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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio announced Wednesday will run for re-election to the Senate from Florida, reversing his retirement plans under pressure from GOP leaders determined to hang onto his seat....
LONDON (AP) -- Campaigners on both sides of the crucial vote over whether Britain should remain in the European Union crisscrossed the country Wednesday, their last day to win support from the undecided....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of Social Security beneficiaries can expect only a meager increase in monthly payments next year, the trustees who oversee the massive retirement and disability program said Wednesday....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on the U.S. presidential campaign. (all times EDT):...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Donald Trump launched a broad rebuke of his presidential rival Hillary Clinton Wednesday, accusing her of being "a world class liar" who personally profited from her tenure at the State Department. "She gets rich making you poor," Trump said....
I Kgs 19:16b, 19-21; Gal 5:1, 13-18; Lk 9: 51-62In 2006 a movie came out called Amazing Grace. It was the story of William Wilberforce, who is credited with being primarily responsible for the 23 February 1807 vote in England to abolish the slave trade. The vote was 283-16. But that vote doesn’t tell the story. Wilberforce spent 20 years pushing abolition. Few people in history were as stubborn as Wilberforce, and few people in history were as criticized as Wilberforce. In the 1790s he was slandered in the press, physically assaulted, subjected to numerous death threats and once challenged to a duel. During certain periods he had to travel with a bodyguard. His spirit was almost broken many times. He suffered a nervous breakdown. But in spite of all the dirt thrown at Wilberforce, he kept stomping and moving. He handled criticism, not by turning back and engaging his critics, but by kicking down the dirt and moving on toward his goal. He set his face toward the abolition of ...
I Kgs 19:16b, 19-21; Gal 5:1, 13-18; Lk 9: 51-62
In 2006 a movie came out called Amazing Grace. It was the story of William Wilberforce, who is credited with being primarily responsible for the 23 February 1807 vote in England to abolish the slave trade. The vote was 283-16. But that vote doesn’t tell the story. Wilberforce spent 20 years pushing abolition. Few people in history were as stubborn as Wilberforce, and few people in history were as criticized as Wilberforce. In the 1790s he was slandered in the press, physically assaulted, subjected to numerous death threats and once challenged to a duel. During certain periods he had to travel with a bodyguard. His spirit was almost broken many times. He suffered a nervous breakdown. But in spite of all the dirt thrown at Wilberforce, he kept stomping and moving. He handled criticism, not by turning back and engaging his critics, but by kicking down the dirt and moving on toward his goal. He set his face toward the abolition of slavery, and he didn’t look back. Wilberforce feared God more than he feared his critics. It kept him committed his goal of banishing slavery and liberating slaves in England. In today’s Gospel Jesus wants such commitment from his disciples.
Introduction: Today’s readings are about God’s call and man’s answering that call with commitment. The first reading describes how Elisha committed himself whole-heartedly to answer God’s call to be a prophet, in spite of his initial hesitation when God called him through the prophet Elijah. The Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 16), offers us the refrain, “You are my inheritance, O Lord." The Psalm has traditionally been used to exemplify commitment to the ordained ministry or to religious profession. But it more accurately reflects the commitment made by all Christians in their Baptism. The second reading, from Paul's Letter to the Galatians, reinforces the commitment message of the first reading and the Responsorial Psalm. In today’s Gospel, Luke introduces some potential disciples who offered a variety of reasons as to why Jesus’ call to ministry was “impossible” for them to accept. By analyzing their excuses and Jesus’ responses to them, each of us is challenged to examine to what extent the alibis we offer to escape responsible ministry in the Church have any merit. We, too, are asked to follow Jesus totally and immediately, without any reservation, by giving up everything we have and surrendering our lives to God in the service of others.
The first reading: I Kings 19: 16b, 19-21: Elijah was able to preach to kings and overcome the false prophets, until Queen, Jezebel, became angry with him (1 Kings 18-19.) Then he fled the kingdom and returned to the Lord to resign his commission. But God did not accept his resignation. Instead, He told Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor and co-worker. In the early history of salvation, the “mission” of being a Prophet was passed on from one prophet to another. Sometimes the prophet had a token or symbol of his ministry. In the case of Elijah, this was a cloak, which he threw over Elisha. [When he was being taken up in the fiery chariot, Elijah would pass that cloak on to Elisha.] Elisha’s response was, “Please, let my kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.” Elijah replied, in effect, “Why are you giving me excuses? I’m not the One calling you!” Elisha accepted the rebuke, and to show his repentance and total commitment to God’s call, he slaughtered the twelve yoke of oxen he had been using for his plowing, cooked their flesh (using the yoke and harness as fuel), and gave the meat as a meal for those who depended upon him. Elisha then became Elijah's successor – left everything behind him and committed himself to his prophetic role. In the Church, the ministry of prophecy is not reserved to a few but is a commission for all those who are reborn into Christ. When at Baptism the priest anoints those to be baptized, he announces: "I anoint you as priest, prophet, and king." This is to remind us that our prophetic mission consists in our becoming God's voice in our community and in our society. We are to be the conscience of the community. Where we see injustice in our community, in our society, in our families and especially in our own selves, we are compelled by our Baptism to change our own conduct, and if necessary, to raise our voice in God's Name, so that God's word may be made present at every moment.
The second reading: Gal 5: 1, 13-18: In his letter to the Christians in Galatia, Paul reminds all ministers of the Good News that the criterion by which they are to measure themselves is the very Spirit of God. Paul also clarifies that true freedom consists in our being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ and in listening to the voice of God. Paul says: “Do not use your freedom, brothers and sisters, as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, use it to serve one another through love.” We begin to be free when we begin the process of commitment. Our freedom is realized only when we give ourselves away in love. Instead of living a life of self-indulgence, one who follows Jesus accepts a ministry of service that is rooted in loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Christian freedom may be defined like this: “I am my commitment to God. I will live my commitment, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, until I die.” Paul seems rather exasperated at having to remind his hearers of the obvious: living the new life of freedom in the Spirit means abandoning the old ways of sin. The "lust of the flesh" should be understood not only in a sexual sense, but as referring to all worldly impulses that are opposed to true love of neighbor.
Exegesis: Rejection by the Samaritans: Today’s Gospel passage deals with the beginning of Jesus’ journey from the northern towns of Galilee to the southern city of Jerusalem through the land of Samaria. Jesus encountered obstacles both from prospective disciples, who wanted to postpone their commitment until a more convenient time, and from the Samaritans. The Jews and Samaritans shared a common origin in the twelve tribes of Israel. But they hated each other and refused to intermingle or intermarry because of a long-standing historic conflict between the two nations dating back to the eighth century BC, after the Assyrian conquest of the Jews. Even under Assyrian rule, the Samaritans claimed to have maintained proper worship in their land with Mount Gerizim as the center of their religious life. They argued that the Jews were the ones who had compromised their religious beliefs during their Babylonian exile. The Jews, on the other hand, with the Temple of Jerusalem as the center of their religious life, accused Samaritans of having lost their religious and racial identity through intermarriage with their pagan neighbors. They even considered Samaritans as heretical and false worshipers of the God of Israel, and detested them far more than they detested the pagans. To get to Jerusalem, Galileans had either to go through Samaria or to take a longer, more difficult route east of the Jordan River. Jesus chose the shortcut through Samaria. But the Samaritans both refused to honor Jesus as a prophet, and violated the sacred duties of hospitality. This infuriated the apostles and two of them, James and John, asked Jesus if he wanted them to command fire to come down from Heaven and consume the Samaritans as Elijah had done in his day (II Kings 1:9-12). Jesus rebuked them, however, because he was not a destroyer but a Savior with a message of mercy and love.
The call and excuses: The response of Jesus to the three would-be followers, described in the second part of today’s Gospel, (vv 57-62), exemplifies the wholehearted constancy and sacrificial ministry that the Christian mission requires. We are surprised at Jesus’ sharp response to the first man’s willing discipleship. Undoubtedly, Jesus saw more deeply into the man’s heart than we can. Jesus is simply honest about the demands and the cost of a commitment we might make too lightly and a journey we might undertake too easily. “Let the dead bury their dead”: This response may sound too harsh. But this man’s father was not dead or sick. He simply wished to stay with his father until his death. Jesus knew that later he would find another reason to delay the call. Jesus did not want another would-be follower to go home and bid farewell to his dear ones. Hence, Jesus rebukes him saying that the plowman must look ahead rather than back. Looking back while plowing causes crooked lines in the field. We see classical cases of initial reluctance and lame excuses in accepting God’s call from Moses (Exodus 3: 1, 4: 10), Gideon (Judges 6: 15), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6), and Isaiah (Isaiah 6: 5). Hence, we should be slow to condemn those who offer excuses in the service of the Lord; we need to offer them proper motivation, support, and encouragement.
Life messages: 1) We need to honor our marriage commitment. As in the case of Elisha and the apostles, our commitment becomes our life. But today, more than ever, people make commitments too easily and then break them. This is the age of the lack of true commitment. The problem today is not that people are living together without being married; the problem is that they do not have the courage to make the commitment of marriage. In recent years, the age of marriage has increased by more than three years in the West, that is, more than 10%. Modern people find many excuses for delaying marriage: “Well, let’s get good jobs and financial security first.” Another familiar excuse is: "I want to be free to come and go as I please!” Another excuse for delaying marriage is: “Let’s live together first. We’ll see if we’re compatible!” But the fact is that the longer unmarried couples live together, the more they experience their incompatibility!
2) We need to pray to solve the crisis in priestly commitment. We all know there is a tremendous shortage of priests and religious men because our young people are unwilling to make commitments to God by committing themselves to life-long celibacy, to a diocese or to the vowed life of a religious community. The argument, “I don’t want to make that commitment because I don’t want to give everything away," shows an incorrect notion of Christian freedom. We begin to be free only when we start the process called commitment, and our freedom is realized only when we give ourselves away in love. Unfortunately, like those three would-be followers, a lot of our youngsters are still confused and ill-prepared for any kind of mission for their lives. As a result, they become adept at evading Christ’s call to discipleship.
3) We are invited to a Christian life of patient love. The first part of today’s Gospel gives us the greatest passage in the Bible concerning tolerance, which is really patient love, our “bearing with” one another. Quick anger over little incidents flares up all the time – between parents and children, in the workplaces between co-workers and in the neighborhood between neighbors. Very often the anger explodes over nothing. The Spirit of Jesus is opposed to such feelings. Although Elijah called down the fires of God from Heaven to wipe out the four hundred prophets of Baal, Jesus refused to have fire cast on the Samaritans who refused him entry. Hence, let us have this beautiful prayer in our hearts and on our lips: “Create in me a clean heart. O God, and put a new and a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of loving.”
4) We need to pray for strength to honor all our commitments. We are here this morning because, in one way or another, we have said to Jesus, “I will follow you.” But the truth of the matter is that most of us don't want to follow Jesus because we want him to follow us. Hence, we are only partially faithful to him. But the Good News is that we are following him as best we can. We will leave this hour of Eucharistic worship and return to the world with all sorts of tough choices and difficult demands. Hence, we need to pray for strength, we need to ask for forgiveness when we fail, and we need to renew our determination to walk with Jesus by being loyal to our spouse and family, earning our living honestly, and living not only peacefully, but lovingly, with our neighbors.
A group of Christians was holding a Prayer Meeting in Russia, when such a thing was completely forbidden. Suddenly the door was broken down by the boot of a soldier, who came into the room, faced the group, with a machine gun in hand, and commanded, “If there’s any one of you who doesn’t really believe in Jesus, then get out now, while you have a chance.” There was a rush for the door. The soldier then closed the door, and stood in front of the remainder of the group, with machine gun in hand. He looked around the room, as the people were beginning to think that their end had come. Then he smiled and said, “Actually, I believe in Jesus too, and you’re better off without those others!”
(Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil)
(Vatican Radio) The Conference of European Churches has published an open letter calling on members, in view of the EU referendum in the United Kingdom, to contribute to a discussion on the future of Europe and the role of the Churches in the current situation.The letter emphasizes how Churches have for decades contributed to the European project of unity and cooperation and calls on them to be part of a process of dialogue and consultation in a time in which Europe faces an increasing number of challenges.Please find below the text of the CEC press release:At its regular meeting from 8 to 10 June in Brussels, the CEC Governing Board approved an open letter addressed to its membership and partner organisations on the current situation in Europe, where we are facing an increasing number of challenges.The upcoming EU referendum in the United Kingdom is just one sign of the difficulties facing the continent. Developments in Europe toward more unity and cooperation, so much appreciate...
(Vatican Radio) The Conference of European Churches has published an open letter calling on members, in view of the EU referendum in the United Kingdom, to contribute to a discussion on the future of Europe and the role of the Churches in the current situation.
The letter emphasizes how Churches have for decades contributed to the European project of unity and cooperation and calls on them to be part of a process of dialogue and consultation in a time in which Europe faces an increasing number of challenges.
Please find below the text of the CEC press release:
At its regular meeting from 8 to 10 June in Brussels, the CEC Governing Board approved an open letter addressed to its membership and partner organisations on the current situation in Europe, where we are facing an increasing number of challenges.
The upcoming EU referendum in the United Kingdom is just one sign of the difficulties facing the continent. Developments in Europe toward more unity and cooperation, so much appreciated some decades ago, are now increasingly put into doubt. Churches in many parts of the continent have been contributing to the European project at different stages by raising their voice, highlighting the role of churches in society, emphasising the role of churches and ethics and values, reaching beyond economic wellbeing.
With the particular moment of the UK EU referendum in mind, we address this letter to all CEC Member Churches, Organisations in Partnership and National Councils of Churches. Although the EU has a special role and responsibility for the continent, we are aware that Europe is much more than the EU. We invite all to the discussion on the future of Europe and the role of the churches in the process. We welcome reactions from all CEC Member Churches, within and beyond EU Member States. All of us have a word to say on the future of the continent, shaping Europe as our common home.
This letter launches a broad process of consultation between CEC and its membership leading to the next CEC General Assembly in 2018. Your reactions, which we appreciate receiving by the end of December 2016, will help shape the process of discussion leading to the General Assembly. In the coming weeks we will work on the translation of the document into the CEC official languages and will share with you more information about this process and about preparations for the General Assembly.
Click here for the full text of “What future for Europe? Reaffirming the European project as building a community of values: An open letter of CEC to churches and partner organisations in Europe and an invitation to dialogue and consultation.”
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday held his weekly general audience, greeting the thousands of pilgrims and visitors gathered in a hot and sunny St Peter’s Square. During his catechesis, the Pope focused his reflections on the Gospel story of the leper who was healed by Jesus as a sign of God’s mercy and forgiveness.As Jesus reached out and touched the unclean man, he said, so we must never be afraid to reach out and touch the poor and those most in need. At the same time, he said, the Lord invites each of us to feel our own need and to ask for his healing touch.Please see below the English summary of the Pope’s words at his Wednesday General AudienceDear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider Jesus’ healing of the leper (Lk 5:12-14). As we know, lepers were considered unclean and bound by law to avoid contact with others. Saint Luke tells us that one leper, moved by faith, did...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday held his weekly general audience, greeting the thousands of pilgrims and visitors gathered in a hot and sunny St Peter’s Square. During his catechesis, the Pope focused his reflections on the Gospel story of the leper who was healed by Jesus as a sign of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
As Jesus reached out and touched the unclean man, he said, so we must never be afraid to reach out and touch the poor and those most in need. At the same time, he said, the Lord invites each of us to feel our own need and to ask for his healing touch.
Please see below the English summary of the Pope’s words at his Wednesday General Audience
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider Jesus’ healing of the leper (Lk 5:12-14). As we know, lepers were considered unclean and bound by law to avoid contact with others.
Saint Luke tells us that one leper, moved by faith, did not fear to pass among the crowds and beg Jesus to cleanse him. If this leper broke the law, Jesus did likewise by touching the man and cleansing him of the disease. The Lord’s example teaches us not to be afraid to reach out and touch the poor and the needy in our midst.
Significantly, the encounter does not end there. Jesus tells the healed leper to present himself to the priest to make the prescribed offering, and as a testimony to his healing. In this way, he shows us that his miracles of healing aim at the rehabilitation of sinners and that true faith bears fruit in witness.
The Lord invites each of us to feel our own need and to ask for his healing touch. Like the leper, may we turn to Jesus in faith and let our lives proclaim his gifts of mercy, forgiveness and spiritual rebirth.
Some 2,000 Bangladeshi Christians, from various denominations, gathered Monday to pray for humanity to wake up in the wake of growing Islamic terrorism, which has left a long trail of blood across the country.The ecumenical prayer service was held simultaneously in the Archdiocese of Dhaka and in the Diocese of Khulna. Participants called for action to stop a wave of violence by Islamic radicals against members of minorities, foreigners, students, professors, bloggers and secular activists.In the capital, the meeting took place in Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Tejgaon, which has the country’s largest Catholic congregation, more than 20,000 members.Fr Kamal Corraya spoke to AsiaNews about the event. "We live in fear because every day ordinary folks become victims of Islamic militants. For this reason, we urged Christian leaders to call on humanity to wake up.”Mgr Patrick D'Rozario, archbishop of Dhaka, led the prayer. Archbishop George Kocherry, apostolic nunc...
Some 2,000 Bangladeshi Christians, from various denominations, gathered Monday to pray for humanity to wake up in the wake of growing Islamic terrorism, which has left a long trail of blood across the country.
The ecumenical prayer service was held simultaneously in the Archdiocese of Dhaka and in the Diocese of Khulna. Participants called for action to stop a wave of violence by Islamic radicals against members of minorities, foreigners, students, professors, bloggers and secular activists.
In the capital, the meeting took place in Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Tejgaon, which has the country’s largest Catholic congregation, more than 20,000 members.
Fr Kamal Corraya spoke to AsiaNews about the event. "We live in fear because every day ordinary folks become victims of Islamic militants. For this reason, we urged Christian leaders to call on humanity to wake up.”
Mgr Patrick D'Rozario, archbishop of Dhaka, led the prayer. Archbishop George Kocherry, apostolic nuncio in Bangladesh, and various Protestant clergymen were present, each reading a passage from the Bible.
"All mankind cries because no one is safe in this country,” Fr Corraya said.
“Today, Bangladesh’s Christian community is united in this prayer that we offer to God Almighty,” said Mgr D’Rozario.
“Let us pray that this will become a country of unity, peace and harmony,” he added. “Let us pray that dormant humanity become aware of the violence, murders committed in secret, and the persecution. May Almighty God bless [the terrorists] so that they change their minds."
"There is no place for violence in the teachings of Jesus Christ,” said Paul Shishi, moderator of the Protestant Church of Bangladesh.
In Khulna Mgr James Romen Boiragi led the prayer meeting. "I feel comforted by this prayer,” said one Protestant present at the prayer meeting. “I hope the terrorists stop persecuting us, and that we may live in peace.”
(AsiaNews)
“In particular today, we remember one Sister, who was a specialist in Consolation so much so that the Church proclaimed her Blessed: Sr Irene Stefani “Nyaatha,” the Mother of Mercy. We are proud that she was a member of our congregation (Consolata)” said the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Maralal.The bishop was speaking during Mass at Sagana parish, 100 Kilometres north of Nairobi to mark the feast of Our Lady Consolata.In her speech, Sr Serafina Sergi, Regional Superior of the Consolata Missionary Sisters told hundreds of the faithful gathered to celebrate the day with the Consolata Missionaries that they should never turn away from Our Lady.“Indeed, this is a special day for us. The evangelization of non-Christians which is a purpose that characterises us in the Church finds inspiration in our Mother Consolata. She is the icon of the future of our religious congregations. Let us never allow our hearts to turn away from her, we cannot be hol...
“In particular today, we remember one Sister, who was a specialist in Consolation so much so that the Church proclaimed her Blessed: Sr Irene Stefani “Nyaatha,” the Mother of Mercy. We are proud that she was a member of our congregation (Consolata)” said the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Maralal.
The bishop was speaking during Mass at Sagana parish, 100 Kilometres north of Nairobi to mark the feast of Our Lady Consolata.
In her speech, Sr Serafina Sergi, Regional Superior of the Consolata Missionary Sisters told hundreds of the faithful gathered to celebrate the day with the Consolata Missionaries that they should never turn away from Our Lady.
“Indeed, this is a special day for us. The evangelization of non-Christians which is a purpose that characterises us in the Church finds inspiration in our Mother Consolata. She is the icon of the future of our religious congregations. Let us never allow our hearts to turn away from her, we cannot be holy religious without her, we cannot be Consolata Missionaries without her,” Sr. Sergi said.
The celebration was characterised by several Consolata Missionaries, who were marking their anniversaries of religious profession or ordination to the priesthood. Among them was Fr Antonio Bianchi, who celebrated 75 years of religious profession.
In his remarks, Fr Hieronymus Joya, the outgoing Regional Superior of the Consolata Missionaries, thanked the jubilarians for their faithfulness to the Lord and promised them his prayers.
“These men and women are our brothers and sisters, they are not perfect, but they are still in the journey of perfection,” he said.
(Source: CISA in Kenya)
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