“In
our personal history too, there are both bright and dark moments,
lights and shadows. If we love God and our brothers and sisters, we
walk in the light; but if our heart is closed, if we are dominated by
pride, deceit, self-seeking, then darkness falls within us and around
us.
Whoever hates
his brother — writes the Apostle John — is in the darkness; he
walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the
darkness has blinded his eyes" .
Pope Francis
One of the largest personnel challenges, I
have for the new year, is how I view and relate to Tea Party members,
Conservatives under their thumb and extreme right-wing Evangelicals
and Fundamentalists of every stripe. To be able to, not paint, every
member with the feelings I have of these ideologies, which are
misguided to loathsome and sinful, is a challenge.
But, just how do I go about doing that ? At
some point a person may become so married to a concept that they
become indistinguishable from it.
"Just
as the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" sets a clear limit
in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to
say "thou shalt not" to an economy of exclusion and
inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a
news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is
news when the stock market loses two points?"
Pope
Francis
A person, such as our new Pope Francis, not
only believes, but acts upon his convictions, that the poor, sick and
needy among us, are the responsibility of all, especially from those
in a more secure state of life. He cannot be separated from his
deeply religious outlook on the world around him. We should all
correctly call him good or at least a good example of what Christ
calls us to be.
"NO
TO SELFISHNESS"! In other words, to all that impels man to
protect himself inside the cocoon of a privileged social class or a
cultural comfort which excludes others. The life-style of the
prosperous, their patterns of consumption, must be reviewed in the
light of their repercussions on other countries. Let us mention for
example the problem of water resources, which the United Nations
Organization has asked us all to consider during this year 2003.
Selfishness is also the indifference of prosperous nations towards
nations left out in the cold. All peoples are entitled to receive a
fair share of the goods of this world and of the know-how of the more
advanced countries. How can we fail to think here, for example, of
the access of everyone to generic medicines, needed to continue the
fight against current pandemics, an access — alas — often
thwarted by short-term economic considerations?”
Pope
John Paul II
"Some
people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that
economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably
succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the
world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts,
expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding
economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing
economic system.”
Pope
Francis
Rush
Limbaugh, who I've called the elephant droppings of the Republican
Party, is a good example of my dilemma. His beliefs and the way he
conducts himself on radio is vile. He's clearly a bad example, but
should he be called bad by me ?
He
called our Pope a Marxist, a hateful term for Conservatives, because
our Eminence states the responsibility we all have toward the weak,
sick and poor, along with his criticism of free market Capitalism and
its' demented offspring Consumerism and the responsibilities of the
wealthy and powerful nations toward the downtrodden. Which is an
important part of Catholic Social Teaching.
You can go to the
'horses mouth' by going to Google. I went to the LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-pope-startles-rush-20131217,0,732437.story#axzz2od14wdy4
Those under the
same tent as Rush make, even though I don't have to like them, love
difficult. This quote comes from another pope who the Conservatives
mostly ignored.
“In
a world with a superabundance of information, but which paradoxically
finds it so difficult to communicate and where living conditions are
scandalously unequal, it is important to spare no effort to ensure
that everyone feels responsible for the growth and happiness of all.
Our future is at stake. An unemployed young person, a handicapped
person who is marginalized, elderly people who are uncared for,
countries which are captives of hunger and poverty: these situations
all too often make people despair and fall prey to the temptation
either of closing in on themselves or of resorting to violence.”
Pope
John Paul II
How would Pope Francis, this humble, caring,
disciple of Christ, instruct me on this problem of mine?
I bet he would tell me to love the sinner
and not the sin. That doesn't mean you have to like the person, only
Love is required ! Which, is impossible, without the help of the Holy
Spirit.
For me the best way to do this has always
been to ask the Good Lord to Bless the Person. That that person
receive all the Graces and state in life that the Will of God would
like for this person.
I've had a hard time doing this with the,
self absorbed, purveyors of lies and distortions of truth, prideful
of being greedy, and haters, among conservative ranks. Their
distortions of social, religious and political dialogue because of
their many wild conspiracy theories, aimed at the most ignorant or
downtrodden among us, are deplorable.
I could use quite a bit more grace myself,
because it's difficult for me not to embrace a strong dislike,
bordering on hate for these people. Conquering that darkness within
myself is my resolution for the new year.
There are greater evils in this
world of ours, still requiring the Doctrine of Love.
Pope Francis' Christmas Message
to the World:
“
Dear
brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy
Christmas!
I take up the
song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the
night when Jesus was born. It is a song which unites heaven and
earth, giving praise and glory to heaven, and the promise of peace to
earth and all its people.
I ask everyone
to share in this song: it is a song for every man or woman who keeps
watch through the night, who hopes for a better world, who cares for
others while humbly seeking to do his or her duty.
Above all
else, this is what Christmas bids us to do: give glory to God, for he
is good, he is faithful, he is merciful. Today I voice my hope that
everyone will come to know the true face of God, the Father who has
given us Jesus. My hope is that everyone will feel God's closeness,
live in his presence, love him and adore him.
May each of us
give glory to God above all by our lives, by lives spent for love of
him and of all our brothers and sisters.
True peace
is not a balance of opposing forces. It is not a lovely "façade"
which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily
commitment, starting from God's gift, from the grace which he has
given us in Jesus Christ.
Looking at the
Child in the manger, our thoughts turn to those children who are the
most vulnerable victims of wars, but we think too of the elderly, to
battered women, to the sick. Wars shatter and hurt so many lives!
Too many lives
have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling
hatred and vengeance. Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the
beloved Syrian people further suffering, and to enable the parties in
conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to
humanitarian aid. We have seen how powerful prayer is! And I am happy
today too, that the followers of different religious confessions are
joining us in our prayer for peace in Syria. Let us never lose the
courage of prayer! The courage to say: Lord, grant your peace to
Syria and to the whole world.
Grant peace to
the Central African Republic, often forgotten and overlooked. Yet
you, Lord, forget no one! And you also want to bring peace to that
land, torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty, where so many
people are homeless, lacking water, food and the bare necessities of
life. Foster social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions
have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful
coexistence in that young state.
Prince of
Peace, in every place turn hearts aside from violence and inspire
them to lay down arms and undertake the path of dialogue. Look upon
Nigeria, rent by constant attacks which do not spare the innocent and
defenseless. Bless the land where you chose to come into the world,
and grant a favorable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and
Palestinians. Heal the wounds of the beloved country of Iraq, once
more struck by frequent acts of violence.
Lord of life,
protect all who are persecuted for your name. Grant hope and
consolation to the displaced and refugees, especially in the Horn of
Africa and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. Grant that migrants in search of a dignified life may find
acceptance and assistance. May tragedies like those we have witnessed
this year, with so many deaths at Lampedusa, never occur again!
Child of
Bethlehem, touch the hearts of all those engaged in human
trafficking, that they may realize the gravity of this crime against
humanity. Look upon the many children who are kidnapped, wounded and
killed in armed conflicts, and all those who are robbed of their
childhood and forced to become soldiers.
Lord of heaven
and earth, look upon our planet, frequently exploited by human greed
and rapacity. Help and protect all the victims of natural disasters,
especially the beloved people of the Philippines, gravely affected by
the recent typhoon.
Dear brothers
and sisters, today, in this world, in this humanity, is born the
Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Let us pause before the Child of
Bethlehem. Let us allow our hearts to be touched, let us allow
ourselves to be warmed by the tenderness of God; we need his caress.
God is full of love: to him be praise and glory forever! God is
peace: let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day, in our
life, in our families, in our cities and nations, in the whole world.
Let us allow ourselves to be moved by God's goodness.”
Pope Francis
Jesus
tells us that we are to love God with our whole heart and soul and to
love our neighbor as ourselves. He also tells us to love our enemies.
The demands of our Christian faith dictate that we must care for the
benefit and well being of our enemies as well as ourselves. We all
fall short, I know I have a whole stack of demons I wrestle with and
I let them win far more often than I should, but to outright deny
Christ in favor of fear and hate is just wrong. We should all be
encouraging each other in this struggle and not be putting pressure
on those who disagree to join in an orgy of embracing evil.
Hate
is evil, it always has been and it always will be the largest
obstacle to fitting through the needles eye.
“War
is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity.
International law, honest dialogue, solidarity between States, the
noble exercise of diplomacy: these are methods worthy of individuals
and nations in resolving their differences. I say this as I think of
those who still place their trust in nuclear weapons and of the
all-too-numerous conflicts which continue to hold hostage our
brothers and sisters in humanity. At Christmas, Bethlehem reminded us
of the unresolved crisis in the Middle East, where two peoples,
Israeli and Palestinian, are called to live side-by-side, equally
free and sovereign, in mutual respect. Without needing to repeat what
I said to you last year on this occasion, I will simply add today,
faced with the constant degeneration of the crisis in the Middle
East, that the solution will never be imposed by recourse to
terrorism or armed conflict, as if military victories could be the
solution. And what are we to say of the threat of a war which could
strike the people of Iraq, the land of the Prophets, a people already
sorely tried by more than twelve years of embargo? War is never just
another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences
between nations. As the Charter of the United Nations Organization
and international law itself remind us, war cannot be decided upon,
even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good, except as the
very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions,
without ignoring the consequences for the civilian population both
during and after the military operations.”
Pope
John Paul II
The
greater part of faith is trust. If we have faith in all that Jesus
taught then we should muster the courage to trust Him as well.
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“To
you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
To
the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your
tunic.Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes
what is yours do not demand it back.
Do
to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who
love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who
love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what
credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend
money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to
you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.
But
rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting
nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children
of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the
wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop
judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not
be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give,
and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together,
shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For
the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to
you.”
Luke
6-27-38
I've
only been slightly strong enough to take this vow, once, but here it
is. Maybe someday I will be able to make this a lifelong vow, maybe
some day we all will be.
~VOW
OF NONVIOLENCE~
RECOGNIZING
THE VIOLENCE IN MY OWN HEART, yet trusting in the goodness and mercy
of God, I vow for one year to practice the nonviolence of Jesus who
taught us in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God...You have
learned how it was said, "You must love your neighbor and hate
your enemy"; but I say to you, "Love your enemies, and pray
for those who persecute you. In this way, you will be daughters and
sons of your Creator in heaven." Before God the Creator and the
Sanctifying Spirit, I vow to carry out in my life the love and
example of Jesus by striving for peace within myself and seeking to
be a peacemaker in my daily life; by accepting suffering rather than
inflicting it; by refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation
and violence; by persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart; by
living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of
the means to live; by actively resisting evil and working
nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart
and from the face of the earth. God, I trust in Your sustaining love
and believe that just as You gave me the grace and desire to offer
this, so You will also bestow abundant grace to fulfill it.
After
reading and reflecting on the Vow of Nonviolence, people often commit
themselves to trying to follow it daily for a year. If a group of
people is committing to the vow, a ceremony can be planned.
I
commit myself to living according to the Vow of Nonviolence for a one
year period.
