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(Vatican Radio) In this week's edition of There's More in the Gospel Than Meets the Eye, Jill Bevilacua and Seàn-Patrick Lovett bring us readings and reflections for the Twentysecond Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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GOSPEL       LK 14:1, 7 - 14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
‘Give your place to this man,’
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then he said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

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«Non-Violence: A Style of  Politics for Peace». This is  the title of the Message for the 50th World Day of Peace, the fourth of Pope Francis.

Violence and Peace are at the origin of two opposite ways to building society.

The proliferation of hotbeds of violence produces most serious negative social consequences. The Holy Father sums up this situation in the expression: “A Third World War in Pieces”. Peace, by contrast, promotes social positive consequences and it allows the achievement of real progress. Therefore, we should act within what is possible, and negotiate ways of peace even where they seem tortuous and impractical. Thus, non-violence can acquire a more comprehensive and new meaning. It will not only consist of desire, of moral rejection of violence, barriers, destructive impulses, but also of a realistic political method that gives rise to hope.

Such a political method is based on the primacy of law. If the rights and the equal dignity of every person are safeguarded without any discrimination and distinction, then non-violence, understood as a political method, can constitute a realistic way to overcome arm conflicts. In this perspective, it becomes important to increasingly recognize not the right of force but the force of right.

With this Message, Pope Francis wants to show a further step, a path of hope, appropriate to today’s historical circumstances. In this way, the settlement of disputes may be reached through negotiation without then degenerating into armed conflict. Within such a perspective the culture and identity of Peoples are respected and the opinion that some are morally superior to others is overcome.

At the same time, however, it does not mean that one Nation can remain indifferent to the tragedies of another. Rather it means a recognition of the primacy of diplomacy over the noise of arms.

Arms trade is so widespread that it is generally underestimated. Illegal arms trafficking supports not a few world’s conflicts. Non-violence as a political style can and must do much to stem this scourge.

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The World Peace Day initiated by Paul VI is celebrated each year on the first day of January. The Holy Father's Message is sent to all Foreign Ministries of the world and it indicates the diplomatic concerns of the Holy See during the coming year.

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(Vatican Radio)  With the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) drawing near, the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth Hackett, shared his memories of her and in one anecdote described how she was able to exert her moral influence over the then Reagan Administration. Ambassador Hackett knew and worked closely with Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity Order while he served as president of Catholic Relief Services and the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See has launched an online exhibit documenting the strong ties Mother Teresa had with the United States. He was interviewed by Susy Hodges.

Listen to the interview with U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Hackett: 

Describing himself as “ecstatic” over Mother Teresa’s canonization, Ambassador Hackett said he felt it was definitely overdue or as he put it, “a long time in coming.” He paid tribute to Mother and the Missionaries of Charity Order she founded, saying she extended “mercy, kindness, concern and compassion to those who have absolutely fallen through society’s cracks” such as people on the streets who are dying or children who have been abandoned. Hackett had earlier described her as a “field hospital” saint, taking the metaphor used one day by Pope Francis at his morning Mass to describe the action of the Church in reaching out to those who are in need.

“A great sense of humour”

Turning to her personality, Hackett disclosed that she had “a great sense of humour” and was adept at “tweaking” people by pricking their consciences when it came to their responsibilities to help the poor and needy. When she did that to him, the ambassador described his reaction:

“You felt like you had got a thunderbolt right through you!” 

Asked to share any special memories or anecdotes about Mother Teresa, Hackett stressed that she “knew how to move the agenda” not just with people like him but also with Presidents and the powerful. As an example, he described one incident where in his earlier post as head of Catholic Relief Services he was in a meeting with leading members of the U.S. Agency for International Development during the time of the “big famine” in Ethiopia during the 1980’s.

Mother Teresa’s letter to President Reagan

He said they were having an “argument” at that meeting about U.S. government plans to cut food donations to the Ethiopian government when somebody brought in a note from (the then) Secretary of State George Schultz saying that "the President wants an answer in half an hour to Mother Teresa’s letter asking President Reagan why he is cutting food to the needy in Ethiopia.” Describing Mother Teresa as “bold”, Hackett said as a result of that intervention, food supplies were NOT cut to Ethiopia and this was an example of her strong moral influence, even when it came to world leaders.  

Hackett spoke about the online exhibit which the U.S. embassy to the Holy See launched on August 26th and which documents the strong ties Blessed Teresa had with the United States. He said the exhibit includes many photos and a four-minute video showing Mother Teresa during some of her frequent visits to the U.S. and explained how Americans, regardless of their faith, always held Mother Teresa in high regard. Hackett said this was very apparent because during her U.S. visits, Catholic Relief Services received “thousands” of requests from people wishing to volunteer their services. 

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(Vatican Radio) Vatican Weekend for August 27, 2016 begins with a report on the General Audience and Pope Francis' prayers for Italy’s quake victims. Then, two historical feature segments: the XVI century in the Vatican when Raphael and Bramante were two of the most famous artists to apply their brush and draftsman tools to the Vatican palaces, and, Rome’s Holy Stairs: Could this sanctuary be home to the same Jerusalem steps where Pontius Pilate passed judgement on Christ? 

Listen to the programme presented and produced by Tracey McClure:

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(Vatican Radio) Vatican Weekend for August 28, 2016 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel, "There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye" presented by Jill Bevilacqua and 'Joan knows...', a bird's eye view of the past week in the Vatican with Joan Lewis, EWTN bureau chief here in Rome.

Listen to the programme presented and produced by Tracey McClure:

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(Vatican Radio) The magnitude 6.2 earthquake which struck central Italy on Wednesday morning left thousands of people homeless who are now in need of basic necessities such as food and a roof over their heads.The country’s Civil Protection Agency has set up camps with tents for those who lost everything and aid agencies have been providing food and counseling services to survivors.

One of the agencies on the front line of relief efforts is Caritas Italy.

Lydia O’Kane spoke to Caritas worker Antonina Ciabattoni who is in Ascoli Piceno, one of the dioceses worst hit by the earthquake.

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Relief efforts

Speaking about their relief efforts, she said, “we personally cannot go into the area where there was the earthquake. Now our volunteers are going and coming saying to us what they need. We provide for two days, when the camp was not ready we provided sandwiches, hot drinks, water, waiting for the other things that the people are sending.”

Since the earthquake struck people from around Italy have been sending donations and Antonina said their generosity has been wonderful especially with regards to food and moral support.

Aftershocks

Speaking about the continuing aftershocks in the area, she said that people are very scared and are still feeling the ground moving. Antonina is based at Caritas’ welcome house for refugees in Ascoli and she said it was the first time they had experienced anything like this. “We slept in the garden”, she said.

Destruction

Wednesday’s quake caused major damage in the towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto in the Ascoli diocese. But for Antonina, it’s not just buildings, it’s the suffering of the people that has affected her most. It is the look in their eyes, she said, “the people who lost everything, the people that lost family; it is something that can never be cancelled from my eyes and from my heart.”

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