“…whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Mt 5:19
Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Must have a code that you can live by”
We who follow Christ as
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, A Reflection on Christian Life
Christians are called to be the “Light of the world”; yet “a few” of our
number have allowed the secular influence to dominate their life and hence
their light has dimmed.
My conscience tells me that the greatest obstacle to the Kingdom of God for “a few” is not our bishop, but MAGA. I agree with Bishop Patrick J. Zurek in putting forth in his Holy Week homilies this year the Encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, as the standard for love and unity in our diocese. Today, let’s reflect upon paragraph #234 and current events in that regard:
CHAPTER SEVEN
PATHS OF RENEWED ENCOUNTER
THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF PEACE
Beginning with the least
234. Often, the more vulnerable members of society are the victims of unfair generalizations.
Ultimately, this ruling demonstrates once again the urgent need for legislative reform for immigrant communities in the United States. The immigration laws are broken and all TPS holders, many of whom have lived in the U.S. for decades and have been working as essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, deserve a path to citizenship,”
Doesn’t MAGA, make “unfair generalizations” about immigrants?
If at times the poor and the dispossessed react with attitudes that appear antisocial, we should realize that in many cases those reactions are born of a history of scorn and social exclusion.
“very hopeful that more positive changes concerning (laypeople) will be implemented in canon law” in the future. For example, “we would need a greater balance with the inclusion of more ecclesiastical lay judges. This would help to tackle clericalism in the church, which Pope Francis has always discouraged.”
Doesn’t MAGA, promote clericalism, “which Pope Francis has always discouraged”, among those who align with it’s ideology and “Cancel” those who don’t?
The Latin American Bishops have observed that “only the closeness that makes us friends can enable us to appreciate deeply the values of the poor today, their legitimate desires, and their own manner of living the faith.
The option for the poor should lead us to friendship with the poor”.[221]
“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.
Amarillo—Wednesday, June 16 is the deadline to RSVP to a Family Social, on Saturday, June 19 at 6:30pm at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 4512 NE 24th Ave., sponsored by the Engaged Encounter team and the diocesan Family Life Office. If you’re interested in finding out more about Engaged Encounter, this is a perfect opportunity, as the EE team is expanding its marriage preparation team. To RSVP or for more information, please call James Schulte in the Family Life Office at 806-414-1059. Childcare will be available upon request.
Rather than mandated prayers, “quotas”, feeding the MAGA ideology or placing blame on “a few”, evangelization of this type is the key to growing priestly vocations in the Diocese of Amarillo.
Mosaic in Nea Moni of Chios (11th century)
Today I ask St. Ephrem to pray that those of us in the Diocese of Amarillo, but especially those at St. Mary’s Cathedral and, “the few” , allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in discerning between the teaching of the “least” and “greatest” in the Kingdom of Heaven.
