Saturday, April 25, 2015
Sister Stefani Tiefenbacher, CPS
Missionary Sister of the Precious Blood, Sister Stefani Tiefenbacher was allegedly gang raped and murdered in South Africa last week. She is the second woman religious to be murdered in South Africa in the past year. Click here for information on Sister Stefani from America, as the story continues to evolve. Please pray for Sister Stefani and her community.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Misericordiae Vultus: Formal Declaration of the Holy Year of Mercy
The Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, given today in Rome by Pope Francis, is available here. An excerpt follows:
The Lord Jesus shows us the steps of the pilgrimage to attain our goal: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Lk 6:37-38). The Lord asks us above all not to judge and not to condemn. If anyone wishes to avoid God’s judgement, he should not make himself the judge of his brother or sister. Human beings, whenever they judge, look no farther than the surface, whereas the Father looks into the very depths of the soul. How much harm words do when they are motivated by feelings of jealousy and envy! To speak ill of others puts them in a bad light, undermines their reputation and leaves them prey to the whims of gossip. To refrain from judgement and condemnation means, in a positive sense, to know how to accept the good in every person and to spare him any suffering that might be caused by our partial judgment and our presumption to know everything about him. But this is still not sufficient to express mercy. Jesus asks us also to forgive and to give. To be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God. To be generous with others, knowing that God showers his goodness upon us with immense generosity.
Merciful like the Father, therefore, is the “motto” of this Holy Year. In mercy, we find proof of how God loves us. He gives his entire self, always, freely, asking nothing in return. He comes to our aid whenever we call upon him. What a beautiful thing that the Church begins her daily prayer with the words, “O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me” (Ps 70:2)! The assistance we ask for is already the first step of God’s mercy toward us. He comes to assist us in our weakness. And his help consists in helping us accept his presence and closeness to us. Day after day, touched by his compassion, we also can become compassionate towards others (n. 14).
The Lord Jesus shows us the steps of the pilgrimage to attain our goal: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Lk 6:37-38). The Lord asks us above all not to judge and not to condemn. If anyone wishes to avoid God’s judgement, he should not make himself the judge of his brother or sister. Human beings, whenever they judge, look no farther than the surface, whereas the Father looks into the very depths of the soul. How much harm words do when they are motivated by feelings of jealousy and envy! To speak ill of others puts them in a bad light, undermines their reputation and leaves them prey to the whims of gossip. To refrain from judgement and condemnation means, in a positive sense, to know how to accept the good in every person and to spare him any suffering that might be caused by our partial judgment and our presumption to know everything about him. But this is still not sufficient to express mercy. Jesus asks us also to forgive and to give. To be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God. To be generous with others, knowing that God showers his goodness upon us with immense generosity.
Merciful like the Father, therefore, is the “motto” of this Holy Year. In mercy, we find proof of how God loves us. He gives his entire self, always, freely, asking nothing in return. He comes to our aid whenever we call upon him. What a beautiful thing that the Church begins her daily prayer with the words, “O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me” (Ps 70:2)! The assistance we ask for is already the first step of God’s mercy toward us. He comes to assist us in our weakness. And his help consists in helping us accept his presence and closeness to us. Day after day, touched by his compassion, we also can become compassionate towards others (n. 14).
Consecrated Men and Women Denounce Persecution of Christians
From News.va: A message released by participants of a Congress for Formators of Consecrated men and women (April 7-11) implores governments to implement concrete interventions to bring peace between peoples and break the spiral of violence in which so many innocent victims find themselves. Click here to read the entire press release.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Living Easter
America has provided a brief editorial summary (available here) of how "each moment of the triduum can offer important insights into our contemporary world and contemporary lives." As we continue this journey, this article asks important questions:
- Holy Thursday: How can we make our church more a “community of equals?” How can we move from self-aggrandizement toward “humble service” in the Catholic Church? And when are we called to meet and touch the poor among us?
- Good Friday: In so many ways, Christ continues to suffer in his body today. How can we aid him?
- Holy Saturday: Can our government take any serious steps to aid the poor, repair our crumbling infrastructure and improve our faltering public educational system?
- Easter Sunday: Yes, we suffer the pain of a broken world, of dashed expectations and seeming hopelessness. But the Resurrection tells us that suffering is never the last word, that God is always a God of surprises and that nothing is impossible with God.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Reflection for Palm Sunday
Click here to read M. Shawn Copeland's reflection for Palm Sunday on the Pax Christi USA website. Here's an excerpt:
Holy Week teaches that while nothing is impossible with God, we must wait for the realization of that possibility. This is difficult in an age that so values activity over waiting. We moderns are happiest when we have something to do. We plan and plot, work and produce. Through technological sophistication, we contrive to control the uncontrollable–future and destiny, success and defeat, history and mystery....Passion Sunday counters this; it slows us down.
Holy Week teaches that while nothing is impossible with God, we must wait for the realization of that possibility. This is difficult in an age that so values activity over waiting. We moderns are happiest when we have something to do. We plan and plot, work and produce. Through technological sophistication, we contrive to control the uncontrollable–future and destiny, success and defeat, history and mystery....Passion Sunday counters this; it slows us down.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Today we remember the 35th death anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who will be beatified on May 23 in San Salvador. Click here to access Kevin Clarke's article, "Death Comes for the Archbishop: The Martyrdom of Oscar Romero," in the March 23 issue of America.
Friday, March 20, 2015
March Stop Trafficking
The March 2015 issue of Stop Trafficking is available here. This issue attempts to show the growing tolerance for sexual violence in the media and its potential connection to the trafficking of women and children.
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