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NEW YORK (AP) -- President Donald Trump criticized Nordstrom on Wednesday, tweeting that the department store chain that decided to stop selling his daughter's clothing and accessory line has treated her "so unfairly."...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The turbulent national debate over race, gender and free speech consumed the normally staid Senate on Wednesday after the GOP majority voted to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren, abruptly elevating her celebrity status at a moment when liberals are hungry for a leader to take on Donald Trump....
Vatican Radio) Palestinian leaders have reacted angrily to an Israeli law which would retroactively legalise some 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.The law, passed on Monday, is backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition but has raised tensions within the government and drawn international criticism. Israel's attorney-general has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not defend it at the Supreme Court.In Washington a White House official said U.S. President Donald Trump "will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling." Last week the Trump administration said the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing ones “may not be helpful” in achieving peace.Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, former head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and former Vatican envoy to the Arab League, currently lives in Jerusalem. He talk...
Vatican Radio) Palestinian leaders have reacted angrily to an Israeli law which would retroactively legalise some 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
The law, passed on Monday, is backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition but has raised tensions within the government and drawn international criticism. Israel's attorney-general has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not defend it at the Supreme Court.
In Washington a White House official said U.S. President Donald Trump "will withhold comment on the legislation until the relevant court ruling." Last week the Trump administration said the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing ones “may not be helpful” in achieving peace.
Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, former head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and former Vatican envoy to the Arab League, currently lives in Jerusalem. He talked with Philippa Hitchen about the increasingly bleak situation for young Palestinians today:
Listen:
Archbishop Fitzgerald says most people in the occupied territories are “a bit despondent” because “there doesn’t seem to be any solution, there’s really no hope”. As Christians, he says, “we have to keep up hope” but at a practical level, things keep getting worse.
The frustration, he notes, flares into sporadic instances of violence which is “part of the desperation of young people who don't see what can be done” so they attack “people who are signs of the occupying authority”, losing their lives in the process. He says he doesn’t think there’ll be another war in the region now, but people are losing hope in their politicians, he insists, “so there may be a new intifada”.
Reacting to the new White House administration’s declared intention to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Archbishop Fitzgerald describes it as a “very dangerous” and “highly symbolic” move. He notes there’s already a law in Congress requiring that, every six months, the president has to say it’s not the right time to move the embassy, but if President Trump decides the time is right, he believes “that would arouse some violent manifestations”. He says it’s particularly difficult when “the occupying country doesn't follow the regulations of the United Nations”.
Archbishop Fitzgerald says the continued building of Israeli settlements on occupied land, while denying permission for Palestinians to build, is a major obstacle to peace. While the Holy See continues to support the ‘two state solution’, he notes that some observers say the settlements are making this impossible. Israel’s refusal to stop building new settlements, as a condition for direct negotiations with the Palestinians, makes it “very hard to see any real solution to this question”.
Asked about signs of hope amidst this bleak situation, Archbishop Fitzgerald mentions Bethlehem University which provides a Christian education to a majority of Muslim students. It has kept going despite all the difficulties, offering opportunities for Christians and Muslims to meet and work together. Secondly, he welcomes the statements from various Muslim leaders endorsing the presence of Christians in the Middle East.
Thirdly, he speaks of the interest of many young Muslims in learning about Christianity. He mentions Muslims from Cambridge who come to study and attend services in Rome, as well as a programme organised by the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem together with Muslim institutes in Germany to hold joint theological discussions. “That for me”, he says “is a sigh of hope”.
Sir 15: 15-20, I Cor 2: 6-10, Mt 5: 17-37 The story is told that when the painter Leonardo Da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he had an intense and bitter argument with a fellow painter. Da Vinci began to think of a way to get back at this guy. He came up with a devious plan. He decided to paint the face of his enemy as the face of Judas Iscariot so it would be captured for all time, and that is exactly what he did. When people came to look at his work, while it was still in progress, they immediately knew who "Judas" was. Da Vinci got great joy out of portraying this man as Judas Iscariot. But as he continued his work on the painting of Jesus and his disciples, he finally came to the face he had saved for the very end-the face of Jesus. But he drew a mental blank. He had what writers call "writer's block." He could not paint a thing. Finally, God convicted him and showed him the trouble was he had painted the face of his enemy as the face of Judas...
Sir 15: 15-20, I Cor 2: 6-10, Mt 5: 17-37
The story is told that when the painter Leonardo Da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he had an intense and bitter argument with a fellow painter. Da Vinci began to think of a way to get back at this guy. He came up with a devious plan. He decided to paint the face of his enemy as the face of Judas Iscariot so it would be captured for all time, and that is exactly what he did. When people came to look at his work, while it was still in progress, they immediately knew who "Judas" was. Da Vinci got great joy out of portraying this man as Judas Iscariot. But as he continued his work on the painting of Jesus and his disciples, he finally came to the face he had saved for the very end-the face of Jesus. But he drew a mental blank. He had what writers call "writer's block." He could not paint a thing. Finally, God convicted him and showed him the trouble was he had painted the face of his enemy as the face of Judas Iscariot. He realized that his hatred and bitterness was keeping him from being able to face the face of Christ. So he went back to the image of Judas and painted some nebulous face. He went to his painter enemy, asked forgiveness, and they were reconciled. Then he went back and could clearly paint the face of Christ and finish one of the world's greatest portraits.
Introduction: Today’s readings challenge us to choose freely and wisely to observe the laws given by a loving and caring God. He revealed His laws through Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament and through His own Son, Jesus, in the New Testament. For the Israelites, the Torah was not a set of laws but the instruction or teaching intended to promote the holiness and wholeness of each believer. It was the revealed will of a caring God for the people with whom He had made His covenant. First reading, the book of Sirach, one of the seven “Deuterocanonical” books, was written very late in Old Testament times. The author lived in a cosmopolitan, mostly pagan community that did not support his religious values. Hence, his book was intended for Diaspora, Jews who were exposed to the pervasive influence of Hellenistic culture which believed that humans were helpless pawns in the hands of the gods. He asserted that there should be no compromise with the prevailing culture when it came to keeping God's law. God never forces us to do good or evil. It is our free choice to obey or disobey God’s laws, and we are responsible for the serious consequences of our choices. This reading and the Gospel lend solemnity and authority to each other. The responsorial psalm is a blessing on those who obey the Law of God. The Second reading, contrasts the wisdom of the prevailing Greek culture with the wisdom of God. Paul advises Christians to seek true wisdom in God’s revelation instead of indulging in endless discussions of Greek philosophy. God in His wisdom has saved us through Jesus and prepared for those love Him, “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart.”
Exegesis: Jesus came to give the Torah its full meaning: In Jesus’ time, the Law was understood differently by different groups of the Jews to be 1) The Ten Commandments 2) The Pentateuch 3) The Law and the Prophets or 4) The oral (Scribal) and the written Law. The Jews believed that the Torah (Law given through Moses), was the eternal and unchangeable Self-revelation of God. Jesus, and later Paul, considered the oral Law as interpreted by the scribes a heavy burden on the people and criticized it, while honoring the Mosaic Law and the teachings of the prophets. Today’s Gospel passage, from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” presents Jesus as giving the highest compliments to the Mosaic Law, although he himself would be condemned later and crucified as a Law-breaker. Jesus says that, as the word of God, the Old Testament has a divine authority, and it deserves total respect. Its moral precepts are to be respected becausethey are, for the most part, specific divine-positive promulgations of the natural law. For the Scribes and the Pharisees, the external fulfillment of the precepts of the Mosaic Law was a guarantee of a person's salvation. Jesus rejects this view in today’s Gospel passage, taken from the “Sermon on the Mount.” For Jesus, justification or sanctification is a grace from God. Man’s role is one of cooperating with that grace by being faithful to it. Jesus then outlines the new moral standards for his disciples. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that he did not come to destroy the Torah but to bring it to perfection by bringing out its inner meaning because he is the ultimate Self-revelation of God the Law-giver. Jesus also explains the real meaning of three Mosaic laws concerning murder, adultery and false oaths.
Respect life in all its stages in words and deed: Jesus explains that the fifth commandment means respecting life in all its stages by honoring others in words and deeds. This means that we have to control our anger because it is the rawest, strongest and most destructive of human emotions. Describing three stages of anger and the punishment each deserves, Jesus advises his disciples not to get angry in such a way that they sin. 1) Anger in the heart (“brief stage of insanity” Cicero), has two forms: a) a sudden, blazing flame of anger which dies suddenly. b) a surge of anger which boils inside and lingers so that the heart seeks revenge and refuses to forgive or forget. Jesus prescribes trial and sentencing by the Village Court of Elders. 2) Anger in speech: Using words which are insulting (“raka“=“fool”), or damaging to the reputation (“moros” meaning a person of loose morals). Jesus says that such an angry one should be sent to the Sanhedrin or Jewish religion’s Supreme Court for trial and sentencing. 3) Anger in action: Sudden outbursts of uncontrollable anger often result in physical assault or abuse. Jesus says that such anger deserves hellfire as its punishment. In short, Jesus teaches that long-lasting anger is bad, contemptuous speech or destroying someone’s reputation is worse and harming another physically is the worst.
Jesus’ teaching on sexual sins: In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus outlines a new moral code for his followers, which is different from the Mosaic moral code. He insists that adultery, the violation of the sixth commandment, is also committed through willfully generated evil and impure thoughts and desires which remain in the mind. Our hands become causes of sin according to what we touch and how we touch, in lust or greed or violence. Our eyes become agents of sins according to what they look at. When Jesus recommends mutilation of eyes and hands he is not speaking literally, because we have more sins than we have body-parts. Besides, even if all offending parts were removed, our minds -- the source of all sins – would still be intact, causing us to sin by thoughts and desires. So Jesus teaches us that, just as a doctor might remove a limb or some part of the body like an infected gall bladder, inflamed appendix, etc., in order to preserve the life of the whole body, so we must be ready to part with anything that causes us to commit grave sin or which leads to spiritual death. Hence, these warnings are actually about our attitudes, dispositions, and inclinations. Jesusrecommends that our hands become agents of compassion, healing and comfort and that our eyes learn to see the truth, goodness and beauty around us.
Jesus’ clear teaching on divorce: According Matthew’s version, adultery is the only ground for sanctioning divorce. Based on the NT teachings given in Mk 10:1-12, Mt. 5:31-32; Mt. 19:3-9; Luke 16:18; and 1 Cor 7:10-11, the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a sacrament involving both a sacred and legal contract between a man and a woman and, at the same time, is a special covenant with the Lord. “Divorce is also a grave offense against the natural law. Besides, it claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death...... Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society” (CCC nos. 2384, 2385).
Be men and women of integrity and character: According to the teachings of the Jewish rabbis, the world stands fast on truth, justice and peace; hence, liars, slanderers, scoffers and hypocrites will not enter heaven. The rabbis classified two types of oaths as offensive to God: 1) frivolous oaths using God’s name to support a false statement because this violates the second commandment. 2) evasiveoaths using words like heaven, Jerusalem, my head because God is everywhere and He owns everything. Jesus interprets the Mosaic Law on oaths to mean that we should be righteous men and women of integrity and character. If one is honest in his or her words and deeds, there is no need for one to support his or her statements and transactions with oaths or swearing. How forceful are honest words! (Job6:25). An oath is a solemn invocation of God (So Help Me, God!) to bear witness to the truth of what one asserts to be the case or to the sincerity of one’s undertakings in regard to future actions. It is necessary and admissible to ask God’s help in the discharge of an important social duty (e.g., President’s oath of office), or while bearing witness in a court of law (“I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth … “So help me, God.”). Jesus teaches, “Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no” (Mt 5:37). That is, he invites us to live in truth in every instance and to conform our thinking, our words and our deeds to the truth.
Life messages: 1) We need to obey God’s Law, appreciating its basic principles: In obeying God’s law and Church law, let us remember the two basic principles on which these laws are based, namely, the principle of reverence and the principle of respect. In the first four of the Ten Commandments we are asked to reverence God, reverence His holy name, reverence His holy day and reverence our father and mother. The next set of commandments instructs us to respect life, one’s personal integrity and good name, the legal system, another’s property and another's spouse. Our obedience to the laws must be prompted by our love for God and our gratitude to God for His blessings.
2) We need to forgive, forget and move toward reconciliation as soon as possible. St. Paul advises us “Be angry (righteous anger) but do not sin” (Eph 4: 26). When we keep anger in our spirit, we are inviting physical illnesses like hypertension and mental illnesses like depression. Let us relax and keep silence when we are angry, wait before acting on our anger, give it time to detoxify and cool off, pray for God’s strength for self-control, and give the Holy Spirit time to help us see the event through Jesus’ eyes instead of through anger’s eyes.
3) We need to be true to God, to ourselves and to others. Let us allow God’s word of truth to penetrate our minds and hearts and to form our consciences, making us men and women of integrity.
The Knot of Vipers by Nobel prize winner Francois Mauriac tells a similar story of an old man who spends the last decades--decades!--of his marriage sleeping down the hall from his wife. A rift had opened thirty years before over whether the husband showed enough concern when their five-year-old daughter fell ill. Now, neither husband nor wife is willing to take the first step. Every night he waits for her to approach him, but she never appears. Every night she lies awake waiting for him to approach her, and he never appears. Neither will break the cycle that began years before. Neither will forgive." [Harold H. Bloomfield, M.D., Making Peace with your Parents, (Ballantine Books, 1983).] Shall we say it again? "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" But it happens. Do not harbor negative thoughts in your heart. Often healing comes as soon as one party is willing to take the first step.
Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil
By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the feast of St. JosephineBakhita, a former slave, Pope Francis urged Christians to help victims of humantrafficking and migrants, especially the Rohingya people being chased fromMyanmar.For the Catholic Church, St. Bakhita's feast day, Feb. 8, is aday of prayer for victims of trafficking.Pope Francis asked government officials around the world to"decisively combat this plague" of human trafficking, payingparticular attention to trafficking in children. "Every effort must bemade to eradicate this shameful and intolerable crime."Describing St. Bakhita as a "young woman who wasenslaved in Africa, exploited, humiliated," Pope Francis said she nevergave up hope and, finally, she was able to migrate to Europe.Holding up a booklet with a photograph of the Sudanesesaint, who died in Italy in 1947, the pope continued telling her story. InEurope, he said, "she heard the call of the Lord and became a nun,"joining the Canossian Daughters of Charity...
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave, Pope Francis urged Christians to help victims of human trafficking and migrants, especially the Rohingya people being chased from Myanmar.
For the Catholic Church, St. Bakhita's feast day, Feb. 8, is a day of prayer for victims of trafficking.
Pope Francis asked government officials around the world to "decisively combat this plague" of human trafficking, paying particular attention to trafficking in children. "Every effort must be made to eradicate this shameful and intolerable crime."
Describing St. Bakhita as a "young woman who was enslaved in Africa, exploited, humiliated," Pope Francis said she never gave up hope and, finally, she was able to migrate to Europe.
Holding up a booklet with a photograph of the Sudanese saint, who died in Italy in 1947, the pope continued telling her story. In Europe, he said, "she heard the call of the Lord and became a nun," joining the Canossian Daughters of Charity.
"Let us pray to St. Josephine Bakhita for all migrants and refugees who are exploited and suffer so much," the pope said.
"And speaking of migrants who are exploited and chased away, I want to pray with you today in a special way for our Rohingya brothers and sisters," the pope continued. "These people, thrown out of Myanmar, move from one place to another because no one wants them."
Pope Francis told the estimated 7,000 people at his audience that the Rohingya, who are Muslim, "are good people. They are our brothers and sisters. They have been suffering for years. They have been tortured, killed, just because they want to keep their traditions and their Muslim faith."
He led the audience in praying the Lord's Prayer "for our Rohingya brothers and sisters."
In a report released Feb. 3, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said since October, there had been escalating violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar. The report cited eyewitness reports of mass gang-rape, killings -- including of babies and young children -- beatings, disappearances and other serious human rights violations by the country's security forces.
An estimated 66,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since October, the report said.
The recent violence, the U.N. said, "follows a long-standing pattern of violations and abuses; systematic and systemic discrimination; and policies of exclusion and marginalization against the Rohingya that have been in place for decades in northern Rakhine state."
In his main audience talk, Pope Francis continued to discuss the characteristics of Christian hope, which should be both tender and strong enough to support those who suffer and despair.
The Gospel does not call Christians to pity the suffering, but to have compassion, which means suffering with them, listening to them, encouraging them and offering a helping hand, the pope said.
The Gospel calls Christians "not to build walls, but bridges, not to repay evil with evil, but to defeat evil with goodness (and) offense with forgiveness, to live in peace with all," he said. "This is the church. And this is what Christian hope accomplishes when it takes on the strong and, at the same time, tender features of love."
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