>>>This is all over the internet and facebook. I'm laughing out loud as Chase Bank tries to explain this major screw up. Let me get this straight; in order to not offend maybe 1 or 2% of their overly sensitive customers, they kick Christmas, which is celebrated by probably 95% of their customers, to the curb. Since my real day job is at another major bank (yes, the one with that whats in your wallet) I would like to say thanks Chase; you make my job so much easier. What's next: gonna kick a dog or something!
Chase orders Southlake bank to remove Christmas tree
By Terry Evans
SOUTHLAKE -- Chase Bank told a businessman to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people.
Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake, had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients.
The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said his friend called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it.
The bank referred questions to corporate offices.
Greg Hassell, a JPMorgan Chase spokesman, said that the company's policy isn't anti-Christmas. "People wish their customers merry Christmas when it's appropriate," he said.
However, to ensure that everyone who visits Chase branches feels welcome and comfortable, the bank's policy is to use only decorations supplied by the company.
"We appreciate the thoughtful gesture from Mr. Morales," Hassell said. "Unfortunately, we're unable to keep it [the tree] on display for the remainder of the holiday season." JPMorgan Chase ensures that decorations are "something everyone is comfortable with, regardless of how they celebrate the season," Hassell said.
But others see the tree as a symbol of the season.
A spokeswoman at Trinity Bank in Fort Worth said it has had a tree in its lobby since the Friday after Thanksgiving.
"I've been in this business more than 30 years, and every place I've worked we've put up a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving," said Linda Robertson, assistant vice president.
Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, called Chase's decision absurd.
"According to Advertising Age, 91 percent of American people celebrate Christmas," Fischer said. "That means that the single most inoffensive thing you can do at this time of year is wish someone a merry Christmas."
Fischer said that companies that have gotten away from acknowledging Christmas claim that they do it because they want to be inclusive.
"The most inclusive thing you can do is wish someone merry Christmas," he said. "This means that Chase is running the risk of offending far more people by disrespecting Christmas than they are by honoring it."
Hassell said that the Southlake branch was supplied with stickers that resemble Christmas lights. Company-supplied decorations vary at other branches, he said.
"Normally they're small, not intrusive. I'm not sure this [Morales'] Christmas tree was intrusive. That's not really the issue here. It isn't a company-supplied decoration."
Hassell said the policy has been around for a few years, and that decorations change every year.
Morales said that he enjoys the Christmas season so much that he decorated 35 trees at his home.
"I'm known for my Christmas trees," he said.
In fact, Morales shared his talent this season with his landlord, a plastic surgeon.
"I put a tree up in his office," he said. "It doesn't offend him, and he's Jewish."
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Steps along the path: Reader and Acolyte
Most Catholics are familiar with the three levels of Holy Orders: Bishop, Priest and Deacon. Of course the Permanent Deacon, despite unprecedented growth, is misunderstood by many. We always go back to Scripture, particularly the 6th chapter of Acts of the Apostles, to see the genesis of the diaconate. We can further heed the instructions by St. Paul about qulaifications for the Deacon(1 Timothy 3:8) (also see references in Romans 15:25, Ephesians 3:7). The charism of service for the Deacon can be attributed to Matthew 20:28. Church fathers wrote extensively of Deacons, notably Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome. And the great example of Deacons through the ages like St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, St. Francis, to name a few, are well known to many a Catholic.
Today, as the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate is about 40 years old, candidates for ordination as a Deacon are subject to about 5 years of intense formation. After a period of inquiry, a man contemplating God's call to be a Deacon must submit an application and be subject to interviews, testing and scrutiny. If selected, he enters a full year of Aspirancy; a time when he receives instruction as he aspires to make a second application or request to be a candidate. Once a candidiate he will face institution to two minor orders of the church: reader and acolyte. Reader is distinguished from lector, although the duties are very similar. The difference is that reader is an instituted ministry, currently reserved to someone in formal pursuit of possible ordination. All of the candidiates for the Permanent Diaconate are instituted as Reader and serve in this role for at least a minimum of six months.
After Reader the candidate approaches the minor order of acolyte. This too is an instituted order and immediately precedes ordination. A candidate may serve as an instituted acolyte for a period of 6 months or longer depending on the needs of the formation process and perhaps the diocese. In my case, in post-Katrina New Orleans, I served as acolyte for a period of over 2 years. Acolytes are seen on the altar, they look like adult altar servers. They carry the cross in procession, light candles, may prepare the altar or assist the deacon or priest in doing so. He may be asked to distribute communion, as an extraordinary minister but one who is instituted. Like reader, the minor order of acolyte is only to be given to those in formation to be ordained as clergy.
Today our 2012 candidates were given instructions on the ministry of and functions of the acolyte. Soon these men will have completed 6 months as instituted readers and will become eligible to be instituted as acolytes. When this will take place is yet to be decided but for a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate it is fertile training ground for service and movement on the altar once ordained.
We come full circle. As our class of 2012 was receiving instructions about the order of acolyte, our 2010 class, currently acolytes, are preparing for their transition as ordination is now just one short week away.
Today, as the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate is about 40 years old, candidates for ordination as a Deacon are subject to about 5 years of intense formation. After a period of inquiry, a man contemplating God's call to be a Deacon must submit an application and be subject to interviews, testing and scrutiny. If selected, he enters a full year of Aspirancy; a time when he receives instruction as he aspires to make a second application or request to be a candidate. Once a candidiate he will face institution to two minor orders of the church: reader and acolyte. Reader is distinguished from lector, although the duties are very similar. The difference is that reader is an instituted ministry, currently reserved to someone in formal pursuit of possible ordination. All of the candidiates for the Permanent Diaconate are instituted as Reader and serve in this role for at least a minimum of six months.
After Reader the candidate approaches the minor order of acolyte. This too is an instituted order and immediately precedes ordination. A candidate may serve as an instituted acolyte for a period of 6 months or longer depending on the needs of the formation process and perhaps the diocese. In my case, in post-Katrina New Orleans, I served as acolyte for a period of over 2 years. Acolytes are seen on the altar, they look like adult altar servers. They carry the cross in procession, light candles, may prepare the altar or assist the deacon or priest in doing so. He may be asked to distribute communion, as an extraordinary minister but one who is instituted. Like reader, the minor order of acolyte is only to be given to those in formation to be ordained as clergy.
Today our 2012 candidates were given instructions on the ministry of and functions of the acolyte. Soon these men will have completed 6 months as instituted readers and will become eligible to be instituted as acolytes. When this will take place is yet to be decided but for a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate it is fertile training ground for service and movement on the altar once ordained.
We come full circle. As our class of 2012 was receiving instructions about the order of acolyte, our 2010 class, currently acolytes, are preparing for their transition as ordination is now just one short week away.
Homily 2nd Sunday of Advent - December 5, 2010
I want you to show me the way!
I doubt that Peter Frampton was pondering Advent or thinking about John the Baptist when he wrote the lyrics to this song. Truth is; we do want people to show us the way.
All through our lives others help us by showing us the way. From our parents, teachers, supervisors, mentors, leaders; all these and more show us the way. And we too have probably helped others by showing them the way.
On this second Sunday in Advent, do we follow those who are showing us the way? Today our Advent lessons are from Isaiah and John the Baptist, among others, who show us the way to Jesus and His ministry of salvation.
In Matthew’s Gospel we glimpse the most common image of John the Baptist. There he is in the wilderness, proclaiming the coming of the Lord, preaching repentance, clothed in camel’s hair, wild looking to many and eating locusts and honey. And his message: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. The author of our first reading, I call him the Advent prophet, Isaiah, in another verse describes John the Baptist: a voice crying in the wilderness; prepare a way for the Lord; make straight his paths.
We remember from previous Advents that many incorrectly believed that it was John the Baptist who was the Messiah. But John always set them straight; it is not I it is another. So convinced that it might be John the Baptist even the Pharisees and Sadducees went out to see John the Baptist in action. What a mistake. As soon as the Baptist sees them he cries out: you brood of vipers. Not exactly a warm friendly greeting, but John, Israel’s first prophet in more than two centuries, knew that these Pharisees and Sadducees would not make a straight path for the One who is to come. Many of them would be his adversary during the years of His public ministry.
We should take special note of the line in today’s Gospel that says: even now the axe is laid at the roots of the trees. Even in these early days of Advent we are given a clear reminder that the straight path that Jesus will follow for our salvation leads to His death on a tree; the crucifix of Calvary.
What should we take away this Sunday from John the Baptist and his powerful message? Can we focus on our Advent; are we taking the time to reflect on Jesus’ coming or do we get too distracted with the worldliness of “the holidays”? Do we even understand that we are preparing for so much more than commemorating the birth of Jesus or standing next to the crèche focusing on His birth? Yes, we celebrate his birthday, but Advent should also be a time of personal preparation and reflection as Jesus comes to us today, in His Word, the liturgy and the Eucharist. And Advent should be about preparing for not just His coming as a baby, but his second coming in all His glory!
Are we reflecting daily in Advent with the Word of God? Are we focusing our prayer life in Advent on Jesus and His coming? Are we preparing ourselves by going to reconciliation? Are we helping others have a straight path by participating in our “star tree” program for the neediest children in our area, or making food and gifts available to the food bank? Or can some among us share this good news, this powerful message of the Baptist who proclaims the coming of the Lord? This Advent, can we share the message of hope and joy with just one person who so desperately needs to hear it?
Peter Frampton had a pretty good idea with his song, show me the way. But John the Baptist calls us; he shows us the way to Jesus.
And someone out there needs you to show them the way. Everyday!
I doubt that Peter Frampton was pondering Advent or thinking about John the Baptist when he wrote the lyrics to this song. Truth is; we do want people to show us the way.
All through our lives others help us by showing us the way. From our parents, teachers, supervisors, mentors, leaders; all these and more show us the way. And we too have probably helped others by showing them the way.
On this second Sunday in Advent, do we follow those who are showing us the way? Today our Advent lessons are from Isaiah and John the Baptist, among others, who show us the way to Jesus and His ministry of salvation.
In Matthew’s Gospel we glimpse the most common image of John the Baptist. There he is in the wilderness, proclaiming the coming of the Lord, preaching repentance, clothed in camel’s hair, wild looking to many and eating locusts and honey. And his message: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. The author of our first reading, I call him the Advent prophet, Isaiah, in another verse describes John the Baptist: a voice crying in the wilderness; prepare a way for the Lord; make straight his paths.
We remember from previous Advents that many incorrectly believed that it was John the Baptist who was the Messiah. But John always set them straight; it is not I it is another. So convinced that it might be John the Baptist even the Pharisees and Sadducees went out to see John the Baptist in action. What a mistake. As soon as the Baptist sees them he cries out: you brood of vipers. Not exactly a warm friendly greeting, but John, Israel’s first prophet in more than two centuries, knew that these Pharisees and Sadducees would not make a straight path for the One who is to come. Many of them would be his adversary during the years of His public ministry.
We should take special note of the line in today’s Gospel that says: even now the axe is laid at the roots of the trees. Even in these early days of Advent we are given a clear reminder that the straight path that Jesus will follow for our salvation leads to His death on a tree; the crucifix of Calvary.
What should we take away this Sunday from John the Baptist and his powerful message? Can we focus on our Advent; are we taking the time to reflect on Jesus’ coming or do we get too distracted with the worldliness of “the holidays”? Do we even understand that we are preparing for so much more than commemorating the birth of Jesus or standing next to the crèche focusing on His birth? Yes, we celebrate his birthday, but Advent should also be a time of personal preparation and reflection as Jesus comes to us today, in His Word, the liturgy and the Eucharist. And Advent should be about preparing for not just His coming as a baby, but his second coming in all His glory!
Are we reflecting daily in Advent with the Word of God? Are we focusing our prayer life in Advent on Jesus and His coming? Are we preparing ourselves by going to reconciliation? Are we helping others have a straight path by participating in our “star tree” program for the neediest children in our area, or making food and gifts available to the food bank? Or can some among us share this good news, this powerful message of the Baptist who proclaims the coming of the Lord? This Advent, can we share the message of hope and joy with just one person who so desperately needs to hear it?
Peter Frampton had a pretty good idea with his song, show me the way. But John the Baptist calls us; he shows us the way to Jesus.
And someone out there needs you to show them the way. Everyday!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Advent and the Eucharist
>>>This being the 1st Friday of the month we have Adoration & Benediction. It is the only 1st Friday in Advent. So I got to thinking, how could I tie the Blessed Sacrament to Advent for tonights Benediction. And I came across this article. Enjoy:
Christ is already here, in the Eucharist
By Mike Aquilina
Around the year 1208, Christ appeared to a Belgian child named Juliana. On that day, and on many occasions through the following decades, Jesus granted Juliana many special revelations about the sacrament of his body and blood: the Holy Eucharist. Christ told her that the sacrament had always been in the mind of the Trinity.
That seems obvious. If God knows everything, then he always knew about the Eucharist. So what? He always knew about carburetors, too.
But his knowledge of carburetors was not built into the fabric of creation and history the way the Eucharist was. For the Eucharist would be the sacrament of his coming to earth — the perpetual Advent of the Lord in history. It was for the sake of Holy Communion with us that God created the world. It was for the sake of the Eucharist that He created us with an instinctive desire to eat.
It was for the sake of the Eucharist that He created fields to grow wheat and vines to grow grapes. The ancient Christians knew that the Eucharist was central to the Gospel, and so to all of history. The meaning of the Gospel was summed up in the event they called the Paschal Mystery, and that event began on Holy Thursday, with the first Mass.
Indeed, the Communion of God and man is the reason for Christmas. That’s why Jesus chose for his birthplace the town of Bethlehem, whose name means “House of Bread.” That’s also why, when long-ago artists painted the Nativity, they showed Jesus in the manger, the cattle’s feedbox, lying on sheaves of wheat.
Christmas, like every Christian feast, is a Eucharistic feast. And Advent is our preparation for Communion on that day.
Reaping the Prophets
The season of Advent is all about preparing for Christ’s coming — preparing to welcome Christ.
Through these four weeks, the Scriptures we hear at Mass remind us of the many centuries during which God prepared his chosen people for the coming of Jesus. The prophets and the psalmist cry out with longing and impatience: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” “O Lord — how long?”
The whole world, in those days, was waiting for its first Christmas, though no one knew quite how God would fulfill that longing.
Today, the world still longs for fulfillment, but now we know why. St. Paul wrote to the first Roman Christians: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:22).
Do we, too, feel that groaning, that longing, that holy impatience to be filled, to be fulfilled, in Holy Communion? If not, then we should have a clear focus for our efforts this Advent. For everything in Advent is arranged to be a preparation for Jesus’ coming. Like Israel, we are preparing for his coming on Christmas. Like St. Paul, we wait in joyful hope for His coming at the end of time.
Yet it’s also our privilege to experience his coming daily. Catholic scholar Scott Hahn often points out that, when Christ comes at the end of time, he won’t have a drop more glory than he has now in the Eucharist.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that she could call forth divine power to transform her life if only she knew the “gift of God” who was visiting her (see Jn 4:10). We, too, need to know the gift we’ve been given. We need to know him, to long for him with a holy impatience, to “groan inwardly” as we prepare for his advent in Holy Communion.
This season, we can make an extra effort to prepare for Holy Communion. Catholic tradition offers us many practical helps.
1. Go to confession.
The earliest text of the Mass that we possess, apart from the New Testament, is the Didache, which was written in Antioch perhaps as early as 60 A.D. In it we find the exhortation to “gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanks after having confessed your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure.” The sacrifice hasn’t changed in 2,000 years, and neither has human nature. We need to shed the weight of our sins before we can hurry to the altar.
2. Pray “Spiritual Communions”
By stating our desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we can receive many of the spiritual benefits of Holy Communion. This is the teaching of the Council of Trent and of many spiritual masters. Such a short prayer is called a “spiritual communion.” It’s a small investment of time and effort that pays a big dividend in the soul.
3. Dress up to the occasion
We tend to dress up for important events (a job interview or a big date) and dress down for unimportant things (house work or sports). What we put on can greatly influence how we think, feel and act. So when we go to Mass, we should take care with our appearance. We don’t need to drag out our tuxedo or evening gown, but we should at least be clean, groomed and respectably clad.
4. Arrive early
It takes time to leave behind the busyness of the day and sink slowly into meditative worship. If you always arrive breathless as the Mass is beginning, you’ll likely spend the first half of Mass trying to catch up with the mystery. Try to get there at least five or 10 minutes before.
5. Go more often
J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of “The Lord of the Rings,” said it best. He wrote to his son: “The only cure for sagging of faith is Communion.… [T]he Blessed Sacrament does not operate completely and once for all in any of us. Like the act of Faith it must be continuous and grow by exercise. Frequency is of the highest effect. Seven times a week is more nourishing than seven times at intervals.”
A welcoming attitude
In fourth-century Africa, during the Emperor Diocletian’s ruthless persecution of the church, the civil authorities rounded up a large number of Christians while they were attending Mass. Their interrogators asked them why they exposed themselves to such danger. They responded simply: “We cannot live without the Mass.”
That’s the attitude of a Christian. That’s the attitude we want to have.
Aquilina is author or editor of more than a dozen books on Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion. He is vice president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology based in Ohio.
Christ is already here, in the Eucharist
By Mike Aquilina
Around the year 1208, Christ appeared to a Belgian child named Juliana. On that day, and on many occasions through the following decades, Jesus granted Juliana many special revelations about the sacrament of his body and blood: the Holy Eucharist. Christ told her that the sacrament had always been in the mind of the Trinity.
That seems obvious. If God knows everything, then he always knew about the Eucharist. So what? He always knew about carburetors, too.
But his knowledge of carburetors was not built into the fabric of creation and history the way the Eucharist was. For the Eucharist would be the sacrament of his coming to earth — the perpetual Advent of the Lord in history. It was for the sake of Holy Communion with us that God created the world. It was for the sake of the Eucharist that He created us with an instinctive desire to eat.
It was for the sake of the Eucharist that He created fields to grow wheat and vines to grow grapes. The ancient Christians knew that the Eucharist was central to the Gospel, and so to all of history. The meaning of the Gospel was summed up in the event they called the Paschal Mystery, and that event began on Holy Thursday, with the first Mass.
Indeed, the Communion of God and man is the reason for Christmas. That’s why Jesus chose for his birthplace the town of Bethlehem, whose name means “House of Bread.” That’s also why, when long-ago artists painted the Nativity, they showed Jesus in the manger, the cattle’s feedbox, lying on sheaves of wheat.
Christmas, like every Christian feast, is a Eucharistic feast. And Advent is our preparation for Communion on that day.
Reaping the Prophets
The season of Advent is all about preparing for Christ’s coming — preparing to welcome Christ.
Through these four weeks, the Scriptures we hear at Mass remind us of the many centuries during which God prepared his chosen people for the coming of Jesus. The prophets and the psalmist cry out with longing and impatience: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” “O Lord — how long?”
The whole world, in those days, was waiting for its first Christmas, though no one knew quite how God would fulfill that longing.
Today, the world still longs for fulfillment, but now we know why. St. Paul wrote to the first Roman Christians: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:22).
Do we, too, feel that groaning, that longing, that holy impatience to be filled, to be fulfilled, in Holy Communion? If not, then we should have a clear focus for our efforts this Advent. For everything in Advent is arranged to be a preparation for Jesus’ coming. Like Israel, we are preparing for his coming on Christmas. Like St. Paul, we wait in joyful hope for His coming at the end of time.
Yet it’s also our privilege to experience his coming daily. Catholic scholar Scott Hahn often points out that, when Christ comes at the end of time, he won’t have a drop more glory than he has now in the Eucharist.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that she could call forth divine power to transform her life if only she knew the “gift of God” who was visiting her (see Jn 4:10). We, too, need to know the gift we’ve been given. We need to know him, to long for him with a holy impatience, to “groan inwardly” as we prepare for his advent in Holy Communion.
This season, we can make an extra effort to prepare for Holy Communion. Catholic tradition offers us many practical helps.
1. Go to confession.
The earliest text of the Mass that we possess, apart from the New Testament, is the Didache, which was written in Antioch perhaps as early as 60 A.D. In it we find the exhortation to “gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanks after having confessed your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure.” The sacrifice hasn’t changed in 2,000 years, and neither has human nature. We need to shed the weight of our sins before we can hurry to the altar.
2. Pray “Spiritual Communions”
By stating our desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we can receive many of the spiritual benefits of Holy Communion. This is the teaching of the Council of Trent and of many spiritual masters. Such a short prayer is called a “spiritual communion.” It’s a small investment of time and effort that pays a big dividend in the soul.
3. Dress up to the occasion
We tend to dress up for important events (a job interview or a big date) and dress down for unimportant things (house work or sports). What we put on can greatly influence how we think, feel and act. So when we go to Mass, we should take care with our appearance. We don’t need to drag out our tuxedo or evening gown, but we should at least be clean, groomed and respectably clad.
4. Arrive early
It takes time to leave behind the busyness of the day and sink slowly into meditative worship. If you always arrive breathless as the Mass is beginning, you’ll likely spend the first half of Mass trying to catch up with the mystery. Try to get there at least five or 10 minutes before.
5. Go more often
J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of “The Lord of the Rings,” said it best. He wrote to his son: “The only cure for sagging of faith is Communion.… [T]he Blessed Sacrament does not operate completely and once for all in any of us. Like the act of Faith it must be continuous and grow by exercise. Frequency is of the highest effect. Seven times a week is more nourishing than seven times at intervals.”
A welcoming attitude
In fourth-century Africa, during the Emperor Diocletian’s ruthless persecution of the church, the civil authorities rounded up a large number of Christians while they were attending Mass. Their interrogators asked them why they exposed themselves to such danger. They responded simply: “We cannot live without the Mass.”
That’s the attitude of a Christian. That’s the attitude we want to have.
Aquilina is author or editor of more than a dozen books on Catholic history, doctrine, and devotion. He is vice president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology based in Ohio.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Great essay about being divorced and Catholic
Healing for divorced Catholics
God loves, comforts and blesses the divorced who turn to him in their sorrow
By Susan K. Rowland - OSV Newsweekly, 12/12/2010
It’s hard to overcome an attitude. Especially an attitude that is well buried in the consciousness of a whole group of people.
What attitude? The one that says we divorced Catholics did something wrong, or did not try hard enough, or perhaps aren’t as “spiritual” as others. In a Church that is strongly pro-marriage, as it should be, the huge numbers of us who are divorced are an embarrassment, to say the least.
My biggest problem with this attitude is that … I used to be that way. I wasn’t exactly judgmental, but I believed deep down that there is always something a couple can do to improve, even save, a rocky marriage. There is nothing like going through the worst nightmare imaginable to change our deepest assumptions.
How can we, the faithful Body of Christ, be both uncompromising about the seriousness and beauty of the marital covenant, and accepting and loving, without judgment, those among us who are the survivors of divorce? The Church must walk a fine line between the two; for while God ordained marriage and is uncompromising about its covenantal character, God also loves, comforts and blesses the divorced who turn to him in their sorrow.
What did Jesus do?
We do not have to guess “what would Jesus do?” regarding the divorced. The fourth chapter of John’s Gospel has a detailed account of the most famous divorcee of the New Testament: the woman of Samaria who encountered Jesus at Jacob’s well. Jesus did not scold her, tell her she needed to get her act together or call her a sinner. Instead, Jesus offered himself to her as the “living water” she was really searching for in all her marriages.
That is what the Church as an institution and each of its individual members can do for the divorced: offer Jesus as the balm for our souls. We do not need lectures about the permanence of marriage. We expected our marriages to last “until death do us part,” and we are heartbroken that did not happen. We certainly don’t need condemnation, exclusion or embarrassment, whether overt or veiled. We need Jesus, and we need you to love us as Jesus does.
Better preparation, but ...
When we look at the dismal divorce statistics among Catholics, it is natural to ask, What has happened to us? Why are we getting divorced at about the same rate as everyone else in our society? The Church is made up of normal human beings. Thus the Church mirrors life in our culture. The Church may be countercultural, but we are not separate from our culture. As Jesus put it, we are in the world, but not of it.
Until rather recently, a Catholic couple wanting to get married needed only to show up at the pastor’s office, declare their intentions and set the date. They may not have been regular churchgoers. They may not have belonged to the parish. Some priests insisted on a minimum of parish involvement before the wedding, but many did not. Later, more requirements were added. Couples were required to go to “Pre-Cana” classes, but little individual scrutiny was involved, and these classes were considered just another “hoop” a couple jumped through to get to the wedding. Spiritual preparation was a much lower priority than choosing the caterer, the wedding gown and the bridesmaids.
It seems to me that the Church, until recently, was telling newly married couples: “You’re on your own now. If it’s hard, suffering is part of life, so offer it up. Make it work. Forgive and forget. Go to Mass and confession. Pray. Everything will work out.” Perhaps in a society where the extended family was still available to support young couples and where the parish was the center of social life for Catholics, this was reasonable. What parish and diocesan leaders did not seem to notice was that society was changing. The extended family was no longer there for the new couple, either because of distance or dysfunction. And the parish is no longer the center of society for young Catholics. Newlywed couples, once the vows are spoken, can feel they are on their own to figure out what a “sacramental” marriage is.
Nowadays, it is not so easy to get married in a Catholic Church. Couples go through an extensive period of preparation and evaluation, meeting in groups and with stable, older married couples. They do psychological “inventories” that bring out incompatibilities. Their wedding may be delayed, or they may not be allowed to marry in the Catholic Church if there are deep problems. This may upset some couples, but, as a divorced Catholic, I think the Church’s new vigilance is a great thing.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has begun an initiative to strengthen marriages, prepare couples more thoroughly and be far more proactive than the Church has been in recent decades. Dioceses, such as the Diocese of Phoenix, are following suit, lengthening the mandatory preparation period and scrutinizing couples more closely for experiences and current “issues” that make marriage more difficult. I rejoice in these trends. Perhaps we can turn this huge ocean liner of divorce around and head in another direction.
But, what about us divorced Catholics? It is too late for us to do anything about our decisions made decades ago. But the Church could treat us better, with more respect.
Letting God in
I have heard so many heart-breaking stories of divorced Catholics who are still suffering from guilt years, even decades, after their divorce. More than anything, we need to support one another and to forgive ourselves. We need to turn to God, who does not condemn, but who always loves us. God’s love for us is not diminished by our divorces. God cannot be anyone other than who God is. And God is love.
One of the most troublesome Scripture passages for us divorced Catholics is Matthew 19:6: “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” During my divorce, no matter how loved and accepted by God I felt, reading this passage gave me the chills and made me doubt my decision. That is, until I figured out what Jesus was talking about.
There is an important caveat in this quotation: “What God has joined together.” Only marriages “joined by God” are truly sacramental. Here is the important question for any divorced Catholic: Did God join you and your ex-spouse in holy matrimony? Don’t be too quick to say yes just because you got married in a church and said the words you were told to say. Did you intend for God to join you? Did you ask God about it? Did you even talk to God back then? At the time of my marriage, 40 years ago, I had begun to pray and go to church again (after ignoring God throughout my teenage years), but it never occurred to me to ask God about or even include God in my marriage plans.
Many of you can say the same thing: God was simply not part of your life when you married. While that is cause for sorrow and regret, it is also an opportunity for healing, for seeing the progress you have made over the years. Understanding Jesus’ words in Matthew 19 can go a long way to scrutinizing our spiritual maturity and our ability to commit to a godly marriage in the beginning. And that, in turn, will help us to forgive ourselves and to rebuild our lives.
Overcoming attitudes
Yes, it is very difficult to overcome an attitude, especially the attitude that divorced Catholics are somehow infe-rior to those who have never suffered through a divorce. It is tragic that this is even an issue in the Body of Christ. While we are strengthening our marriage preparation requirements and supporting married couples, it is also time for the entire Church to let go of judging the divorced among us and follow the most important command Jesus has given us: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).
God loves, comforts and blesses the divorced who turn to him in their sorrow
By Susan K. Rowland - OSV Newsweekly, 12/12/2010
It’s hard to overcome an attitude. Especially an attitude that is well buried in the consciousness of a whole group of people.
What attitude? The one that says we divorced Catholics did something wrong, or did not try hard enough, or perhaps aren’t as “spiritual” as others. In a Church that is strongly pro-marriage, as it should be, the huge numbers of us who are divorced are an embarrassment, to say the least.
My biggest problem with this attitude is that … I used to be that way. I wasn’t exactly judgmental, but I believed deep down that there is always something a couple can do to improve, even save, a rocky marriage. There is nothing like going through the worst nightmare imaginable to change our deepest assumptions.
How can we, the faithful Body of Christ, be both uncompromising about the seriousness and beauty of the marital covenant, and accepting and loving, without judgment, those among us who are the survivors of divorce? The Church must walk a fine line between the two; for while God ordained marriage and is uncompromising about its covenantal character, God also loves, comforts and blesses the divorced who turn to him in their sorrow.
What did Jesus do?
We do not have to guess “what would Jesus do?” regarding the divorced. The fourth chapter of John’s Gospel has a detailed account of the most famous divorcee of the New Testament: the woman of Samaria who encountered Jesus at Jacob’s well. Jesus did not scold her, tell her she needed to get her act together or call her a sinner. Instead, Jesus offered himself to her as the “living water” she was really searching for in all her marriages.
That is what the Church as an institution and each of its individual members can do for the divorced: offer Jesus as the balm for our souls. We do not need lectures about the permanence of marriage. We expected our marriages to last “until death do us part,” and we are heartbroken that did not happen. We certainly don’t need condemnation, exclusion or embarrassment, whether overt or veiled. We need Jesus, and we need you to love us as Jesus does.
Better preparation, but ...
When we look at the dismal divorce statistics among Catholics, it is natural to ask, What has happened to us? Why are we getting divorced at about the same rate as everyone else in our society? The Church is made up of normal human beings. Thus the Church mirrors life in our culture. The Church may be countercultural, but we are not separate from our culture. As Jesus put it, we are in the world, but not of it.
Until rather recently, a Catholic couple wanting to get married needed only to show up at the pastor’s office, declare their intentions and set the date. They may not have been regular churchgoers. They may not have belonged to the parish. Some priests insisted on a minimum of parish involvement before the wedding, but many did not. Later, more requirements were added. Couples were required to go to “Pre-Cana” classes, but little individual scrutiny was involved, and these classes were considered just another “hoop” a couple jumped through to get to the wedding. Spiritual preparation was a much lower priority than choosing the caterer, the wedding gown and the bridesmaids.
It seems to me that the Church, until recently, was telling newly married couples: “You’re on your own now. If it’s hard, suffering is part of life, so offer it up. Make it work. Forgive and forget. Go to Mass and confession. Pray. Everything will work out.” Perhaps in a society where the extended family was still available to support young couples and where the parish was the center of social life for Catholics, this was reasonable. What parish and diocesan leaders did not seem to notice was that society was changing. The extended family was no longer there for the new couple, either because of distance or dysfunction. And the parish is no longer the center of society for young Catholics. Newlywed couples, once the vows are spoken, can feel they are on their own to figure out what a “sacramental” marriage is.
Nowadays, it is not so easy to get married in a Catholic Church. Couples go through an extensive period of preparation and evaluation, meeting in groups and with stable, older married couples. They do psychological “inventories” that bring out incompatibilities. Their wedding may be delayed, or they may not be allowed to marry in the Catholic Church if there are deep problems. This may upset some couples, but, as a divorced Catholic, I think the Church’s new vigilance is a great thing.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has begun an initiative to strengthen marriages, prepare couples more thoroughly and be far more proactive than the Church has been in recent decades. Dioceses, such as the Diocese of Phoenix, are following suit, lengthening the mandatory preparation period and scrutinizing couples more closely for experiences and current “issues” that make marriage more difficult. I rejoice in these trends. Perhaps we can turn this huge ocean liner of divorce around and head in another direction.
But, what about us divorced Catholics? It is too late for us to do anything about our decisions made decades ago. But the Church could treat us better, with more respect.
Letting God in
I have heard so many heart-breaking stories of divorced Catholics who are still suffering from guilt years, even decades, after their divorce. More than anything, we need to support one another and to forgive ourselves. We need to turn to God, who does not condemn, but who always loves us. God’s love for us is not diminished by our divorces. God cannot be anyone other than who God is. And God is love.
One of the most troublesome Scripture passages for us divorced Catholics is Matthew 19:6: “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” During my divorce, no matter how loved and accepted by God I felt, reading this passage gave me the chills and made me doubt my decision. That is, until I figured out what Jesus was talking about.
There is an important caveat in this quotation: “What God has joined together.” Only marriages “joined by God” are truly sacramental. Here is the important question for any divorced Catholic: Did God join you and your ex-spouse in holy matrimony? Don’t be too quick to say yes just because you got married in a church and said the words you were told to say. Did you intend for God to join you? Did you ask God about it? Did you even talk to God back then? At the time of my marriage, 40 years ago, I had begun to pray and go to church again (after ignoring God throughout my teenage years), but it never occurred to me to ask God about or even include God in my marriage plans.
Many of you can say the same thing: God was simply not part of your life when you married. While that is cause for sorrow and regret, it is also an opportunity for healing, for seeing the progress you have made over the years. Understanding Jesus’ words in Matthew 19 can go a long way to scrutinizing our spiritual maturity and our ability to commit to a godly marriage in the beginning. And that, in turn, will help us to forgive ourselves and to rebuild our lives.
Overcoming attitudes
Yes, it is very difficult to overcome an attitude, especially the attitude that divorced Catholics are somehow infe-rior to those who have never suffered through a divorce. It is tragic that this is even an issue in the Body of Christ. While we are strengthening our marriage preparation requirements and supporting married couples, it is also time for the entire Church to let go of judging the divorced among us and follow the most important command Jesus has given us: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).
A great Jesuit Saint
St. Francis Xavier
Feastday: December 3
FRANCIS XAVIER, ST. (1506-1552). Born in the family castle of Xavier, near Pamplona in the Basque area of Spanish Navarre on Apr. 7, he was sent to the University of Paris 1525, secured his licentiate in 1528, met Ignatius Loyola and became one of the seven who in 1534, at Montmartre founded the Society of Jesus. In 1536 he left Paris to join Ignatius in Venice, from whence they all in tended to go as missionaries to Palestine (a trip which never materialized), was ordained there in 1537, went to Rome in 1538, and in 1540, when the pope formally recognized the Society, was ordered, with Fr. Simon Rodriguez, to the Far East as the first Jesuit missionaries. King John III kept Fr. Simon in Lisbon, but Francis, after a year's voyage, six months of which were spent at Mozambique where he preached and gave aid to the sick eventually arrived in Goa, India in 1542 with Fr. Paul of Camerino an Italian, and Francis Mansihas, a Portuguese. There he began preaching to the natives and attempted to reform his fellow Europeans, living among the natives and adopting their customs on his travels. During the next decade he converted tens of thousands to Christianity. He visited the Paravas at the tip of India. near Cape Comorin, Tuticorin (1542), Malacca (1545), the Moluccas near New Guinea and Morotai near the Philippines (1546-47), and Japan (1549- 51). In 1551, India and the East were set up as a separate province and Ignatius made Francis its first provincial. In 1552 he set out for China, landed on the island of Sancian within sight of his goal, but died before he reached the mainland. Working against great difficulties, language problems ( contrary to legend, he had no proficiency in foreign tongues ), inadequate funds, and lack of cooperation, often actual resistance, from European officials, he left the mark of his missionary zeal and energy on areas which clung to Christianity for centuries. He was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed patron of all foreign missions by Pope Pius X. F. D. Dec. 3.
Feastday: December 3
FRANCIS XAVIER, ST. (1506-1552). Born in the family castle of Xavier, near Pamplona in the Basque area of Spanish Navarre on Apr. 7, he was sent to the University of Paris 1525, secured his licentiate in 1528, met Ignatius Loyola and became one of the seven who in 1534, at Montmartre founded the Society of Jesus. In 1536 he left Paris to join Ignatius in Venice, from whence they all in tended to go as missionaries to Palestine (a trip which never materialized), was ordained there in 1537, went to Rome in 1538, and in 1540, when the pope formally recognized the Society, was ordered, with Fr. Simon Rodriguez, to the Far East as the first Jesuit missionaries. King John III kept Fr. Simon in Lisbon, but Francis, after a year's voyage, six months of which were spent at Mozambique where he preached and gave aid to the sick eventually arrived in Goa, India in 1542 with Fr. Paul of Camerino an Italian, and Francis Mansihas, a Portuguese. There he began preaching to the natives and attempted to reform his fellow Europeans, living among the natives and adopting their customs on his travels. During the next decade he converted tens of thousands to Christianity. He visited the Paravas at the tip of India. near Cape Comorin, Tuticorin (1542), Malacca (1545), the Moluccas near New Guinea and Morotai near the Philippines (1546-47), and Japan (1549- 51). In 1551, India and the East were set up as a separate province and Ignatius made Francis its first provincial. In 1552 he set out for China, landed on the island of Sancian within sight of his goal, but died before he reached the mainland. Working against great difficulties, language problems ( contrary to legend, he had no proficiency in foreign tongues ), inadequate funds, and lack of cooperation, often actual resistance, from European officials, he left the mark of his missionary zeal and energy on areas which clung to Christianity for centuries. He was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed patron of all foreign missions by Pope Pius X. F. D. Dec. 3.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Happy Hanukkah
>>>>Tonight at sundown the Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins. Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends! The following is from a Jewish website Chabad.org.
Chanukah in a Nutshell
With a Medley of Chanukah Links
Chanukah -- the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev -- celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.
When they sought to light the Temple's menorah (the seven branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah (candelabrum) lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.
On Chanukah we also add the Hallel and Al HaNissim in our daily prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for "delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the hands of the righteous."
Chanukah customs include eating foods fried in oil -- latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there"); and the giving of Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.
Chanukah in a Nutshell
With a Medley of Chanukah Links
Chanukah -- the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev -- celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.
When they sought to light the Temple's menorah (the seven branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah (candelabrum) lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.
On Chanukah we also add the Hallel and Al HaNissim in our daily prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for "delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the hands of the righteous."
Chanukah customs include eating foods fried in oil -- latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there"); and the giving of Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.
December; the best month of the year
Perhaps...It certainly falls in the middle of the best six months of the year as far as I'm concerned. By far, October through March is so much nicer than April through September. And on this December 1st in the deep south we are anticipating tempertures below freezing tonight. And with this type of cold weather comes wonderfully low humidity and air you can actually breathe without fear of drowning.
December is a great month for obvious reasons but let's look at a few other reasons. We get to celebrate 23 days of Advent, a season that gets no play in the secular world. The wonderful graced filled season of Advent allows those who celebrate it a time for a break; a break to savor anticipation and reflection on how waiting for Christmas, and the birth of Christ, gives focus on waiting for Christ's 2nd coming and the daily coming to each us personally. Advent gives us an opportunity to pray with those rich Scriptures from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah and Malachi. And the wonderful Gospel stories of John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph. December gives us the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Gaudalupe. December is a liturgical feast.
This December we will witness the ordination of 10 new Permanent Deacons for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. This is a wonderful blessing for each of them and the diaconate community in general. December 11th is the big date. What an awesome reminder that just two days later, December 13th will be the 2nd anniversary of my ordination as a Deacon!
December also means some home time for the prodigal daughter, family get togethers and some much needed time off from work at month's end. And we celebrate my wife's birthday in December too. And we are very hopeful we will see a December surge for the New Orleans Saints!
So bring on the cold weather, the Advent preparation and Christmas celebrations; this is the best month of the year!
December is a great month for obvious reasons but let's look at a few other reasons. We get to celebrate 23 days of Advent, a season that gets no play in the secular world. The wonderful graced filled season of Advent allows those who celebrate it a time for a break; a break to savor anticipation and reflection on how waiting for Christmas, and the birth of Christ, gives focus on waiting for Christ's 2nd coming and the daily coming to each us personally. Advent gives us an opportunity to pray with those rich Scriptures from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah and Malachi. And the wonderful Gospel stories of John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph. December gives us the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Gaudalupe. December is a liturgical feast.
This December we will witness the ordination of 10 new Permanent Deacons for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. This is a wonderful blessing for each of them and the diaconate community in general. December 11th is the big date. What an awesome reminder that just two days later, December 13th will be the 2nd anniversary of my ordination as a Deacon!
December also means some home time for the prodigal daughter, family get togethers and some much needed time off from work at month's end. And we celebrate my wife's birthday in December too. And we are very hopeful we will see a December surge for the New Orleans Saints!
So bring on the cold weather, the Advent preparation and Christmas celebrations; this is the best month of the year!
Facts and a Prayer for World AIDS day
Quick Facts
UNAIDS estimates that 33.2 million people globally are living with HIV. This number includes an estimated 2.5 million children under the age of 15 years.
The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries has increased tenfold since the end of 2001, almost to 3 million. However, only 31 percent of people in need of treatment are currently receiving it.
Worldwide the Catholic Church provides care for one out of every four people living with HIV. (Source: Caritas Internationalis)
Catholic Relief Services began supporting its first HIV project in Bangkok, Thailand in 1986. In 2007, we directly served more than 4 million people.
Through the AIDSRelief Project, CRS helps provide lifesaving antiretroviral therapy to more than 132,000 people living with HIV in nine countries; more than 100,000 are children. An additional 216,000 people who do not yet require medication are receiving other kinds of care.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World AIDS Day: Let us pray...
We bring our prayers before a God who knows our prayers
before we pray them, who in listening to our intercessions
helps us to acknowledge the desires of our own hearts.
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of compassion, many step away from people with HIV
out of ignorance, or fear or denial.
Help us to step toward our brothers and sisters who have HIV,
those who are an ocean away
and those on the sidewalks down which we walk.
Help us stand in solidarity with their suffering,
in recognition of their worth.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of the poor,
AIDS does not discriminate by race or religion or economic class.
But people do.
Help us to respond to the cry of the poor
for HIV medications and health care,
for food, for education, for communities of support.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of the orphan, there are villages in Africa
where all of the adults have died of AIDS;
only their children remain.
Help us to create a global village that will raise these children
in love and hope into a secure future.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of justice,
our nation has the power to fund a large percentage of the efforts
that will slow the spread of global HIV.
Strengthen our call for a U.S. response
that is wise and immediate and generous.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of our inmost hurts and heartbreaks,
AIDS reaches us where we live.
Be with us as we call to mind the people we have loved,
known or encountered
who are living with or who have died from AIDS...
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
We have brought our prayers for healing and compassion before God.
Let us go forth as compassionate healers into a world
that awaits the full Reign of God.
We pray this in Jesus’ name….
Amen.
UNAIDS estimates that 33.2 million people globally are living with HIV. This number includes an estimated 2.5 million children under the age of 15 years.
The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries has increased tenfold since the end of 2001, almost to 3 million. However, only 31 percent of people in need of treatment are currently receiving it.
Worldwide the Catholic Church provides care for one out of every four people living with HIV. (Source: Caritas Internationalis)
Catholic Relief Services began supporting its first HIV project in Bangkok, Thailand in 1986. In 2007, we directly served more than 4 million people.
Through the AIDSRelief Project, CRS helps provide lifesaving antiretroviral therapy to more than 132,000 people living with HIV in nine countries; more than 100,000 are children. An additional 216,000 people who do not yet require medication are receiving other kinds of care.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World AIDS Day: Let us pray...
We bring our prayers before a God who knows our prayers
before we pray them, who in listening to our intercessions
helps us to acknowledge the desires of our own hearts.
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of compassion, many step away from people with HIV
out of ignorance, or fear or denial.
Help us to step toward our brothers and sisters who have HIV,
those who are an ocean away
and those on the sidewalks down which we walk.
Help us stand in solidarity with their suffering,
in recognition of their worth.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of the poor,
AIDS does not discriminate by race or religion or economic class.
But people do.
Help us to respond to the cry of the poor
for HIV medications and health care,
for food, for education, for communities of support.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of the orphan, there are villages in Africa
where all of the adults have died of AIDS;
only their children remain.
Help us to create a global village that will raise these children
in love and hope into a secure future.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of justice,
our nation has the power to fund a large percentage of the efforts
that will slow the spread of global HIV.
Strengthen our call for a U.S. response
that is wise and immediate and generous.
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
God of our inmost hurts and heartbreaks,
AIDS reaches us where we live.
Be with us as we call to mind the people we have loved,
known or encountered
who are living with or who have died from AIDS...
We pray…
Bless us with compassionate hearts!
We have brought our prayers for healing and compassion before God.
Let us go forth as compassionate healers into a world
that awaits the full Reign of God.
We pray this in Jesus’ name….
Amen.
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