The meeting of the General Administration with the youth of Asia was successfully held in Tagaytay for four days from September 21 to 24, 2007. After four days of reflecting, sharing and enjoying one’s company, the said activity was concluded with a speech of Bro. Sean Sammon, the General Superior of the Brothers. Here is the message of Br. Sean for all the Marist youth here in Asia:
Seán D. Sammon, FMS
24th September 2007
This morning I plan to tell you two stories, using each of them to bring together some of the rich sharing that has taken place over the past four days together. The first story is light and humorous; the second personal and of a more serious note.
Our first tale is about a bishop and a taxi driver who died on the same day. The bishop breathed his last as the priests of his diocese recited the rosary gathered around his hospital bed. In contrast, the taxi driver expired as he was rushing across town in search of his next fare. Both men arrived before the Gates of Heaven about the same time where they awaited the arrival of Saint Peter and whatever lay in store for each of them.
The bishop, casting a glance at the taxi driver, thought to himself: I hope that God in his mercy can find a place for that poor soul. As for myself: my reward in the Kingdom of God is assured. After all, I was a person of some prominence in the Church and have served the Lord faithfully.
You can imagine the bishop’s surprise when on his arrival Saint Peter went straight over to the taxi driver, embraced him, and escorted him personally through the Gates of Heaven and into one of the Kingdom’s choicest mansions.
Quickly recouping his composure, the bishop thought to himself: if God has given that taxi driver a reward such as this one, I can only imagine what he has in store for me!
When Peter returned, however, he offered the bishop rather perfunctory thanks for his service to the Church, tossed him a set of keys and directed him toward an apartment complex located in a noisy neighborhood near heaven’s gate. The bishop was startled but went off nevertheless to inspect his new quarters.
On taking a tour through home, he quickly became angry. There has been a mistake here, the bishop thought to himself. I, who was a bishop in the Church, am given this modest reward while that taxi driver, who did little more during the course of his life than cause traffic jams, is assigned to one of heaven’s choicest spots. Yes, a mistake must have been made. And so, he quickly set out in search of Peter determined to right the wrong.
On finding the Saint he demanded an explanation. Peter sighed and said to the bishop, “Your Excellency, you know very well how things work here. What you get in the afterlife is determined by what you did on earth. And quite frankly, your Excellency, when you preached people slept. But when that taxi driver drove, believe me, people prayed!”
