“that they may be brought to perfection as one,…”
Jn 17:23
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
In his Holy Week homilies Bishop Patrick J. Zurek put forth the Encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, as the standard for love and unity in our diocese. Today, let’s reflect upon paragraph #217 in that regard:
CHAPTER SIX
A NEW CULTURE
Encounter that becomes culture
217. Social peace demands hard work, craftsmanship.
“Walk, walk, walk on and if you are tired, stop a little and then start walking again; but with perseverance.”
It would be easier to keep freedoms and differences in check with cleverness and a few resources.
“You know, we don’t need to just offer up just general prayers for these guys, but really show real empathy for what they’re going through; that they’re away from home, which is hard enough as it is, but they’re away from home right now in the midst of a true national crisis and tragedy that’s going on.”
But such a peace would be superficial and fragile, not the fruit of a culture of encounter that brings enduring stability.
“Pentecost is the birthday of the church and a time when we should let the Holy Spirit guide our path. It is an appropriate time to take our next step forward to full reopening of our churches.”
Integrating differences is a much more difficult and slow process, yet it is the guarantee of a genuine and lasting peace.
Amarillo—As the dispensation to attend Mass in the Diocese of Amarillo is being lifted by Bishop Patrick J. Zurek (see the tab, Lifting of Dispensation by Bishop Zurek, on the homepage of the diocesan website, amarillodiocese.org), here is the list of Mass Schedules for parishes in the Diocese of Amarillo. All Masses are in English unless otherwise specified.
That peace is not achieved by recourse only to those who are pure and untainted, since “even people who can be considered questionable on account of their errors have something to offer which must not be overlooked”.[206]
Nor does it come from ignoring social demands or quelling disturbances, since it is not “a consensus on paper or a transient peace for a contented minority”.[207]
“The sacrifices you made have allowed you to grow as a person in ways that were unexpected. In this way, the pandemic shaped your education as it shaped you as well.”
What is important is to create processes of encounter, processes that build a people that can accept differences.
“It’s a prayer for a child, it’s a prayer for an adult, it’s a prayer for any and all times. … The rosary is something you can pick up — from under your pillow at night to when you’re driving or while you are walking or sitting,”
Let us arm our children with the weapons of dialogue!
“The Diocesan Youth Office continues to assist parishes that would like to host a deanery retreat with $350 for promotion and general assistance.”
Let us teach them to fight the good fight of the culture of encounter!
Welcome back home!
From a Memo from Bishop Patrick J. Zurek Sent to All Diocese of Amarillo Priests in the Matters of Lifting the Covid-19 Dispensation
Today this “restless” and formally unrecognized catechist, is asking those “under the dome “, “When will we take on the hard work and craftmanship of building a diocesan budget on pledges instead of using the cleverness of the “quota” as an easy way out?”
Today I ask Saint Bernardino of Siena to pray that, “the dome” takes on the hard work of developing an United Catholic Appeal that promotes a culture of encounter that brings enduring stability instead of keeping freedoms and differences in check with a “Quota”. Although the present UCA is easy on “the dome”, it is superficial and fragile, not the fruit of Integrating differences, which is a much more difficult and slow process, yet it is the guarantee of a genuine and lasting UCA that has the ability to bring us to “perfection as one”.
