Solitary Soul

THE EUCHARIST – What’s your motivation? Mario D’Couto             To be honest, I was not really sure about the title I wanted to keep for this blogpost/article but I want to say that the inspiration for this blogpost/article is from a podcast by Two Catholic Dudes which I seen recently (these guys have got some amazing stuff if you want to grow in your faith as a Catholic which are available on YouTube). Many of us would have different reasons for praying but in this blogpost/article I will be writing exclusively in the context of the Holy Eucharist. As a Catholic, I believe that the Holy Eucharist is the highest form of worship because we are actually taking part in the paschal sacrifice, where Jesus comes to us in flesh and blood, so that we can share that communion with Him. I also happened to be a musician (there’s a video of me singing and playing the guitar which you will find in the blogpost/article, “Are you a tr...

IN HIS TIME Mario D’Couto             “What is the time?” I am sure that this a question that we all ask during the day at some moment during the day. But if we were to just remove the article “the” from the question that was just mentioned previously, it would be something like this, “What is time?” Both are not the same and in fact the latter has a very deep meaning.             If I were to ask, “When did time begin!” or “How do we get our idea of what time is or what is not?” one thing we can only say that it is only a “mystery”.             In one of my previous articles/blog posts/articles where I wrote about “Time”, I mentioned that we could understand it as an analogy or a comparison to the breath of God. We are not mere accidents in this world. We are not arbitrary! In Psalm 139:16, it is w...

LUCK VS HARDWORK Mario D’Couto             We’ve all been told that they key to achieving our goal is to work hard. Probably, we may have heard it so many times that is has become to a large extent cliche. But the fact remains, if there’s something you want, you’ve got to want it and you got to act. If I am thirsty and I want water, the water is not going to appear to me automatically. I need to get up, get a bottle of water and then I can drink it. But here’s the catch, there are many who work hard and yet for some reason, the outcome does not show up. Are some people luckier than the rest? Maybe! But here’s what I am trying to drive at: just waiting for the lucky moment or the ‘dawn of inspiration’ where everything would magically fall into place is not going to make things work if you have not done your groundwork. I would like to use the example of the farmer. A farmer does not grow his crop by just depending on the f...

APPRECIATING THE DARK Mario D’Couto             When I look at the stars at night, I am always baffled at its beauty. Science teaches us that each star is a heavenly body. Given the fact that each star is a heavenly body, we can imagine the size of each star. Yet, because of the distance, the stars appear no more than a dot in the sky.             Anyone who has seen stars in the night will vouch for what I am saying. They are all sparkling dots that light up the dark and yet thinking of it, we can say that it is precisely because of this dark background, that we can appreciate the beauty of the stars.             Robin Sharma, in his book, “ Discover your destiny ” , writes the following words, “You are far greater than you have ever dreamed of being. And no matter what you are experiencing in your life...

COURAGE Mario D’Couto As a young man, Charles Dickens nursed a great ambition to become a writer. But the odds were against him: poverty and very little schooling. He mailed his first manuscript in the dead of the night so that nobody would laugh at him. However, stories after stories were rejected. Thus finally dawned that great day, when one was accepted. Today in terms of fame and recognition, Charles Dickens is second only to William Shakespeare.              Courage is not the absence of fear but going ahead knowing that you will face it. It could be defined as the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables you to face danger or fear, or the vicissitudes of life with self – possession, confidence and resolution. It is that which helps us to face the daunting challenges both anticipated and unexpected, which will occur on our journey. It is only by going through failures that we emerge courageous. Failure bui...

PEER PRESSURE AND TEAMWORK Mario D’Couto             I could probably have written pretty extensively on either ‘peer pressure’ or ‘teamwork’ separately, as there is a lot that can be said about each of them but I decided to combine the two topics and merge them into one as both the topics share one common theme – the need to belong. Yes, it’s true! No man is an island and yet because of this need to feel accepted, we are ready to compromise. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that we should do away with it or treat it like as though it did not matter but while the need to associate, build friendships and develop relationships are important, we should not lose sight of who we are, what is our purpose and where we are going.             Sometimes we could fall into the temptation of living up to other people’s expectations. Expectations are nothing but other’s i...

ARE YOU A ‘PETER’ OR A ‘JUDAS’? Mario D’Couto             It is quite interesting to note the personalities of Peter and Judas in reference to the way God and the enemy (Satan) deal with us. To some extent, in some way, we fall under either of the two categories. Let’s take a look.             Peter and Judas were similar in many ways, including the fact that they both rejected Jesus in the crucial last days of His life. And yet, the two men had a fundamental difference. Judas never longed to know Jesus in the manner Peter did. Judas was not founded or rooted in Our Blessed Lord. While at prima facie, it appeared that he (Judas) loved Jesus since he had left all to follow Him, travelled in His constant companionship, stayed under the heat of persecution, cast out devils, healed the sick and preached the Gospel (remember Jesus sent out the 12 to preach, heal and de...