Thoughts and opinions from a Priest in the PNCC
Panie Jezu Chryste, któryś przykładem swym uzacnił miłość ojczyzny, i płakałeś nad błędami Izraela, dopomóż nam porzucić nasze błędy narodowe, samolubstwo, zawziętość, lekkomyślność, marzycielstwo —“ a wtedy pracą, zapobiegliwością i pobożnością ocalimy naród nasz polski, i zasłużymy sobie na wieczne zbawienie. Amen.
Reuters in: Pope invites Muslims to dialogue, slams “holy wars” reports on Benedict’s lecture at the University of Regensburg. Some excerpts follow:
In his lecture, the Pope quoted, among others, the 14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologos [sic] who wrote that Mohammad had brought things “only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The Pope, who used the terms “jihad” and “holy war” in his lecture, added in his own words: “Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul”.
Benedict several times quoted Emperor Manuel’s argument that spreading the faith through violence is unreasonable and that acting without reason — “logos” in the original Greek — was against God’s nature.
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At an open-air mass earlier in the day, Benedict told about 260,000 faithful that Christians believed in a loving God whose name could not be used to justify hatred and fanaticism…
It’s interesting because Manuel II had real first hand knowledge of the destruction brought about by the Ottomans.
Here’s hoping that Benedict’s lecture and message hit home with the Bush Administration. The god Bush and his friends worship is not God revealed to us through Scripture and Tradition, it is rather the god of war. Hear their constant drumbeat, ‘us against THEM!!!’ Stealing Christian symbols and transforming them into something evil only makes them iconoclasts.
Wikipedia states [emphasis mine]:
Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives.
That about captures it.
Racz wszechmogący Boże wszelką służbę kościelną napełnić pokorą, pobożnością i pamięcią na Twoją obecność w świątyni, a za przyczyna świętego Guidona, racz prowadzić ich drogą cnoty do wiecznego zbawienia. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
I’ve always loved this reading from Wisdom – Wisdom 3:1-9. I frequently use it at Requiem Holy Mass. For me, it and verses 10-12 are a great reflection for this sad day.
It is also fitting to remember that justice is the justice of God, not the justice we determine. We fail to see as God sees and for that reason we should all pay close attention to the last three verses.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect.But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts, since they neglected justice and forsook the LORD.
For he who despises wisdom and instruction is doomed. Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors, and worthless are their works.
Their wives are foolish and their children wicked; accursed is their brood.
I pray that the Lord grant us wisdom and peace, that He look on us in mercy, and that He bring about the repentance and conversion of evildoers.
For all who died, Eternal rest grant onto them O Lord.
For all who suffered injury and loss, Hail Mary…
For all those who selflessly sacrificed for their brothers and sisters, Hail Mary…
For police officers, firefighters, public servants, and the members of our armed forces, Hail Mary…
Have mercy on us O Lord.
Today’s Associated Press carries a story about a re-do going on at Home Depot. A few excerpts from Home Depot strategy is to push customer service again follow.
CEO Bob Nardelli’s challenge is to make the stores more appealing to customers
ATLANTA – A customer service push three years ago by The Home Depot Inc. was hailed as a much-needed change at the home improvement chain. Now, with the economy slowing, the company is again trying with an extra $350 million in changes at its stores.
The company hopes not only to bring in more customers, but to also soothe investors who have driven Home Depot stock down more than 14 percent since the beginning of the year.Win or lose, Chief Executive Officer Bob Nardelli says he is sticking with his strategy.
“What chairmen and CEOs have to do is prioritize,” Nardelli said in a recent interview in the Atlanta bureau of the Associated Press. “Those that don’t run the risk of trying to satisfy everyone and accomplishing nothing.”
In 2003, as Atlanta-based Home Depot faced a growing challenge from rival Lowe’s, the company said it would spend $400 million that year alone to modernize many of its stores, retrain employees and install computers to teach workers about the products they sell.
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Davidowitz said Nardelli’s challenge is much the same as it was three years ago – to make Home Depot more appealing to customers by improving service and the feel of its stores. He suggested Nardelli take a cue from other big-box retailers.
“Go to Costco and look at those wonderful people giving out those free samples of food,” Davidowitz said. “Go to Target and look at the feeling you get when you go into the store. That’s what he’s got to go to school on.”
Nardelli said Home Depot doesn’t have its head in the sand.
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The changes are part of a theme Home Depot has stressed in the past – improving the customer experience – but there is a greater urgency now, analysts say. Same-store sales, a measure that compares sales at stores open at least a year, fell 0.2 percent in the second quarter.
Based on my most recent negative experience with Home Depot this would appear to be the right move. We’ll see…
I gave the homily at Holy Mass yesterday morning. I always prepare a homily, though I rarely deliver one. As our Prime Bishop has told us – always be prepared.
After Mass one of our most faithful and devout parishioners came up to me and told me how much he appreciated the homily. He told me: “You sounded just like Fulton Sheen.” I naturally thanked him – and I think I had a kind of shocked look on my face – because he followed up by saying he meant it.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard an episode of Life is Worth Living all the way through. Typically I’ve caught re-runs on EWTN late at night. I start watching and then I fall asleep in front of the television. Who knows – maybe something seeped in.
My mom always appreciated Bishop Sheen’s words. Like many Catholics of her generation, she took pride in Catholics that did well in the public arena (John F. Kennedy) or defended and taught the faith (Bishop Sheen).
I thank our parishioner for his kind words and for helping me feel close to my mom.
Boże który wiesz, jak wielkie niebezpieczeństwa zewsząd nas otaczają, a dla grzechów naszych ostać się nie możemy, użycz nam zdrowia duszy i ciała, wytrwałości i zapału, abyśmy przy Twojej pomocy wszelakie zwyciężyli przeciwności. Amen.
Wejrzyj na ułomność naszą, wszechmogący Boże, a ponieważ ciężar własnej niedołężności nas gniecie niech wstawiennictwo błogosławionego męczennika Jana Gabrjela od wszelkich ochrania nas przykrości. Amen.
I will place My law within them, and write it upon their heart’s; I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
What a day —“ we celebrate the Solemnity of Brotherly Love and we recall the death of so many who five years ago were attacked, killed, or wounded by their brothers.
When we look at the world, and we focus on the realities of pain and suffering, when we view man’s inhumanity to man, we naturally want to ask God about that law thing:
God, when are you going to fulfill your promise and write your law upon our hearts? When will you write your law on the hearts of our enemies?
It is impossible not to ask, not to wonder, not to question.
Today, I bring you good news. I bring you the good news of God’s word and God’s truth. It is right here and is among us.
God’s law is perfection and His word is true. His promise has been fulfilled.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul states:
Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
God’s word is living and effective. His word penetrates all things, physical and spiritual, in the present and in the everlasting.
God’s word is as true today as it was for the Jews of ancient Israel. It was true in their captivity, in their exile, and in their joy. It speaks to us today just as effectively and truthfully as it spoke to Jeremiah.
God’s word is truth. It awakens our conscience and reaches into the most private corners of our lives. God’s word bares all our motivations, secret feelings, desires, and His word answers our hidden longings.
God told Jeremiah no more than this; What He planted in the hearts and souls of our first parents will come to fulfillment.
We are created in God’s image and likeness; the image and likeness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are all created in the likeness of Their mutual, eternal, and perfect love.
God created the world out of His goodness, out of His perfect love. We cannot explain or define God’s love nor can we fall back on our reason to plumb its depths. There is no reason for His love; His love is its own reason. We must simply accept and respect its reality and truth.
Because God established us in love, created us in love, and because He wrote the model of His love within each and every human being, the good news tells us that His law is within us, it is written upon our hearts; He is our God, and we are His people.
You, me, our friends, neighbors, and our enemies, we all have God’s law written on our hearts. We are all His children. We are all His people.
Jesus called upon us to do right. He didn’t tell us to do right in everything except… everything but… He told us to do right, to love our enemies —“ because doing so has value, because doing so is hard. If we are to be Jesus’ brothers and sisters, if we are to be co-heirs with Him, if we are to follow Him into His glory, we have to do the difficult. We have to recognize Him in those where it is hardest to see His image.
Is it hard and risky? —“ Most certainly! Is it difficult to choose peace, prayer, and reconciliation over anger and hatred? —“ Yes!
St. John tells us that:
Our love is brought to perfection in this; that we should have confidence on the day of judgment; for our relation to this world is just like His.
We aren’t just supposed to be close to Jesus —“ we are to be like Him. He is God among us, God in the flesh —“ understanding all there is to know about the human condition. On the Day of Judgment we should have confidence because we dealt with the world just like Jesus did.
Like Jesus we set ourselves aside to serve our brothers and sisters. We counted gain only in serving the Father, and we set our lives aside for the redemption of the world. Is this true for you, for me? If not, when will it be true?
The truth we need to recognize, the thing we need to do, is to recognize that the closer we are to Christ and His cross, the closer we will be to Him in His glory.
There is nothing to be afraid of. St. John states very simply:
Perfect love casts out all fear.
Jesus teaches us about paying the price. He teaches us what it means to be in a relationship with the Father and with our brothers and sisters. He tells us, through the story of the Good Samaritan, that we are to pay whatever is required to care for, to love, to forgive, and to sacrifice for all of humanity. The Samaritan says:
If there is any further expense I will repay you on my way back
No limit, no set definitions —“ do whatever it takes. Do whatever it takes to recognize God in our brothers and sisters —“ indeed His law is written in each of our hearts.
Lud twój, o Boże, miej w nieustannej opiece i zsyłaj mu gorliwych kapłanów i biskupów, broń go w potrzebie i wspieraj łaską, z którą współpracując dostąpi zbawienia. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.