When he reached it he found nothing but leaves;
it was not the time for figs.
Mk 11:13
Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
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 #224 in that regard:
CHAPTER SIX
RECOVERING KINDNESS
224. Kindness frees us from the cruelty that at times infects human relationships, from the anxiety that prevents us from thinking of others, from the frantic flurry of activity that forgets that others also have a right to be happy.
“The choice of this image represents a special prayer that Our Lady would intercede to untie the sufferings that have bound the world in this time of crisis”
Often nowadays we find neither the time nor the energy to stop and be kind to others, to say “excuse me”, “pardon me”, “thank you”.
“Sports fans seem cautiously optimistic, but also seem to favor precautions regardless of the official relaxation of restrictions over the last month.”
Yet every now and then, miraculously, a kind person appears and is willing to set everything else aside in order to show interest, to give the gift of a smile, to speak a word of encouragement, to listen amid general indifference.
“Our spirituality is that we see Christ in the other person as we bring Christ to the other person, so we’ve missed that,”
If we make a daily effort to do exactly this, we can create a healthy social atmosphere in which misunderstandings can be overcome and conflict forestalled.
“I know some people have heard it. I’ve gotten thank-you’s from some people, but I truly don’t do it for (recognition),”
Kindness ought to be cultivated; it is no superficial bourgeois virtue.
Adults who want nothing more than to watch two gifted actresses camp it up will likely be satisfied with director Craig Gillespie’s glossy romp “Cruella” (Disney). Parents on the lookout for safe family fare, not so much.
Precisely because it entails esteem and respect for others, once kindness becomes a culture within society it transforms lifestyles, relationships and the ways ideas are discussed and compared.
It recounted her effort to infiltrate the online recruitment process by which ISIS drew Europeans to join their campaign of terror in the Middle East. The project eventually proved so perilous that Erelle not only had to change her name but still lives under 24-hour police protection.
Kindness facilitates the quest for consensus; it opens new paths where hostility and conflict would burn all bridges.
“The Glenn” in conjunction with the Laudato Si’ Action Platform has pledged to develop a Laudato Si’ Plan, which we can use to discern and implement our response to Laudato Si’. This part of the blog will update readers on this journey.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen.
On 25 May, the new Laudato Si Platform for Action was presented in Rome. The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is a unique collaboration between the Vatican, an international coalition of Catholic organizations, and “all men and women of good will”.
Hereford/Amarillo/Canyon—Three Knights of Columbus Councils in the Diocese of Amarillo will conduct golf tournaments this summer.
Today this “restless” and formally unrecognized catechist, is asking our shepherd “under the dome “, “Don’t you think that during these, ‘extremely challenging times‘, the ‘quotas’ on parishes are, ‘nothing but leaves’ on a barren fig tree?”
Today I pray that Jesus finds the fruit of kindness growing on those of us in the Diocese of Amarillo, but especially on “the few” , who need it to facilitate the quest for consensus and open new paths where hostility and conflict would burn all bridges.
