Keep
your eyes open!...Keep
your eyes open!...
(Mat 5:11-13) Blessed
are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all
that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice for
your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the
prophets that were before you. You are the salt of the earth. But if
the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for
nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.
ADDRESSES BY ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: The Prince of This World and the Evangelization of Culture
IN THE NEWS: Pope urges Scots bishops to tackle 'the increasing tide of secularism
Scotland is a country plagued by sectarianism and struggling with a
rising "tide of secularism", the Pope has declared, in an address to
the country's Catholic bishops in Rome.
He ended months of speculation when he confirmed he was to visit Scotland later this year.
But in remarks that contrast with those of John Paul II, the last pope
to visit Scotland, Benedict XVI attacked proposed new laws, and said
the country was battling with sectarianism as a result of a "great
rupture" with its Catholic past.
The Pope urged his Scottish bishops to "grapple firmly with the
challenges presented by the increasing tide of secularism in your
country".
He also used his speech to condemn euthanasia – comments widely
interpreted as a criticism of Margo MacDonald's attempt to pass an
assisted suicide bill at Holyrood.
"Support for euthanasia strikes at the very heart of the Christian understanding of the dignity of human life," the Pope said.
The Pope also paid tribute to what he said was the role played by
Scotland's Catholic schools in overcoming sectarianism – an analysis
that will not be shared by critics of schooling along religious lines.
But in a statement that accepted his views were not shared by all, he
said: "All too often, the Church's doctrine is perceived as a series of
prohibitions and retrograde positions, whereas the reality, as we know,
is that it is creative and life-giving, and it is directed towards the
fullest possible realisation of the great potential for good and for
happiness that God has implanted within every one of us."
The Pope's willingness to embrace contentious subjects has prompted
concern that his trip will not be met with the rapture that greeted the
previous papal visit. His predecessor John Paul II's pastoral
trip in 1982 prompted euphoria among the hundreds of thousands of
people who flocked to Glasgow's Bellahouston Park and Murrayfield
Stadium in Edinburgh.
MORE: Bishop Olmsted: Let's Not Be Silent About Life
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 25- "On the destroyer of the pasions, most sublime humility"
41. Humility is Christ's spiritual doctrine, noetically introduced into the inner chamber of the soul by those who accounted worthy of it. It cannot be defined by perceptible words.
(Mat
25:40) And the king answering shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as
long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.
HEADLINE: Haitian priest in Albany talking about the quake and recovery
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 25- "On the destroyer of the pasions, most sublime humility"
40. Self-knowledge is a true idea of one's spiritual growth, and an unbroken remembrance of one's slightest sins.(Mat 10:24-25) The
disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord. It is
enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as
his lord. If they have called the good man of the house Beelzebub, how
much more them of his household?
WHEREGODWEEPS.ORG:
Catholic Radio and Television Network, in conjunction with the
international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, is producing
a television and radio series titled, "Where God Weeps" - broadcasting
via Catholic broadcasters to English speaking viewers world-wide - the
reality of the suffering and persecuted Church.
NEWSLINK: New Archbishop of Mosul calls persecuted Iraqi Christians to hope
CHRISTIANITY TODAY: In Jos We Are Coming Face to Face in Confrontation with Satan
Everyone is asking: Why? Why are Muslims and Christians unable to live
together in peace on the Jos Plateau? Why is there a continuing
recurrence of violence? These are questions people in Nigeria and
journalists from all over the world have asked me. I wish I had the
answers.
The one thing I do know is that this time, as at other times,
Christians once again have become the scapegoat of some evil intention
to cause disharmony, separation, pain, destruction of lives and
property, and disruption of normal civil life. This to me is evidence
of what Jesus meant when he said, "The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Evidence of this abundant life can be clearly seen in the progress,
health care, and social services, together with the adult education,
children's education and also tertiary education which the church
brings to a people. These developments are functions of the gospel;
they are products and evidence of an effective gospel ministry in any
community. This same gospel also prepares people for leadership roles
in all spheres of life. It is these fruits of the activity and life of
the gospel which now have been suddenly burnt up in flames in one day,
as the investments of a lifetime are turned into ashes.
It should be noted that in Jos we are coming face to face in
confrontation with Satan and the powers of hell, and only God can save
us. There are, however, many Muslims who totally disagree with violence
as a means of settling issues, and of course it is not in accordance
with the gospel to use violence to settle issues either. What seems to
be a recurring decimal is that over time, those who have in the past
used violence to settle political issues, economic issues, social
matters, intertribal disagreements, or any issue for that matter, now
continue to use that same path of violence and cover it up with
religion. We must pray against the powers of hell. We must also pray
for our state government, our Houses of Assembly at state and federal
levels and our law enforcement agents, that they may choose the path of
truth and justice, and deal with crime by its proper name, so that
no-one, no matter how high or low, no matter of what faith or creed,
should be exempt from facing the law.
The national leadership should be lifted up to God, that they may rise
beyond a concern for political success and seek to do good and right in
all things for the benefit of all people. This is a most urgent prayer
request, because Nigeria as a nation has a large and ever-increasing
army of leaderless, lawless, unemployable, unemployed, demoralized, and
near hopeless youth. This, to my prophetic mind, is the big security
issue which the governments at local, state and federal levels are not
taking seriously. For example, every crisis in Nigeria in the last ten
years has been executed by this generation of young people. With each
passing year, they perfect their skills, and when they run out of a
supply of money—or when they become bored with any situation—then any
opportunity for action gives them satisfaction. This army has no
religion, but can choose to go under the name of religion to achieve
its motives. They are uneducated, and so their values are totally
different, as are their ways of handling weapons or choosing how issues
are settled. Please pray for us.
We deeply regret that a matter of work on a building site triggered the
present huge setback for the people of Jos and Plateau State. Yet we
rejoice that the gospel has not lost its power to save. God is still on
the throne and evil will never, ever, have victory over good. We have a
gospel to proclaim, and it is this gospel which holds the solution and
the remedy for the mayhem, bitterness, anger, frustration and sheer
evil which leads to the ruin of individual lives and the ruin which we
see all around us in Jos now.
Points for consideration:
A. Once again, the international media have highlighted corpses and
have shown and talked of corpses in the mosque. Corpses do not talk,
and we do not know the names and addresses of these corpses.
B. The same international media have shown only the corpses in the
mosques and are not interested in the corpses which are not inside the
mosque. Corpses should be in the mortuary or should be buried.
C. It is worthy of investigation as to why the construction of a
building should be carried out on a Sunday, during the time of
Christian worship, with such a large number of youth, and why a
disagreement on or near the site should result in these same youth
producing guns, machetes, and fake military uniforms.
Brethren: be fully assured that our faith in Christ is intact, and
shall remain so in life and in death. We have a gospel to proclaim, a
gospel that brings light in darkness, hope in despair, courage in
danger, and joy in sorrow. It is a gospel that brings life in all its
fullness, and it is this gospel alone which can bring a lasting
solution to the problems of the world and of Jos.
The Lord be with you.
Benjamin A. Kwashi is the Church of Nigeria (Anglican) Archbishop of Jos.
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 25- "On the destroyer of the pasions, most sublime humility"
39. Contrition is the result of a fall. He who falls is crushed, and he stands in prayer without boldness but with praiseworthy audacity, as one who is shattered, steadying himself with the staff of hope and using it to drive off the hound of despair.(Mat 18:21-22) Then came Peter
unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me,
and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith to him: I say not to
thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.
HEADLINE: Pope Benedict XVI meets and forgives Christmas Eve Mass attack woman
NEW BOOK ABOUT POPE JOHN PAUL II:
The book publishes for the first time a never-delivered speech John
Paul prepared for his weekly general audience Oct. 21, 1981, five
months after the Turkish gunman, Ali Agca, shot him in St.
Peter's Square.
Agca served a 19-year sentence in an Italian prison for shooting the
pope, and earlier this month was released from a Turkish jail where he
served a 10-year sentence for killing a Turkish journalist in 1979.
John Paul had publicly forgiven Agca on May 17, 1981 - four days after
the assassination attempt. And he visited Agca in prison in 1983.
But five months after the attack, John Paul prepared a lengthy treatise
on the power of forgiveness and the need for it in society, using his
own experience as an example.
"The act of forgiveness is the first and fundamental condition so that
we aren't divided and placed one against another like enemies," he
wrote in what Oder called "an open letter" to Agca.
In the speech, he revealed that he while he had publicly forgiven Agca
on May 17, "the possibility of pronouncing it before - in the ambulance
that brought me from the Vatican to the Gemelli hospital where the
first and decisive surgery was performed - I consider the fruit of a
particular grace given to me by Jesus."
UGANDA: Forgiveness lacks in families – bishop
ANGLICAN JOURNAL: I'm sorry: Forgiveness can be difficult to achieve but oh, so worth it
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Diane: Unforgiveness- Spiritual Poison
VIA Abba Anthony: "Thou
dost not so much desire thy sins to be forgiven, as He desires to
forgive thee thy sins. In proof, that thou dost not so desire it,
consider that thou hast no mind either to practice vigils, or to give
thy money freely; but He, that He might forgive our sins, spared not
His Only Begotten and True Son, the partner of His throne." - St John
Chrysostom
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 25- "On the destroyer of the pasions, most sublime humility"
38. Contrition is one thing, self-knowledge is another, humility is another.
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