Our Biblical Blog /'Examined Life'
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Our Biblical Blog /'Examined Life'
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For decades, it seemed that the world had learned a lesson from its many wars and disasters, and was slowly moving towards various forms of integration. For example, there was the dream of a united Europe, capable of acknowledging its shared roots and rejoicing in its rich diversity. We think of the firm conviction of the founders of the European Union, who envisioned a future based on the capacity to work together in bridging divisions and in fostering peace and fellowship between all the peoples of this continent. There was also a growing desire in Latin America, and several steps were taken in this direction. In some countries and regions, attempts at reconciliation and rapprochement proved fruitful, while others showed great promise.
Our own days, however, seem to be showing signs of a certain regression. Ancient conflicts thought long buried are breaking out anew, while instances of a myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism are on the rise. In some countries, a concept of popular and national unity influenced by various ideologies is creating new forms of selfishness and a loss of the social sense under the guise of defending national interests. Once more we are being reminded that each new generation must take up the struggles and attainments of past generations, while setting its sight even higher. This is the path. Goodness, together with love, justice and solidarity, are not achieved once and for all; they have to be realised each day. It is not possible to settle for what was achieved in the past and complacently enjoy it, as if we could somehow disregard the fact that many of our brothers and sisters still endure situations that cry out for our attention. (From Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti, On Fraternity and Social Friendship, a. 12-13)
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Jesus’ expelling the money changers from the Temple reminds us of Moses return from Mount Sinai when he found the Jews worshipping the golden calf. When Moses was absent from the people, it left a void for the Israelites in their relationship with God. They fell back on what they know and created an ‘idol’ to reassure them of God’s presence and care - in their own way. ‘…and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there.’
What does make us ‘worshiping false gods’? What is it in us that we are so prone to create distractions and abandon God’s friendship and companionship, whom we are called to meet and worship? The third Sunday of Lent invite us to face this question. It seems that at the root of forgetting God is that we want to create our security. And the point easily comes, when we want to secure our life (via our work and business) without Him. So on this third Sunday of Lent, let us face the question: how do people, ourselves, end up in doing business without God? Just as an illustration, two people requested a Baptism certificate, back from the very early 1980s. I went through the Registry, and was surprised (even shocked) that every month there were 4 to 6 baptisms. Today we have 2-3 a year. ‘Making a whip out of some cord, Jesus drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables… Take all this out here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’ We Christians today are reminded, that our soul and body, our life, is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. So, again: where are we now? To what extend have we preserved (as a country, a culture, and individuals) this Temple of God? Our fist reading is the most precise guide and questionnaire… I would like to share in image, which illustrates both Jesus’ anger - and the self-assessment of how fare or close we are to God. The Italian sculpture Arturo Modica made a sculpture, the Charging Bull (1989). This is an ambiguous image. Originally it was erected in front of the New York Stock Exchange. It to symbolize the resilience of the U.S. economy after a 1987 stock market crash. Though the statue was removed from its original location, it remained a symbol of Wall Street. Eventually, it was embraced by traders as a symbol of good luck. However, in it, many recognised ‘the golden calf’ - when we do business and secure of lives without God. Glistening, muscular, dynamic, and intensely animal the Charging Bull undeniably has an allure that is undeniable. We can easily understand why such a creature was once a symbol for a mighty god. Let this image help us in our discernment. What space God is given in our lives? 07.03.2021 Issues of human fraternity and social friendship have always been a concern of mine...The following pages do not claim to offer a complete teaching on fraternal love, but rather to consider its universal scope, its openness to every man and woman. I offer this…as a modest contribution to continued reflection, in the hope that in the face of present-day attempts to eliminate or ignore others, we may prove capable of responding with a new vision of fraternity and social friendship that will not remain at the level of words.
As I was writing this letter, the Covid-19 pandemic unexpectedly erupted, exposing our false securities. Aside from the different ways that various countries responded to the crisis, their inability to work together became quite evident. For all our hyper-connectivity, we witnessed a fragmentation that made it more difficult to resolve the problems that affect us all. Anyone who thinks that the only lesson to be learned was the need to improve what we were already doing, or to refine existing systems and regulations, is denying reality. It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Brotherhood between all men and women. Here we have a splendid secret that shows us how to dream and to turn our life into a wonderful adventure. No one can face life in isolation. We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead. How important it is to dream together… By ourselves, we risk seeing mirages, things that are not there. Dreams, on the other hand, are built together. Let us dream, then, as a single human family as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all. (From Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti, On Fraternity and Social Friendship, a. 5-8.) There is an episode in the life of Saint Francis that shows his openness of heart, which knew no bounds and transcended differences of origin, nationality, colour or religion. It was his visit to Sultan Malik-el-Kamil, in Egypt, which entailed considerable hardship, give Francis’ poverty, his scarce resources, the great distances to be travelled and their different language, culture and religion.
That journey, undertaken at the time of the Crusades, further demonstrated the breadth and grandeur of his love, which sought to embrace everyone. Francis’ fidelity to his Lord was commensurate with his love for his brothers and sisters. Unconcerned for the hardships and dangers involved, Francis went to meet the Sultan with the same attitude that he instilled in his disciples: if they found themselves ‘among Saracens and other non-believers’, without renouncing their own identity they were not to engage in arguments or disputes but to be subject to every human creature for God’s sake. In the context of the times, this way s was an extraordinary recommendation. We are impressed that some eight hundred years ago Saint Francis urged that all forms of hostility or conflict be avoided and that a humble and fraternal ‘subjection’ be shown to those who did not share his faith. Francis did not wage a war of words aimed at imposing doctrines; he simply spread the love of God. He understood that ‘God is love and those who abide in love abide in God’ (1 Jn 4:16). In this way, he became a father to all and inspired the vision of a fraternal society. Indeed, ‘only the man who approaches others, not to draw them into his own life, but to help them become ever more fully themselves, can truly be called a father.’ In the world of that time, bristling with watchtowers and defensive walls, cities were a theatre of brutal wars between powerful families, even as poverty was spreading through the countryside. Yet there Francis was able to welcome true peace into his heart and free himself of the desire to wield power over others. He became one of the poor and sought to live in harmony with all. Francis has inspired these pages. (From Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti, On Fraternity and Social Friendship, 5.) 1.Accompanying Others
We need to encourage and accompany the person, without imposing our own roadmaps…If you are to accompany others on this path, you must be the first to follow it, day in and day out. That is what Mary did, in her own youth, as she confronted her own questions and difficulties. May she renew your youthfulness by the power of her prayers and accompany you always by her maternal presence. My joyful hope is to see you keep running the race before you, outstripping all those who are slow or fearful. Keep running, ‘attracted by the face of Christ, whom we love so much, whom we adore in the Holy Eucharist and acknowledge in the flesh of our suffering brothers and sisters. May the Holy Spirit urge you on as you run this race. The church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith. We need them! And when you arrive where we have not yet reached, have the patience to wait for us. (From Pope Francis’ letter to young people, Christ Is Alive, art.298-299) 1.Discernment: joining and departing
…Discernment becomes a genuine means of spiritual combat, helping us to follow the Lord more faithfully. The desire to know our personal vocation thus takes on a supreme intensity, a different quality and higher level, one that better respects the dignity of our person and our life. In the end, good discernment is a path of freedom that brings to full fruit what is unique in each person, something so personal that only God knows it. Others cannot fully understand or predict from the outside how it will develop. When we listen to others in this way, at a certain moment we ourselves have to disappear in order to let the other person follow the path he or she has discovered. We have to vanish as the Lord did from the sight of his disciples in Emmaus, leaving them alone with burning hearts and an irresistible desire to set out immediately (cf. Lk 24:31-33). When they returned to the community, those disciples heard the good news that the Lord was indeed risen (Lk 24:34). (From Pope Francis’ letter to young people, Christ Is Alive, art.295-296) |
Soliloquy
These are verbal Icons, expressions of how the world is seen from Saint Augustine's.. Archives
June 2023
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