daily,

I'm a seminarian in Boston who has a friend named Veridiana Ledesma who had recently gone on pilgrimage to Medjugorje. On her way back up the Croatian Coast she had stopped at a city several hours north, namely the Dalmatian city of Zadar.

I recommended she stop at Zadar because Zadar is famous for it's most beautiful sunsets (made even more famous by Alfred Hitchcock's visit to the same city sometime in the 60's where he claimed it being the most gorgeous sunset he had ever seen.)

This city is famous for it as well as being home to the mummified body of St. Simeon mentioned in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 2.

What I included in the attachment is a strange photo that Veridiana took of the Zadar sunset, because she thought that not only did the sky look beautiful, but "looked weird."

I myself see Our Lord Crucified in the clouds, or it can also look like an Angel blowing a trumpet. Near the sun is what looks like a dragon being chased near the sun.

Just wanted to share it with you.

God bless you and Spirit Daily,

Br. Neven Ivan

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