Lectio Divina for All

@ http://www.standrewskyrenia.org/soul-day/

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Jesus does not reject anyone

Lectio

Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” (Jn 6: 37-40)

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The Gospel begins with Jesus declaring that He is the bread of life. St. Augustine tells us that we will always hunger and thirst for God. Is not bread called the “staff of life?” And Jesus begins by telling us that He is Our Bread. Jesus reproves those who do not believe Him. …although you have seen me, you do not believe. Without a deep trust and faith, one cannot satisfy their hunger and thirst for God. Jesus is there, always. We need to accept Him because He … will not reject anyone … Jesus wants us to enter into relationship with Him. He is offering Himself, completely and forever. We need not worry that we are not worthy because He promises He will not reject anyone. This is what God wants. And if we accept Jesus, we will have eternal life. Eternal life—where our hunger and thirst will be satiated.

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Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 

These words of Jesus reassure us of His constant presence. Sometimes we may question “Where is God?” God is always there. He doesn’t move. We are the ones who move away. If we are honest with ourselves, we should see that it is we who have loosened our grip on God’s hand. But we must not worry. It is God’s will that Jesus not “lose anything of what He gave ...” Persevere in trusting God.

Pope Francis reminded us: 

“Today the liturgy invites us to commemorate the faithful departed. Church Tradition has always urged prayer for the deceased, in particular by offering the Eucharistic Celebration for them: it is the best spiritual help that we can give to their souls, particularly to those who are the most forsaken. The foundation of prayer in suffrage lies in the communion of the Mystical Body.

Remembering the dead, caring for their graves and prayers of suffrage, are the testimony of confident hope, rooted in the certainty that death does not have the last word on human existence, for man is destined to a life without limits, which has its roots and its fulfillment in God. Let us raise this prayer to God: “God of infinite mercy, we entrust to your immense goodness all those who have left this world for eternity, where you wait for all humanity, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ your Son, who died as a ransom for our sins. Look not, O Lord, on our poverty, our suffering, our human weakness, when we appear before you to be judged for joy or for condemnation. Look upon us with mercy, born of the tenderness of your heart, and help us to walk in the ways of complete purification. Let none of your children be lost in the eternal fire, where there can be no repentance. We entrust to you, O Lord, the souls of our beloved dead, of those who have died without the comfort of the sacraments, or who have not had an opportunity to repent, even at the end of their lives. May none of them be afraid to meet You, after their earthly pilgrimage, but may they always hope to be welcomed in the embrace of your infinite mercy. May our Sister, corporal death find us always vigilant in prayer and filled with the goodness done in the course of our short or long lives. Lord, may no earthly thing ever separate us from You, but may everyone and everything support us with a burning desire to rest peacefully and eternally in You. Amen” (Fr Antonio Rungi, Passionist, Prayer for the Dead).” (Pope Francis, 2014)

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Bless us Father with Your ever constant grace. May Your love always embrace us. Ungrateful as we are wont to be, please accept our petitions. Help us to persevere in faithfulness. We want to love You and be with You eternally. May Jesus always find us. Amen.

Contemplatio: 

We remember how You loved us. 
And still we celebrate
For You are with us here.
Lord, we remember; we celebrate;
we believe.

Pope offers new Beatitudes for Saints of a New Age

Photo from Reuters

Pope offers new Beatitudes for saints of a new age: MALMO, Sweden (CNS) -- The saints are blessed because they were faithful and meek and cared for others, Pope Francis said. At the end of an ecumenical trip to Sweden, Pope Francis celebrated the feast of All Saints Day with a Mass and six new beatitudes:

-- "Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others and forgive them from their heart.

-- "Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.

-- "Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover him.


-- "Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home.

-- "Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others.

-- "Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians."

Disapointed in gods of Tango

The novel, The gods of Tango by Carolina de Robertis was surprisingly disappointing.  It's on many best sellers' list.  It's highly recommended on Amazon and Goodreads.  Upon reflection though I think I know why.  I speculate that the lesbian communities are reading and praising this novel.  It has highly detailed, graphic, lesbian, sex scenes.  Not my thing.  Anytime I come across explicit sex in a novel I suspect that the author is using sex as a selling gimmick.

The story line of a female posing as male isn't new, even Shakespeare uses it.  But the ad nauseum detail that de Robertis used was tedious and just not believable.  When the guys urinate together and Dante, the main character, doesn't because he's shy may work once, but not continuously.  Or dressing together.  Or brothel hopping together.  Or bathing--swimming--disrobing...

Unbelievable.

How come no one question the lack of hair on Dante's body, no Adam's apple, no beard...

I guess sex makes up for credibility?

The story line that gives the novel its title, "the tango," was interesting at first.  But the author's trying to convince the readers of its hypnotic, seductive and addictive nature became tedious.  I was just bored by it.  And generally, I was just bored by the entire book.

Are God and Allah the Same?

Are God and Allah the same? No!



Muslims, Jews, and Christians claim Abraham as their father but these religions are not the same.  Three of us can claim you as our friend.  But to me you are a fellow blogger.  To someone else you maybe a neighbor.  And to another, a coworker.  You are a friend to all three of us but we view you through different lens.

Forgiveness Heals

Another thing I learned from Life in the Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer, is about forgiveness.  I keep relearning and relearning the meaning of this concept.  But the way, Norman Conard, the history teacher,
explained it to his students resonated with me.  He said that not forgiving is like taking poison and hoping the guilty person will hurt.  Putting the perpetrator to death only releases him from life.  His death leaves you bitter and hurting for the rest of your life like YOU are in prison.  Hate wears you down and your enemy doesn't even know about it.

An Indian Grandfather tells a story that two wolves lived inside him and were always fighting to control him.  One wolf is vengeful and angry, the other forgiving and kind.  The grandson asked his grandfather, "Which one wins:"  The old man smiled and said, "The one I feed."

Jan Karski

I'm reading Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer.

I will write a review of the book, another day.  However, in the book, Irena tells the story of Jan Karski.  What he did affected me so much, that I need to post it immediately!

The time is World War II, Poland.  The year is 1942.  A spy by the name of Jan Karski, from the Polish-government-in-exile, was assigned to gather evidence of the Holocaust out to the world.  Karski toured the Polish underground network.  He was disguised as a Ukrainian partisan in uniform so he could get close to trains, prison camps, and extermination centers.  A dentist removed several of his teeth so the resultant swelling would disguise his Polish-accented German.  I guess it was obvious that he had recent dental work done.

He traveled taking pictures of places, documents and other evidence of the genocide.  He went from Poland to Berlin, then through Vichy France to Marseilles where the French underground smuggled him across the Pyrenees into Spain.  Several weeks later, Jan Karski related his story in London.  Newspapers declined to publish his story, nevermind the pictures!  No one believed him.

Today there is a Jan Karski Award for Valor and Compassion, presented by the American Center of Polish Culture.

I guess it isn't his courageous deed that so impressed me, worthy as it is, as the refusal of the Allies to believe.  What other evidence did they need?!

Relic of St. Teresa Venerated on World Mission Sunday

Relic of St. Teresa venerated at cathedral on World Mission Sunday: SOUTH END -- A procession of people holding flags, each representing a different country, made its way up the center aisle of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Oct. 23, at the start of the Mass of World Missions.  St. Teresa is Mother Theresa, the sister who ministered to the poor in India.  She is a model for all those wishing to do missionary work.  Look at the article for a slide show of the procession before Mass and see all the flags from different countries.