Fr. Bob's Corner

Pictures are sometimes better just on their own. They capture…, they speak…, they inspire…, they…,

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I guess there is a little bit more to this story than the video captures. Here is an article in the British Telegraph that provides more insight and details about the meeting between the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Archbishop of Canterbury tells Pope that Catholic row left him feeling ‘awkward’ – Telegraph

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This picture says it all as far as I am concerned. This is what we hope and pray for everyday and for one brief moment in Nazareth on May 15th, 2009 God’s peace was celebrated. According to Reuters it was an impromptu moment started by a Rabbi singing, “Shalom, Salaam, Lord Grant us Peace.” Within moments Jews, Christians, and Moslems held hands in a song of joy and peace. John Allen of the NCR describes the event this way: “The setting was an inter-faith meeting among Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Druze in Nazareth. Toward the close of the meeting, a song specially composed for the occasion was performed: "Salam, Shalom, Lord Grant Us Peace." It was a rousing number, and by the end, the religious leaders on stage were singing along, including the notoriously reserved Benedict XVI. For the last stanza, the rabbis, muftis, sheikhs, and bishops, with the pontiff in the middle of the group, stood on the stage and held hands.”

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Last Weekend ‘Our Lady’s Missionaries’ made a visit to both our Parishes. Sr. Christine Gebel gave us an update on their work since her last visit with us about two years ago. As she spoke at all our Masses, she reflected on the Gospel passage of the lady who had seven deceased husbands and the Sadducees question: “In the Resurrection whose wife will the woman be?” (Lk. 20:27-39) Now in Jesus’ time a wife was more or less the property of a husband, and therefore the question not only enquired about the marriage bond in eternity, but had a connotation of ownership. As she pointed out, no one owns anybody in eternity, and in God’s kingdom in the here and now. As Christians we are called to love our neighbor as our selves, and to live in freedom, as children of God. Her insights came from the Sisters work with oppressed people around the world who are often owned by another. An example being prostitutes one of the Sisters works with in one of their missions. And, from a personal point of view and her involvement in Muslim Christian dialogue in the Philippines, she offered the insight that no one even owns God.

As I reflected on this statement, I thought of the many ways, as humans, we tend to take ownership of another, rather than living in mutual respect, trust, and love. And, even in religion, as we profess and cling to our faith, we assume a certain ownership of God. As we come to the end of our Liturgical year and the feast of Christ the King, it behooves all of us to reflect on our relationships with God and neighbor, and to remind ourselves of this very important insight from a woman who has given her life to Christ, and the building of God’s Kingdom. After all, wasn’t that one of the biggest problems many had with Jesus when he reached out to the sinners and tax collectors. We still hear their shock and complaint week after week in the Gospel: “He eats with sinners and tax collector.”

[Fr. Edward L. Cleary is a professor of political science and the director of Latin American studies at Providence College.]

Fr. Edward Cleary has just published a new book on faith, religion, and the Latin American people. It is a must read for all those interested in our brothers and sisters in this part of America. In the last forty years much has happened to undermine the faith of these staunchly catholic people. But, there are seeds of hope, and wonderful things happening that offer promise for the future of Christianity and the the Catholic Church in this part of the world. Although the Pentecostal Church has spear headed a major religious revival and recruited thousands of new members, Catholicism has become more dynamic and fostered a more committed faith response. Just listen to these statistics that Fr. Cleary reports:

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In the last little while I have made several posts on what it means to have a Catholic Identity in this modern world. The Bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall gave a presentation on how Christianity has fragmented and divided over the centuries, and how Catholics view other Christian today.

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Two men, one a Christian, the other a Moslem, overcome their hatred for one another and struggle for respect and peace in Nigeria – Africa’s most populated country with 140 million inhabitants. Read the full report by John Allen:

In Nigeria, Christians and Muslims in uneasy calm National Catholic Reporter Conversation Cafe

A wordsmith pope learns to talk in pictures | National Catholic Reporter Conversation Cafe192.168.0.100

In most of the world, the image of his solidarity in prayer with the imam has been interpreted as the definitive riposte to Regensburg, neutralizing the threat of a “holy war” that the speech had created. (Read full Story in the above link)