Weekly Reflection 092709AD

Sunday, Sep 27, 2009AD

26^th Sunday in Greentime

A Grand Tradition Continues

Every three years, we hear from the Letter of James. It is the letter that Martin Luther frowned upon when he called it ‘the epistle of straw”. Many would disagree with Luther about this because James presents some insights on ethical monotheism, Christian style, that believers can grasp. (Ethical monotheism is the moral behavior prompted by belief in one God.)

He addresses the distinctions made between the well to do and the poor. He addresses the injustices which are routinely perpetrated against the poor by the system. He addresses inadequate wages for back-breaking labor for tenant farmers, most of the population in the Holy Land then.

Since Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum , in 1891, Catholic socio-economic teachings have been called “one of the best-kept of our secrets.” Since then, the Vatican II, various Popes, conferences of bishops throughout the world have contributed to the development of Catholic Social Tradition.

Once, a monk named Dorotheos described what came to be known as the “Circle”. He imagined a circle where GOD is the focal point in the middle. We start off life on the circumference, the perimeter. Our job is to be drawn close to the Focal Point, God. However, the close we are drawn (by the Spirit) to the Focal Point, the closer we are drawn to others in the circle as well. In reverse, the closer we are drawn to others in the circle, the closer we are drawn to the Focal Point.

John Cardinal O’Connor spoke many times about the concomitant connection between social justice and true religion. He said, “The Catholic Church cannot not be compassionate”. (As a corollary, each catholic cannot not be compassionate.) Jesus’ commitment as the Incarnate God commits His disciples as well to ethical monotheism.

The American bishops repeated the Cardinal’s statement in their Salt and Light , published in 1998. They wrote, “The values of the Church’s social teaching must not be treated as tangential or optional. They must be a core part of teaching and formation (of all Catholics). Without our social teaching, schools, catechetical programs and adult formation programs (for all Catholics) would be an offering of incomplete presentation of our Catholic tradition. This would fall short of our mission and would be a serious loss for those in religious formation. (viz, all of us) They also wrote, “The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of society. It offers moral principles and coherent values badly needed in our time. In this time of widespread violence and diminished respect for human life and dignity in our country and around the world, the Gospel of Life and the biblical call to justice need to be proclaimed and shared with new clarity, urgency and energy.”

On June 29, 2009AD, The Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict issued Caritas in Veritate, Compassion in Truth. Remember. At least a few of the items that the Pope wants us to consider. Recall the differential between stockholders and stakeholders in assessing the how just a system or corporation. Recall the contrast between the principle of subsidiarity (Less is better when solving problems.) and solidarity (Some problems are so big that entities larger than nation-states need to address them. (The question of the environment, indeed, is at the forefront of United Nations discussions just now, with both the USA and China and other nations facing reality.) ) The Golden Rule (as universal global ethic) needs to be accepted and lived on both a personal and corporate level. Pope Benedict suggests that the human family must try to embrace a win-win scenario for the good of the present and future generation. He reminds us that the Golden Rule (mediated for Christians with the command to love God and love neighbor in Mtt 22) is meant for us to abide by in our micro-relationships (with our families and friends) and in our macro-relationships (with all our global family). Finally, Pope Benedict asks us to think of the human person as a relational being. We find our identity through our relationships with God, with one another and with the world.

James and our bishops and Pope Benedict are part of a grand tradition. As USA Catholics, let’s keep the tradition alive!! 092709 AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 092009AD

Sunday, September 20, 2009AD

25^th Sunday in Greentime

What Next in the World?

The middle portion of St Mark’s Gospel, viz. Mk 8.27 – 10.52 has been called “Mark’s Message to Males.” The message, propelled by the Spirit into the male dominated society in the first century, needs to be heeded today by both males and females.

In a variety of ways, St Mark teaches males (and females) that we are not controllers of our destiny. 1) The dark side of life confronts all, rich and poor alike. (The rich can avert it longer.) 2) The dark side of life is tough and tough things are part of life. 3) LIFE IS THE GREATEST GOOD. Somehow, God can be found in the pains, sorrows and troubles we all experience at times.

All our human family is in the same boat. All males (and females) have to learn that we are all “connected empathetically” with others. Dominant culture does not stress this, although it says that it does. St Mark tells us that “rugged individualism”, which had been peddled as a positive, is a negative value.

St James speaks today of selfishness and greed as a cause of wars, both personal and structural. With God’s Help, all of us need to work on that sad reality in our lives. Jesus also tells us today, that whoever is concerned about and receives the least in the society, receives Christ Jesus and the One Who sent Him. How different than what conventional wisdom (aka the System) teaches! Several theologians speak now of the Great Convergence, viz., when some people get their acts together and realize that our world cannot survive the way we are going. We need a new idea or paradigm.

Ironically, the new idea that we need is the Old Idea contained in the Gospel of Jesus. Some need to hear it again for the first time and then, share it with their children.

Ten years ago, Canadian theologian, Fr Ron Rolheiser, wrote a blockbuster book in 1999, entitled, The Holy Longing . So many of the major religions proclaim some form of a Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Fr Rolheiser said that we can use the Golden Rule to begin, as Disciples of Jesus, to live as part of God’s and Eve’s one Global Family. 1) Treat all with equal dignity. 2) Behave as if God intended the earth for all persons equally. 3) Remember that the right to private property is not absolute and must be subordinated to the common good. (Pope John Paul also stressed that point several times.) 4) No persons or groups should have surpluses if others lack basic necessities. 5) We are obliged morally to come to the aid of those in need. It is a high road to God and human fulfillment. 6) No economic laws transcend the moral scrutiny of the Golden Rule. (Pope John Paul said “no moral freezones”.7) The earth is not just a stage on which humans play. The ecology is a creature of God, having basic rights.

Pope Benedict urges, “Today’s international economic scene, marked by grave deviations and failures, requires a profoundly new way of understanding business enterprise. Old models are disappearing, but promising new ones are taking shape on the horizon. Without doubt, one of the greatest risks for business is that they are almost always answerable to their investors, thereby limiting their social value….Today’s international capital market offers great freedom of action. Yet there is also increasing awareness of the need for greater social responsibility on the part of business. Today the subject of development is also closely related to the duties arising from our relationship to the natural environment. The environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it, we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations, and toward humanity as a whole.”

We listen to the morning news and ask ourselves, “What next?” It will be more of the same unless we listen to Jesus and His Gospel.

Aboriginal peoples in North America used to make decisions as a group using as a standard, “How will this decision affect our grandchildren seven generations hence?” Parents and grandparents of today might ask the same question as they teach their children now. Decisions today affect outcomes tomorrow. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Henry Ford famously remarked, “History is bunk.” Sadly, too many of his mindset, then and now, have agreed with him. Jesus, St James and St Mark and Pope Benedict have different ideas. Who will teach the children? 092009AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 091309AD

Sunday, Sep 13, 2009AD

24^th Sunday in Greentime

Jesus, James and Benedict

Recently, National Geographic did a special on a project that it undertook to show the connectedness of the human family throughout the world. It focused on the Long Island City section of Queens County, in NYC, because Queens is one of the most ethnically and racially diverse counties in the USA, if not the world. Very interesting results came up as a result of genetic testing through a swab on the inside of a person’s mouth. Diversity seems to be the norm. We have wandered far and wide over thousands of generations apparently and our diversity is actually becoming a grand re-union on the streets of Long Island City.

Pope John Paul wrote in the Gospel of Life, Evangelium Vitae, back in 1995, that, in answer to Cain’s defiant question of God in the fourth chapter of Genesis, “Yes. As a matter of fact, you are your brother’s keeper!” Throughout the millennia of the Judaeo-Christian Tradition, prophetic men and women have tried, again and again, to stress the point.

This weekend, we focus on the very ancient Letter of St James, probably older than any of the four written Gospels, as well as Pope Benedict’s recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, Compassion in Truth, of June 29, 2009AD. Both a very ancient inspired biblical writing and a recent reflection on God’s Word in the Scripture point us in the same direction as we strive to become more authentic followers of Jesus in the twenty-first century. In words that challenge believers in the first and the twenty-first century, St James asks the question, “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has not food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?”

Pope Benedict reflects on Jesus and St James’ question in his encyclical in light of the ongoing global economic crisis. His reflections are very challenging and it is incumbent on NY Catholics to be aware of insights that Pope Benedict offers. One obvious given at the start of the papal letter is the observation that the current economic crisis facing the entire world highlights in a big way that relational nature of life. In constant response to new implications of the Gospel that Catholics might not have perceived before, ring the words of Blessed John XXIII, “We know more now.”

One point of agreement that most major religions of the world have come to agree is a universal golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” Pope Benedict asks us to think of ourselves and as people relationally. We achieve our personhood in a big way through our relationships with others. (As Albert Einstein said, “Nothing can be understood completely unless it is understood in terms of its relationships with everything else.”)

Traditional Judaeo-Christian religion has always stressed living in proper relationship with the Transcendent God and with our neighbor (and now we are learning, with our environment.) If something is askew in one of those relationships, invariably it will affect our other relationships.

Pope Benedict asks us always to think not of our ourselves in our relationships but to think of all people, viz., our sisters and brothers in the same way. A long order, it will be impossible to do so. However, it urges us not o come up with facile solutions or excuses for the state of the world as we find it today.

An interesting challenge that emerges from the Pope’s letter is his distinction between the terms “shareholders” and “stakeholders” in business on the global scene. Certainly, hard to implement, but nevertheless, it is an important concept for the future. Obviously, a “stockholder” is one who has financial interest in a business and reaping the financial rewards is much the name of the game. However, the term “stockholder” yields to a broader term, “stakeholder”. These would be made up of the people who produce and/or harvest the raw material that is used in production. It would also include the people who do the production and then, those who market the produce to the public. It would also include the consumer of the product. Finally, it would also include the children and grandchildren of all the people involved through the effect on the environment in the future by what is consumed here and now. (If one were to add the connection that we are, indeed, all in the human project together (as sisters and brothers!), we realize that we are both a small world and an inter-related one as well.

In addition, Pope Benedict aswks us to juxtapose two traditional Catholic moral principles in arriving at a more just world scene. One the one hand, the principle of subsidiarity has always spoken of the need and advisibility of handling problems on a local level, as much as possible. However, the principle of subsidiarity is balanced by the Catholic principle of solidarity. We are all in this process of human living together. We are finding that governments might be too large to handle local problems and at the same time, too small to handle global ones. As a result, the Pope suggests that new ways of facing global (family problems) evolve through a system similar to the United Nations.

Pope Benedict asks us to focus both on our micro-relationships, with our families and our friends and close neighbors, and on our macro-relationships, with our wide human family. He asks us to envision the Golden Rule as a rule of thumb. He asks our human family to think about working, with God’s Help, to generate a “win-win scenario” for all our human family, particularly the one who has nothing to wear and no food for the day. May American Catholics try to do so with a spirit of justice, solidarity, compassion and civility during days that challenge us all. 091309AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 090609AD

Sunday, Sep 6, 2009AD

23^rd Sunday in Green

James Has a Point to Stress!

During this month, our second reading on Sunday will be excerpts from the Letter of St James. As mentioned last week, this letter has come into the fore recently for many reasons. Probably dated in the early 60’s AD, before the earliest Gospel (St Mark, c.70AD) was written, the inspired author gives us a picture of a Jewish-based Christian community which considered itself a “synagogue”. While the group was an early example of the Jesus Movement, the group had lots of flaws about which the inspired author was concerned. Some still have relevance in the Jesus Movement. The problem addressed in our reading this morning was favoritism in gatherings of the Jesus Movement synagogue. Surprised we are to hear this at such an early date. Recall St Paul’s baptismal hymn, “in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slaves or free, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus.” How could a Christian group misread the obvious so soon? (St Paul’s hymn is dated approximately 8-9 years earlier, in c. 55AD) After all, Jesus fed everyone who gathered for his outdoor gatherings and did not discriminate between classes. (That was, indeed, one of the problems that people had with Jesus’ strategy.) God cares about all God’s children.

Who are we, contemporary Christians, to look askance at our Christian ancestors? In many ways, people have said that we might do the same thing in many ways, some subtle, some, not so subtle. A commentator made the point that, up until recently, some Churches discriminated between Black and White folks, so that poor and rich could have been understood as Black and White.

St James stresses, “Show no partiality!” Yet, again and again, Christians have been challenged that that is exactly what we do in so many ways, many of which we do subconsciously.

Indeed, in his historic “Sermon on the Mound” at Yankee Stadium in Oct, 1979, Pope John Paul said that in our world today the rich represent countries (the First and Second Worlds then, now the Northern Hemisphere nations) and the poor represent the Third World (the underdeveloped nations throughout the world). God loves all, but God has a special concern for those less fortunate than others. So should God’s daughters and sons! (These days, we call the traditional notion, the Preferential Option for the Poor.)

In addition, in 1986, the USA Catholic Bishops cautioned that a Third World was already developing in American cities. They referred to what was called White Flight then.

Recently, Pope Benedict wrote in his third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, that we need to understand the connection between so many issues that confront us. Pope Benedict said that rather than think of the human person as a monad, we should self-define as relational (with God, with one another, with our environment. We are to be understood neither as the economic ones, nor the sociological ones, nor the psychological ones, nor the political ones. Rather, we should understand that we are relational ones. All of us connected with everyone and everything else, including our environment. This is the way we should face common problems. Jesus has been proclaiming that in essence for 2000 years already. However, as Blessed John put it, “we know more now!!”

On this Labor Day weekend, when we are sensitized once again that people, rightly or wrongly, have different views of reality than we, we could offer the following prayer:

God of Justice,

You call us to feel deeply the hurts and hopes of your people, and to look deeply at the root causes of poverty and injustice.

We are called to see first, and then, to understand. We are called to try to understand first, and then to act.

As people of faith, we live in the hope of what the world can be, while struggling to understand the causes for what the world is.

Help us to see, judge and act, starting today that we may help transform the world.

In the Name of Christ Jesus, we pray.

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