Fr. Bob's Corner

She Loved God and neighbor well!

Sister Emmanuelle devoted her life to helping the poor in Egypt. This week she died. She was one month short of her 99th Birthday. Tributes to her life have been printed in News Papers around the world.

Sr. Emmanuelle was born Madeleine Cinquin in Brussels on Nov. 16, 1908, she spent her childhood between the Belgian capital, Paris and London. She received a degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne, and in 1929 she took her final vows as a sister of ‘Notre Dame de Sion’.

At retirement age (1970) she moved to Egypt and thus began her tireless efforts on behalf of the poor – the scavengers of garbage in Cairo’s garbage dumps.

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The Canadian Catholic Bishops along with the Bishop’s from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Scotland, England &Wales, and the U.S. have just sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper encouraging him and the Leaders of the upcoming G8 Conference to deepen their commitments and actions to reduce global poverty and address global climate change:

19 June 2008
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada

Technorati Tags: G8,Prime Minister Stephen Harper,Poverty,Climate Change

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In a powerful little booklet (pastoral letter) entitled, The Need for Conversion, the ‘Social Affairs Commission of the ‘Canadian confidence of Catholic Bishop’s’ challenged Canadians this March 2008 to take a hard realistic look at the way that we, as Canadians, are treating our planet. “Are we not like the prodigal son”, they ponder, “who asked his father for his inheritance and then left home and proceeded to waste it (Luke 15:11-32)?” Commenting on our excessive need for more and more, the Bishops observe that we are mismanaging the Garden of Eden: “In our drive to earn more, to possess more, to consume always more, we have sacrificed a great deal to the economic almighty, which has become like the substance of modern life. We have mismanaged the Garden of Eden entrusted to us.”

Stating that we have the knowledge and know-how to protect the environment, they compare our present attitudes and behaviors to those of selfish ‘spoiled children’. “We have yieled to the innate selfishness that marks each of us like a scar.” “We have tarnished the image of God that is within us.”

The letter is a personal and communal call to conversion, and a timely and forceful reminder to our elected representatives. The Bishops conclude, The Need for Conversion, by offering us a choice between death and life: “Our faith in Christ, offers us a radical choice: To choose between life and death (Deuteronomy 31:15). This could not be a timelier invitation. Only genuine conversion will help us mend the ruptures and re-establish our life relationship with nature, our sisters and brothers, and the Creator of Life. For this St. Francis of Assisi presents a beatuiful model of renewed humanity and rediscovered harmony.

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HOMILY – FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY
2007

Christmas is a special and memorable time for children. Santa Claus, bells and reindeer, trees and lights, bows and ribbons, and of course the baby Jesus capture the imagination. This child, born to poor parents, birthed in a stable, laid in a manger, watched over by angels, stars, shepherds, wise men, Mary, Joseph and even sheep on the hill is adored and cherished.

For children Christmas is a never forgotten magical season, and for us, a time to remember this Child’s message. For this child, we know, is special. But this specialness brings with it the uncomfortable reminder of other children not so loved and cherished. Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy family, and although we know little of Jesus’ childhood and family life, we know from the bible that Jesus was loved and cherished, and his presence in our midst reminds us of the millions of unloved and uncherished children who suffer so terribly.

This Christmas parents worried about how safe the toys were they placed under the Christmas tree. In shock and amazement we all heard of millions of toxic toys being recalled from store shelves. For many, hopefully, it was a wakeup call to the plight of millions of children in our modern world.

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Last week’s Gospel reminded us to “stay awake and to keep alert.” In his homily Deacon Kerry quoted an anonymous author who said, “the most dangerous day of our lives comes when we learn the word tomorrow.” The challenge of doing our best to bring the christian message alive in our lives, and in the world we live in, is an awesome task. At times, no matter how alert we try to be, the problems of life seem overwhelming, and we just feel like isolating ourselves for a while and adopting the ‘mannana’ (tomorrow) way of coping. Sometimes we do need to step back, but this does not mean ‘turn off or ‘give up’.

This advent weekend, we once again hear John the Baptist’s stern call to repentance: “Repent for the Kingdom of God has come near.” (Jn.3:1) Are we alert, or have we drifted into the world of ‘mannana land’ where nothing can get through to disturb our little world? Jesus was relentless in disturbing those that had found comfort in this world, for it usually meant that they had lost their way. John the Baptist was harsh and just as disturbing: “You brood of vipers,” was the greeting the pharisees heard when they found him in the desert.

Advent is a time when we explore what it means to wait upon the Lord. We are a people awaiting the Lord’s return. How do we wait? Hopefully, we wait with alertness, and stubborn determination to do God’s will. If we wait in hope, believing that one day the ‘wolf will lie down with the lamb,’ (as Isaiah symbolically puts it), we will seek God’s ways, find comfort in prayer, and continue doing our best to prepare for the day when the Lord returns in Glory. May “the God of steadfastness and encouragement”(Rom.15) be with us, as we continue our journey through Advent to Christmas, and into the New Year 2008, until that day on which there is no sunset and no dawning.

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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.”

Turkey has a new President, Abdullah Gul, and many fear that he will allow Islam to role back the hands of time and create another Islamic state in the Middle East. “The selection of Mr. Gul,” says the New York Times, “ended four months of political standoff that began when Turkey’s secular establishment and military, vehemently opposed to his candidacy, blocked it in May, forcing a national election last month.”

It would appear that most ordinary people have no voice in Turkey’s day to day governance, and from the vantage point of fairness his victory in the Turkinsh Parliament is a just one. However, with the rise of fundamental radical Islam, most of the world is rather anxious.What will this mean? Where will it lead?

At the offical level the American ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson, welcomed Mr. Gul’s election, but behind the scenes there has got to be much wariness stemming from the mess in Iraq, the beligerance of Iran, the war with Taliban in Afghanistan, the general turbulence throughout the mid-east, and the rise and threat of Islamic theocracy.

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Here is a link to a video that explores the person of Jesus, as one who is poor himself. From this perspective the gospel for this eleventh Sunday of ordinary time (Luke; 7:36-8:3) takes on a much deeper meaning. Watch Video

There is another short video called: Jew nor Greek, which reminds us of our neighbor. Would these people be welcome at our table? Watch Video

And, another short video along the same theme: Watch Video

APARECIDA, Brazil (National Catholic Reporter) – Rumors of the death of liberation theology, it would appear, have been a bit exaggerated, at least judging by the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, Brazil, May 13-31 – though it didn’t exactly emerge with a clean bill of health. Read more:

National Catholic Register: Separating wheat from chaff, bishops draw on legacy of liberation theology – Catholic Online

President of Brazil and Pope greet one another at airport.

View Photos of the visit (May 10, 11, 12) provided by the military: VIEW

One woman who lives in poverty is convinced church leaders talk too much, and don’t do enough. This is one of the many sentiments the Pope will face in Brazil where there is a stark, painful, and glaring contrast between rich and poor people.‘TALK TOO MUCH’
A few miles away, 28-year-old Silvana de Jesus was cooking over a fire in a squatter camp where 12,000 people live in tents made of black plastic sheets.
“I think they talk too much and do too little,” the unemployed mother-of-five said of church leaders. “His visit doesn’t matter if they don’t change their posture with the poor. I myself didn’t even know he was coming.” (News.Scotsman.com – May 10, 2007) (more…)