Never Again. HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
Tag: religion
Indifference is all the difference ATNOBO25
Greetings on this the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31
In our gospel portion today, we are given the insight to be able to say:
The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference.
Consider the Rich Man (Dives) in the Parable of Lazarus and Dives.
Each Day, every day
He dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps.
Knew but Ignored
He knew Lazarus but cared not. Until he would be potentially useful. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Indifference is deadly decay
So indifferent were they, that when Lazarus died, noone buried him.
When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
Indifference blinds
Indifference blinds us to Grace and salvation.
Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'”
Kindness endures
Nobody is perfect. You may be having a bad day and aiding others is the furthest thing from your mind. This story is about someone who day-by-day had a life practice of indifference, advantage, resources, intelligence and the nascent capacity to be kind (Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment).
This indifference of one man caused the death of another, Lazarus, and doom for his five brothers.
Nobody can complain they are unable to be kind. Lapses? Sure. A way of life? Never!
Kindness saves
Kindness can be painful. Those who were kind were made ill by the collapse of Joseph.
They shared their home, food, music, eine and oil. This is the contrasting kindness to the vile images of those ‘with’ taken in the Book of the Prophet Amos.
Kindness Praises Kindness
Blessed is he who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind; the LORD raises up those who were bowed down. The LORD loves the just; the LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. The LORD shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
Our calling
But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus.
Appalachian Trail
I ended the day yesterday in Holy Mass (of Thanksgiving) for a successful 241 mile hike through Massachusetts and Vermont, end-to-end, entering New Hampshire on Saturday.
Kindness Abounds in Water
The severe drought made water management a critical task. There were days I had to restrict my water intake to two gulps every 70 minutes (set a timer on my phone). Thanks be to God for kindness. Water caches along some routes helped. I even begged a State Forestry Firefighters for a pint when passing each other. In payment I had to promise to stamp out any campsite firepits smoldering that I come across.
Kindness Abounds in Food
The distance between roadcuts made food management difficult. Thanks be to God for kindness.
One day hiker saw me at a forestry parking lot and gave me her snack bar, “you need this more than me”. Still others, while hiking extra miles to town to get food, simply stopped their truck offering a ride to town! I always apologized for my smell. Yes, it was bad. Like damp laundry waiting a week to be washed… times 10.
You see, I was Lazarus. Food, water, shelter, and kindness in small, yet for me, significant amounts… praise the Lord O my soul, as our responsorial psalm goes.
Your Kindness is in the Image and Likeness of God.
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry
The Dangers of Gossip: A Spiritual Perspective
Greetings on this the Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Hebrews 10:19-25; Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Mark 4:21-25
Summary
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
Gossip
Gossip is so corrosive. Unrestrained comments are from a well of deep-seated emotional wounds of the speaker. The gossiper has the sin. The listener bears the burden.
Measure
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Carpentry
Measure Twice, Cut Once
In carpentry there is a saying. Measure twice, cut once. Simple advice. Profound effect.
You are obligated to measure what you hear and repeat only truth. Truth that is helpful not hurtful.
Generative AI says
How to speak the truth in love?
- Be truthful in all dealings with others.
- Avoid lying, cheating, or deceiving others.
- Communicate the truth in a loving way.
- Act in accord with all that is true.
- Live a life of integrity and truthfulness.
Catholic Church Says
CCC 2505 Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
Sacred Readings full text: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013025.cfm
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry
Embracing Seclusion: Spiritual Reflections for Advent
Greetings on this the Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Readings: Jgs 13:2-7, 24-25a; Ps 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17; Lk 1:5-25
Summary
After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
to take away my disgrace before others.”
Reflection
It is good to have alone time with the Lord. Elizabeth wasn’t hiding in shame (actually the opposite -So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others). She could have ran around showing off her beautiful belly!
But no, she went into seclusion. To a sheltered or private place. In thanksgiving.
Similarly, Mary, And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
Personal Reflection
I must remember to carve out alone time with the Lord. In prayer, of course, but also in friendship. In a common recollection and reflection on his marvelous love. I put a screen shot of an Advent retreat that just passed. Maybe next year? But even now, carve out the time.
Prescription
Please carve out some seclusion. You and the Lord. Marveling the wonderful things he has done for you, me and everyone. So many examples.
Sacred Readings full text: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121924.cfm
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry
The Role of Dignity in Modern Politics
Abraham Lincoln
Bosnian post.
Seems my friend’s advice would work here too. Then a reflection on Pope Francis 2015 speech to Congress further down to bring these two thoughts together. Let’s demand politicians act like grown, mature men and women.
Translated below to English:
In an atmosphere where public space is increasingly contaminated by intolerance, politicians in high positions, instead of being models of dignity and responsible behavior, often resort to arguments, curses and inappropriate statements. Their rhetoric, instead of being a tool for dialogue and problem solving, becomes a tool for deepening divisions and causing scandals.
Such behavior not only ruins the reputation of the institutions they represent, but also sends a message to citizens, especially young people, that insults and aggression are legitimate means of communication. In a country that faces numerous challenges, from economic insecurity to social divisions, politicians should be an example of maturity, responsibility and willingness to cooperate, and not protagonists of the circus that fills the front pages every day.
The role of public officials is not only to make decisions, but also to preserve the dignity of public discourse. When those, who should be role models, themselves violate the norms of decent behavior, the question arises – what kind of society are we building? It is up to the citizens not to put up with such standards and to demand responsibility from those in power. Because politics is not only a reflection of society – it shapes the future.
Politics – Once an Honorable Role
Pope Francis, 2015 (nearly ten years ago).
Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you.
Happy Passover 2024
What do you exhale?
Greetings on this the Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: 1 Kgs 10:1-10; PS 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40; Mk 7:14-23
Notes
Defile means to:
- damage the purity or integrity of.
- impair the appearance of; disfigure.
- diminish or destroy the value or quality of.
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
Summary
It is such a key difference than some would understand things to be, that is, to understand the word defile as an interior condition brought about by an expression of an interior problem. But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
People can experience all sort of terrible events and circumstances. These events and actions of others cannot and never will defile you. You dignity given from the divine at the moment of your creation is yours forever. You have the dignity of the divine breath, rauh of the Lord. Thus says God, the LORD,…Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it (ISA 42:5ac).
What is defiling is different. It is the impure thoughts turned to actions. Our imperfect state as it is of itself does not defile. It is the failure to master one’s self and allow the negative impulses to take action. These defile-able thoughts can be purified by us with the help of God into their actual expression intended from the beginning.
Reflection
We can convert what we exhale by what we inhale. The process of sanctification and holiness makes for a purifying conversion from the heart:
- An evil thought can be upgraded to a holy thought.
- An unchaste impulse into innocense.
- A desire to theft into a charitable heart.
- A desire to murder into a self-giving heart.
- A desire to adultery into discovery of your Other.
- A desire to greed into generosity.
- A desire to malice into kindness.
- A desire to deceit into a truth seeker.
- A desire to licentiousness into self-control.
- A desire to envy into appreciation.
- A desire to blasphemy into praising God these transformations.
- A desire to arrogance into humility.
- A desire to folly into joyfulness and mirth.
Then let all these things come out of you!
Personal Reflection
We live in an age of deflection and projection. Everyone, myself included, suffer from this to one degree or another. The Queen of Sheba doubted Solomon but came and asked all her questions to her satisfaction. As a result: She was breathless. Remember this: you must exhale in order to inhale. You cannot have one without the other. We must learn to exhale that which is holy.
From the list above we can chose what we exhale. I’d rather the conversion.
Having exhausted, exhaled, all she doubted she came to understand. Blessed be the LORD, your God.
First Reading
Solomon’s Listening Heart: The Queen of Sheba.
The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was interested. King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from him that he could not explain to her.
She was breathless.
Blessed be the LORD, your God, whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel. In his enduring love for Israel, the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”
Responsorial
The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
Gospel Acclamation
Your word, O Lord, is truth: consecrate us in the truth.
Gospel
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry