The leader of a certain Indian tribe was dying, so he summoned his three sons and said:

“I am dying; before my death, I must choose one of you to succeed me as the head of our tribe. I have the same task for each of you. I want you to climb our holy mountain and bring me back something beautiful. The one whose gift is most outstanding will be the one who will succeed me.”

The following morning the sons set out on their search, each taking a different path up the mountain. After several days the sons returned.

The first brought his father a beautiful and rare flower that grew near the summit of the mountain. The second son brought his father a valuable stone, round and colorful which had been polished by the wind and the rain. The third son, who came empty handed, said to his father:

“I have brought back nothing to show you father. As I stood on the top of the holy mountain, I saw that on the other side was a beautiful land filled with green pastures. In the middle of these pastures is a crystal lake. I have a vision of where our tribe could go for a better life. I was so overwhelmed by what I saw and by what I could see that I could not bring anything back.”

The father replied: “You shall be our tribe’s new leader, for you have brought back the most precious thing – the gift of a vision for a better future.”

Today’s Gospel on the end time warnings gives us a better vision of how to lead our lives.


-Submitted by Fr. Joseph Dovari