Read the story and answer briefly the following :
1. Give two virtues that were exemplified by the father in the story and discuss how he acted them out.
2. Inspired by the son in the story, how should you decide and act in accordance with your best intentions and goals in life?
My Favorite Love Story
Anonymous
Among the Navaho Indians was an initiation rite for young boys before they were accepted into the tribe as warriors. The moment a boy was between the ages 13 and 14, his father would take him to the jungle for his initiation. There would only be the two of them and they would bring nothing except the horse that they would be riding on. The forest is dense. Sometimes it is very hot in the jungle.
Then as night fell and as darkness descended, they were already there in the jungle. The father told the boy, “You have to pass this test my son or else I will be ashamed before our tribesmen. You will never be recognized as a grown-up man and, if you are not initiated, they will not make you a soldier.”
The boy could not do anything but obey his father. But you know he was trembling in fear. He could not complain as the father told him, “I will leave you now my son. There is no food, and there is no weapon for defense. Fend for yourself.” In that empty darkness, the father left the boy.
Now, the boy, alone, stayed there against a trunk of a big tree, shivering in a cold night, yet sweating beads of hot perspiration because of fear. Every rustle of the leaves made him tremble because it might be the movement of a snake. Every crack in the branch of a tree, within his mind, looked like a leopard ready to pounce on him. Every footstep might be the footstep of a lion ready to devour him. So he was not able to sleep for many hours. He was shivering there thinking “What kind of father is he? If he loves me, why does he conform to the laws of the tribe and leave me here to die? Why does he have to abandon me for the sake of his pride?” But then he could not even cry a complaint because he was afraid if he cried the wolves would come and tear him to pieces. He was even very careful with his breathing because his breathing might attract the snakes. But he was there. He could not even move because when he moved he was afraid it was not his movement. It might be something else. Finally, he was very sleepy and the poor boy fell asleep terrified with fear.
The morning came and the sun emerged from the mountain beyond the forest, casting resplendent beams like the illumination of the thousand diamonds reaching the earth. The streaks of light sparkling on the dewy leaves of the trees. The boy was speechless. Wondering how he survived the night as he beheld a glorious morning, in exultation, he shouted, “I am alive.” As his eyes wandered around, he realized there were no wolves, no tigers, no pythons. And as he looked farther, about 9 feet away from him, what did he see? All along his father was there guarding him with his bow and arrow and his hunting knife. In tears of joy he ran to his father, embraced him, and said, “Oh father, I thought you had abandoned me.” The father whispered, “No my son, I cannot do that because even when you were struggling in the night, I was there with my bow and arrow ready to attack any kind of wild animal that may come near you. How could I do that to you? Even when you were so afraid in the dark, I was there with my eyes searching through the darkness and intensely watching you there. I was always there!
Multiply that a million times and that is how God takes care of us even in our doubts and fears. Multiply that a million times and that is how God loves you and me. In return He only asks us to love others. He says, “If you love the very least of these, my brethren, you have loved me in return. “
Moral life must be considered not as a system of do’s and don’ts or as a reaction to a set of laws or commandments imposed from the outside, but as a dynamic process of becoming a person. A person who acts as a human being ought is virtuous. He acts with reason; he is in control; he directs his actions to the best ends to achieve his potential as a human being. A person who is truly human directs his actions by bringing into play four cardinal virtues and three theological virtues. Let us now look into the meaning of these virtues.
