Tuesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Click here for readings)
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you." He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
We are losing the war. We are losing the war on the belief of the sanctity of human life and on the supreme dignity of every human person.
Not too long ago, when James Foley was beheaded, I read a tweet from an individual who said, "It should have been Hilary Clinton." This comment struck me as being typical of the mind frame of so many young adults in the West. They have little to no regard for the dignity of human life and human death.
The Internet if full of sarcasm and vile, reprehensible, and mean-spirited comments.
We are losing the fight for our children's souls, and we are losing it either because we are not doing enough to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ (love) or because we don't really care.
A sea of verbal, physical and psychological violence has spread throughout the world, and it has gained traction because there is a thrill in profaning everything and leaving no soul unturned.
Some time ago I gave a talk to some boys and girls with regards to bullying. It took a while for me to calm down once I found out what some of them were calling their peers: fat and/or ugly. I was even more appalled when I found out that a few of them were telling others to harm themselves.
Years and years of Catholic education and you'd think these kids would know better. They do! But like so many of us, they are succumbing to our "care-free" or "care-less" culture. So either they don't realize how harmful their words can be or they simply don't care.
I found this cartoon to be illuminating.
Don't write anything or anyone off. The Lord knows perfectly well who His mother and brothers and sisters are, and where they are. But He goes beyond the physical; that is, the direct, measurable and quantifiable. He takes it to the next level: the spiritual; that is, the indirect, meditative, reflective and contemplative. The superficial does not settle well with the Lord. After all, God is God and He is not settled at the superficial level, but only through profound and continual dialogue, and with all of reality in play. We are all one family. We have all been created in the image and likeness of God. We are all created equal.
The Lord knows we are all related. But what about you? Have you forgotten this? If so, then you may very well be a bully.
Jesus replied, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.
Bullies are part of the human family, but they are not necessarily our "brothers" and "sisters." Rather, they are, as the Lord would put it, "my neighbor" ...who needs to be loved, educated and instructed.
We speak a lot about wars: the war on terror, the war on women, the war on reproduction rights, the war on bullies. But what we are truly fighting for (and losing big time) is the dignity and sacredness of every human person.
We need to make more brothers and sisters and mothers. We need to hear the word of God, act on it and share it with our neighbors. Otherwise, our neighbor may very well strike first...and it won't be pretty.
Not uplifting, yet still a very good meditation. I love this blog. The "guest" writers have been almost as good as the host.
ReplyDeleteI need these daily insights/reminders/corrections/inspirations as a big time sinner. Just wanted to let Father and the other talented authors to know they are appreciated.
"We are losing the war on the belief of the sanctity of human life and on the supreme dignity of every human person."
ReplyDeleteSo true. Tonight I attended a 40 Days For Life Rally at Oakcliff Bible Fellowship Church. 40 Days for Life is continuous prayer vigil for 40 days outside the new Planned Parenthood mega abortion clinic in Oakcliff. The pastor, Dr. Tony Evans, explained how can we change this great evil. It begins with us. One person at a time.
In the words of Dr. Evans, “If you want a better world, composed of better nations, inhabited by better states, filled with better counties, made up of better cities, comprised of better neighborhoods, illuminated by better churches, populated with better families, then you have to start by becoming a better person.” We have to change ourselves.
The 40 day prayer vigil starts tomorrow at 6 am. We can start restoring the sacredness of human life by coming down for one hour between 6 am and 6 pm in the next 40 days to Planned Parenthood 7989 West Virginia Drive, Dallas for peaceful prayer. We can be a powerful witness of Christ's love for the mothers, fathers, and the unborn babies. But most of all, this period of prayer and fasting will transform each of us.
Here is a link to the website https://www.prolifedallas.org/40days.
Over 500 other cities are participating in the 40 Days for Life Fall Campaign.
We cannot dialogue with one another for many reasons but I think the 3 big ones are:
ReplyDelete1. We take others’ opinions or beliefs personally (so we react defensively to save ourselves). Am I defending myself or my beliefs? I am not my beliefs! I am a child of God and so are they! Most people do not / cannot differentiate these 2 things. Dialogue means asking questions to the other, “Why did you say what your said?” “What was your intention?” Now that my kids are in high school they get into different ‘discussions’. When their friends call them on something that they said or did, I remind my kids: “ You can change who you are, but if you never ask yourself why you did what you did or said, you will not be able to change even if you want to. Continue to ask yourself, Is this True about myself? If yes, then be more aware of when you do it and ask yourself why you think you did it / said it. If it’s not true, LET IT GO!”
This continues to be a hard lesson for me to learn.
2. We don’t take into consideration why the other person believes the way they do. While we choose our beliefs for our own reasons, we don’t want to ask the question of why someone else believes the way that they do. They have their own fears that they are dealing with which helps to guides them!! Since they hide it well, and we can’t figure it out, we simple say that they don’t see the whole picture.
About 10 years after our high school graduation, I went to visit my dear friend, her husband and their 3 daughters. We visited into the wee hours of the morning. The abortion issue came up; I’m sure b/c of me. They went on and on about ‘prochoice’ and why they ‘believed’ it was a woman’s right. After another 20 minutes of me asking questions about why, finally she said: “We were in college when I had an abortion. There was no way we were ready to bring a child into this world.” She said it – “child”. But deep down she couldn’t face or accept the fact that this was a ‘child’. She continues to have this fear. It’s a psychological issue – not an intelligence issue. We believe what we do because of our wholeness or lack of it!!! (Grace builds on nature.) It’s not about her ‘beliefs’ – it’s about her acceptance of her mistake. She continues to be prochoice.
3. Miscommunication – This is my personal forte. I no longer give advice….except to my teenagers when they open up to talk….. usually around 11pm! I love to throw questions into the void – not to be answered by anyone, but just to ponder. I don’t mean to hurt people, but that’s the way they take it. As the saying goes, “What’s taken to heart is not what you say, but how the other person hears it.” I believe this is why Jesus was able to speak as He did: He knew who He was talking to in each person He encountered. He knew where their hearts were and what they needed to hear in order to change…..for good.