Message of Hope

 Pope Francis' words of hope from the beginning of the pandemic, COVID, have been sent to outer space.  Inside a small satellite is a recorded message.  Here it is:

Caesar or Pope

 Currently, you will hear talk of the pope and the patriarch of the Orthodox Church discussing making Easter, the same date for both rites.  We do have different calendars.  The calendar the Orthodox Church is using is the Julian Calendar, in use since 45 BC proposed by Julius Caesar.

We used it, too, until 1582, when Pope Gregory VIII designed the Gregorian Calendar.  It's supposed to be more accurate.  

It will be nice to celebrate Easter with our sisters and brothers.  

Pope Francis shakes hands with Catholicos Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, at the end of a meeting Nov. 19, 2022, in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

The World as a Gift

For Lent, I signed up for a JustFaith Ministry program, called "Sacred Land". The three required books are related.  Well, everything assigned was related: movies, videos, journaling, articles, cooking, letter writing, etc.  But what I enjoyed the most were the three books: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Laudato Si by Pope Francis, Earth Prayers, edited by Elizabeth Roberts, and Elias Amidon. 

Braiding Sweetgrass was written by a naturalist, scientist, and mother.  Robin Wall Kimmerer always lists "mother," first.  I can see that as a mother she loves nature. The theme is restorative reciprocity.  If we treat nature with care, nature will care for us.  She also uses similar terms like "obligate symbiosis," "covenant of responsibility," "mutual responsibility," and the "moral covenant of reciprocity."  You get the idea.

Coincidently, Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si, is expounding on the same theme.  It's uncanny how Kimmerer and the Pope think alike.  

Kimmerer writes like a poet.  While Braiding Sweetgrass is instructing us in botany and environmental care of the land, the poetry of the author amazes the reader. No one who reads this book will walk through the woods, the same way as they did before reading Braiding Sweetgrass. 

Nature is God's gift, Pope Francis tells us.  As such, Kimmerer will explain that gifts require expressions of gratitude.  These expressions necessitate a responsibility to take care of Nature's gifts.

The last book, Earth Prayers, is a book of poetry.  Isn't praying poetry? 

Let us pray this Chinook Litany, on p. 106-7:  

We call upon the earth, our planet home,
with its beautiful depths and soaring heights,
its vitality and abundance of life,
and together we ask that it
Teach us, and show us the way.

We call upon the mountains,
Saddle Mountain and Wahkiakum Mountain,
the Willapa Hills, the summits of intense silence,
and we ask that they
Teach us, and show us the way.

We call upon the waters that rim the earth,
the waters of our great river the Iyagatthl Imathl,
the waters of Willapa Bay, and all of the waters,
the flowing of our rivers and streams,
the water that falls upon us,
and we ask that they
Teach us, and show us the way.

We call upon the land which grows our food,
the nurturing soil that sustains our lives,
and we ask that it
Teach us, and show us the way.

We call upon the forests, the great cedar trees
reaching strongly to the sky, with earth in their roots
and the heavens in their branches,
cedar tree, the keeper of all knowledge,
and we ask them to
Teach us, and show us the way.

We call upon the creatures of the fields and
forests and the seas, our brothers and sisters,
Lilu the Wolf, Mulak the Elk, and Mawich the Deer,
Ch’akch’ak the Eagle, the great Whales
and the Sturgeon, and the Salmon people
who share our Chinook waters,
and we ask that they
Teach us, and show us the way.

We call upon all those who have lived on this earth,
our ancestors and our friends,
who dreamed the best for future generations,
and upon whose lives our lives are built,
and with thanksgiving, we call upon them to
Teach us, and show us the way.

And lastly, we call upon all that we hold most sacred,
the presence and power of the Great Spirit
which flows through all the Universe,
to be with us to
Teach us, and show us the way.

Chinook Blessing 

Copying Saint Francis

 For the second time, I'm reading Fratelli Tutti.  Every Sunday night, a couple of my friends and I are zooming to discuss this encyclical.  We did the introduction tonight.  It impressed us how St. Francis went to see the Sultan Malik-el-Kamil, in Egypt. Today Pope Francis went to see the Orthodox Patriarch, Bartholomew, and the Grand Imam, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.  And this week, Pope Francis is visiting Iraq to visit Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the leader of Iraq's Shiite Muslims in Najaf and celebrate Mass in Irbil and pray in Mosul.  Both St. Francis and Pope Francis are open to all people from all religions.  We are all children of God.

Please pray for the pope's safety.  COVID-19 is still active; ISIS is still terrorizing people, and the United States has just recently sent rockets on an Iranian facility.

The Pope and the Ayatollah

Pope Francis will be taking a trip to Iraq March 5-8, 2021. He will visit the Great Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the most eminent figure of Shia Islam. Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani is 90 years old and is known for his wisdom.

In November 2019, Iraq was dealing with violent demonstrations, which were quelled with equal violence. The UN Commission of Inquiry came in to investigate the crimes committed against the Yezidis in Sinjar, Christians in Mosul, and the Turcomans in Tal Afar.

Even before this, al Sistani was looking to fix any attempt to manipulate the ethnic and religious composition that the jihadists were trying to perpetrate. The Ayatollah wanted to preserve the presence of the indigenous communities, especially the Christians. And this is why Pope Francis is traveling to Iraq. It will be a meeting between two peacemakers.

Let Us Pray

 My friends and I regularly pass books on, among us. The pope's new book, "Let Us Dream," is one such book. I was given this book today and in just flipping the pages to see how many pages, chapters, and if there were any pictures, I found this prayer used as a bookmark. If ever a prayer cried out to be prayed, it is this one. Join me, please.

Heavenly Father,

Help us to remember all those in need this day,

Help us to think of the other, praying for their safety, both physically, financially, mentally, and spiritually.

In this time of need show us, Your grace.

Help us to come together and support our parishes and all those that need our prayers and support.

God in Your Goodness, You are the maker and giver of all, shower us with Your Grace,

Bring us together in mind and spirit at a time when we cannot be together in Your Holy Church.

Unite us, bring us hope, but most of all, help us to remember You.

In Your beloves Son's name, Jesus, we pray.

Amen

A "Lowly" Carpenter

 Just the introduction to Pope Francis' Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde, had me meditating on Saint Joseph.  From the beginning, the pope refers to Joseph as a "lowly" carpenter.  I have often wondered why.  Carpenters aren't lowly, far from it.  They have needed skills. I bet Joseph always found work, no matter where he lived.  Everyone has needs that only a carpenter can fill.  I have never read anywhere that Jesus went hungry, His needs were met.  

Carpenters today need to follow blueprints, building plans, licensing or permit codes.  Would a person with low cognitive skills be able to do that?  Why "lowly" carpenter?  Joseph may not have had to follow blueprints or follow municipal building codes, but he certainly had to be able to visualize the project, design, and layout. I call these attributes critical thinking.  Why "lowly" carpenter?

Carpenters install structures and fixtures.  I can't do that.  Can you?  A carpenter would be able to solve those problems.  Why "lowly" carpenter?

Carpenters measure, cut, and shape wood and other materials.  Again would a person of low cognitive intelligence be able to measure and cut accurately?  So why consider a carpenter "lowly?"

Carpenters build frameworks, including walls, floors, rooves, etc.  I imagine in Joseph's day they made tables and whatever else was needed.  Do you think the people thought that those with carpenter skills were "lowly"?

And finally, carpenters repair structures.  There's always a need for that, especially in Jesus' time before they had duct tape.  Carpenters need to be strong, have manual dexterity, and don't forget communication skills.

Why in the world, would anyone consider a carpenter, "lowly"?

Pope Francis, you should know better than that.

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Pope, Pence meet at the Vatican

Pope, Pence meet at the Vatican: VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After Pope Francis and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met privately for nearly an hour at the Vatican, Pence told the pope that his Roman Catholic mother will be pleased with the visit. Click on the link to read more.

Pope Francis greets U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during a private meeting at the Vatican Jan. 24. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

With Help from Our Sisters

My "cloistered brothers" keep in touch with the Dominican Sisters of Bethany in Europe.  Once in a while

they send letters to the pope.  The subjects vary but they all ask for the grace of the canonization of our founder, Blessed M. John Joseph Lataste, OP.  We never get a response from the Holy Father.

Now one of our sisters in an audience with Pope Francis handed the pope a letter from one of my "cloistered brothers."  Here are some photos of Sister M. Emmanuelle giving the letter to the pope.  How much do you want to bet that Fr. Lataste's cause for canonization is advanced!!!!

Deo Gratias.

Pope tells his elderly peers the prayers of the old are powerful

Pope tells his elderly peers the prayers of the old are powerful: VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On the eve of his 83rd birthday, Pope Francis met with a group of his peers -- although many were a few years younger -- and told them that their contributions to society are very valuable.

Why Them and Not Me?

Instead of just giving you the link to this most excellent article I found it worthy enough to copy and paste it in its entirety.  What Pope Francis thinks of prisoners.  This Article is from Aleteia, February 7, 2019.

AFP PHOTO / OSSERVATORE ROMANO/HO

Pope Francis (R) kissing the feet of a young offender after washing them during a mass at the church of the Casal del Marmo youth prison on the outskirts of Rome as part of Holy Thursday. - es

Pope Francis had an audience with the staff of the Regina Coeli Correctional Facility in Rome, and this is what he told them:

~

…

I express to each one of you my acknowledgement and that of the Church for your work alongside the detainees: this requires inner strength, perseverance and awareness of the specific mission to which you are called. And another thing. It takes prayer every day, that the Lord may give you good sense: good sense in the different situations in which you will find yourselves.

The prison is a place of pain in the dual sense of punishment and suffering, and has a great need for attention and humanity. It is a place where all, Penitentiary Police, chaplains, educators and volunteers, are called to perform the difficult task of tending to the wounds of those who, on account of the errors they have made, find themselves deprived of their personal freedom. It is well known that good collaboration between the different prison services provides an action of great support in the re-education of detainees. However, due to a lack of personnel and chronic overcrowding, this painstaking and delicate work risks being in part in vain. Workplace stress caused by pressing shifts and often distance from families are factors that weigh down a job that already involves a certain psychological burden.

Therefore, professional figures such as yours need personal balance and valid motivations, continually renewed; indeed, you are called not only to guarantee the protection, order and security of the institute, but also very often to bind the wounds of men and women you meet on a daily basis in their sections.

No-one may condemn another for the errors he has committed, nor inflict suffering that offends human dignity. Prisons need to be increasingly humanized, and it is painful instead to hear that very often they are considered to be places of violence and illegality, where human evil rages.

At the same time, we must not forget that many detainees are poor people, without points of reference, they have no security, they have no family, they have no means to defend their own rights, they are marginalized and abandoned to their destiny. For society, detainees are uncomfortable individuals, they are rejects, a burden. This is painful, but the collective subconscious leads us there.

But experience shows that prison, with the help of prison workers, can truly become a place of redemption, of resurrection and of change of life; and everything is possible through paths of faith, work and professional formation, but above all with spiritual closeness and compassion, following the example of the Good Samaritan, who stooped to care for his wounded brother. This attitude of closeness, that finds its root in Christ’s love, may favour in many detainees the trust, awareness and certainty of being loved.

In addition, a punishment, any punishment, must not be closed; it must always have “the window open” to hope, on the part of both the prison and of each person. Everyone must always have the hope of partial rehabilitation. Let us think of those serving life sentences, even for them: “With my work in prison…”. Give, do work… Always the hope of rehabilitation. A penalty without hope is useless, it does not help, it provokes in the heart feelings of rancour, very often of revenge, and the person leaves worse than when they entered. No. It is always necessary to ensure that there is hope and to help to see beyond the window, hoping in rehabilitation. I know that you work hard, looking to this future to rehabilitate each one of those who are in prison.

I encourage you to carry out your important work with sentiments of harmony and unity. All together, Directorate, Penitentiary Police, Chaplains, educational sector, volunteers and external community are called to march in a single direction, to help raise up and nurture in hope those who, unfortunately, have fallen into the trap of evil.

For my part, I accompany you with my affection, which is sincere. I have great closeness to prisoners and those who work in prisons. My affection and my prayer, that you may be able to contribute, with your work, to ensuring that prison, a place of pain and suffering, may also be a laboratory of humanity and hope. In the other diocese [Buenos Aires], I often went to the prison; and now every fortnight, on Sunday, I make a telephone call to a group of prisoners in a prison I visited frequently. I am close. And I have always had a sensation when entering a prison: “Why them and not me?” This thought has done me great good. Why them and not me? I could have been there, and instead no, the Lord gave me a grace that my sins and my shortcomings were forgiven and not seen, I don’t know. But that question helps greatly: why them and not me?

I heartily bless all of you and your loved ones, and I ask you, please, to pray for me, as I am in need. Thank you!

Why do people kiss the pope's ring?

From the Pilot.   Why do people kiss the pope's ring?: Loreto, Italy, Mar 27, 2019 CNA.- The Vatican press office declined to comment after a video went viral this week showing the pope refusing to allow pilgrims to kiss his ring as they greeted him.

Come on!!!!!!!  His hand cramps up after shaking so many hands!  Be careful of perception.  It is never the whole story.

Real Ecumenism puts Christ over Division :: EWTN News

Pope Francis boards his flight to Geneva June 21, 2018. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN.

Pope in Geneva: Real ecumenism puts Christ over division :: EWTN News  Pope Francis spoke to participants in an ecumenical prayer gathering during his June 21 visit to Geneva for the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches. Founded in 1948, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is a global fellowship of churches seeking to foster unity among different Christian confessions and has some 348 members worldwide.


Members are present in 110 countries and represent over 500 million Christians, including Orthodox, Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist denominations, as well as many Reformed, United and Independent communities.

While the majority of the founding members came from Europe and North America, currently the bulk of the WCC membership is in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. The Holy See is not a member of the WCC, but it is an observer, and routinely sends representatives to the organization's meetings.

Alma Rosa Jaramillo

A picture of a dismembered body of Alma Rosa Jaramillo is jumping around in my mind.  I've just begun reading Choosing Peace edited by Marie Dennis.  The very first chapter mentioned the 2016  Appeal to the Catholic Church to Re-commit to the Centrality of Gospel Nonviolence.  The chapter continues with the plenary discussion "Nonviolence and Just Peace." The point of the story was to show that even though the atrocities were horrific, the people demanded peace.

For over forty years the people of Colombia were torn apart by various groups: National Liberation Army (ELN), various paramilitary groups, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the current government in power.  A lawyer, Alma Rosa Jaramillo, was working with the displaced small farmers was kidnapped by the ELN and then released.  Later she was captured by a paramilitary group which tortured and sawed the limbs off her body with a chainsaw.

And Alma Rosa Jaramillo was only one of many who was viciously maltreated.  What I want to know is why so little is known about her?  Maybe there are stories and biographies written in Spanish but not even Wikipedia has anything.  I couldn't even find a picture of what she looked like.

My heart is sick over humanity's heartlessness. 

A broken world: While the last century knew the devastation of two deadly World Wars,

the threat of nuclear war and a great number of other conflicts, today, sadly, we find our-

selves engaged in a horrifying world war fought piecemeal...We know that this "piece-

meal" violence, of different kinds and levels, causes great suffering: wars in different

countries and continents; terrorism, organized crime, and unforeseen acts of violence; the

abuses suffered by migrants and victims of human trafficking;...

                                       Pope Francis, World Day of Peace Message 2017

Pope calls dicastery to promote reflection on role of women

Pope calls dicastery to promote reflection on role of women: VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has updated the statutes of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, adding among other things a specific reference to the office's responsibility for promoting reflection on the role of women in the church.

Pope: Faith says 'no' to Satan, 'yes' to God

Pope: Faith says 'no' to Satan, 'yes' to God: VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Baptism requires rejecting Satan and professing one's full faith in God, Pope Francis said.



Yes, Faith says 'no' to Satan, and a resounding shout, 'yes' to God!

God Leads Me into Temptation?

I've been saying this for years!  Actually, a friend called my attention to it.  She was first, then I thought about it and agreed.  I'm talking about the "The Lord's Prayer," or "The Our Father." 

She said it always bother her that we prayed:

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.                                                                   

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

I understand that this wording is only in English.  Other languages say the equivalent of protect us, or keep us away from, temptation.  Now, I read that our Holy Father agrees.  He asks for a better English translation.  

The sooner, the better.

Everyone Pray

Pope Francis Gives A TED Talk

The Pope Teaches the Children

I hope the pope doesn't give up his day job.  See if you agree.

Pope’s Chat With Children, Other Groups at St. Mary Josephine of Heart of Jesus Parish on Outskirts of Rome Posted by ZENIT Staff on 21 February, 2017 Below is a Zenit working translation of Pope Francis’ chat with children and other groups during his visit to a parish on the outskirts of the city of Rome, the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 19, the second of this type since the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, and the 13th visit of this nature. The parish of Saint Mary Josephine of the Heart of Jesus in Castelverde di Lunghezza, is six kilometers east of the circular highway around Rome: *** Pope Francis: I’ll ask question and you all answer. How many “Gods” are there? [“One”]. But … I know three! [“The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”]. Father, Son and Holy Spirit: one and two and three. They are three. What do you answer to this? Who can answer? [Someone says: They are three”] Are there three Gods or one?  [Someone says: [There is only one divided in three parts”] — in three parts? No, God is one [“He is only one but who represents more things”]. It doesn’t work … How many “Gods are there? [“Three”]. Three “Gods” or one? [“One”]. But if there is one … I ask you this question: Is the Father God? [“Yes”] Is the Son God? [Yes … No …”]. So, He’s not God? [Yes, He is God”] Is the Holy Spirit God? [“Yes”]. They are three, but this is something that’s not easy to understand: they are three Persons, have you understood this? They are three Persons, but the three Persons make only one God. Agreed? [“Yes”]. Aren’t you convinced? So, what three things are they? Three [“Persons”] and one [“God”]. Three … [“Persons”] and one [“God”]. And is Our Lady God? [“No’] What is Our Lady? [“The Mother …”]. The Mother of God. Why is she the Mother of God? Because she is the one who brought Jesus to the world. Agreed? [“Yes”]. Yes. And Joseph truly helped Our Lady. Is the Father God? Yes. Is the Son God? Yes. Is the Holy Spirit God? Yes. Three Persons, agreed? How many Persons? [“Three”]. How many “Gods”? [“One”]. Is Our Lady God? [“No”]. Our Lady is …? The Mother of God.. This is clear. Never forget this.  All right.