He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
lk 1:63
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Mass during the Day
I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name
Like the singin’ bird and the croakin’ toad
I’ve got a name, I’ve got a name”
I agree with our 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 #244, current events and an occasional question in that regard:
CHAPTER SEVEN
PATHS OF RENEWED ENCOUNTER
THE VALUE AND MEANING OF FORGIVENESS
The best way to move on
“serious mistake“, that has and will “lead to complicity in grave misdeeds and sins”, to keep the name of Bishop Matthiesen on a Religious Education Center while keeping ” hidden or buried in the past ” the fact that it was a serious sexual abuser named John that put that his bishop’s name there because Matthiesen went against Church officials in giving that same abusive priest a second chance; a second chance that landed that priest in prison for indecency with a child by sexual contact at the parish of which the dedicated Center is a mission?
“A serious mistake was made in bringing John Salazar to the Diocese of Amarillo for ministry,”
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
244. When conflicts are not resolved but kept hidden or buried in the past, silence can lead to complicity in grave misdeeds and sins.
“There’s a misperception out there of what a senior who needs affordable housing looks like. The reality is the majority of seniors who live in our buildings worked in industries, worked in the trades, maybe they were a police officer. They had a full life of contributing to the community and now need some support to meet their needs,”
Authentic reconciliation does not flee from conflict, but is achieved in conflict, resolving it through dialogue and open, honest and patient negotiation.
“People without a country that claims them are ‘stateless,’ and with statelessness comes a host of constraints that make it nearly impossible for them to travel, prosper, and live free lives.”
Conflict between different groups “if it abstains from enmities and mutual hatred, gradually changes into an honest discussion of differences founded on a desire for justice”.[228]
“while the crisis may have encouraged us to focus on what is essential, we cannot remain indifferent when we think of the deserted streets of Jerusalem and the loss of those pilgrims who go there to strengthen their faith, but also to express concrete solidarity with the local churches and their people.”
“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.
Our common home is being pillaged, laid waste and harmed with impunity. Cowardice in defending it is a grave sin. We see with growing disappointment how one international summit after another takes place without any significant result. There exists a clear, definite and pressing ethical imperative to implement what has not yet been done. We cannot allow certain interests – interests which are global but not universal – to take over, to dominate states and international organizations, and to continue destroying creation.
People and their movements are called to cry out, to mobilize and to demand – peacefully, but firmly – that appropriate and urgently-needed measures be taken. I ask you, in the name of God, to defend Mother Earth. I have duly addressed this issue in my Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, which I believe will be distributed at the end.
ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER – WORLD MEETING OF POPULAR MOVEMENTS 2015.
encourages greater contact with the natural world in a spirit of wonder, praise,
joy and gratitude. That is why blessing a natural space as a reflection/meditation
area and regularly praying there is part of our Laudato Si Plan.
Amarillo—Interested in attending World Youth Day 2023 as a member of the delegation representing the Diocese of Amarillo?
The focus must always…always…remain on Jesus.
A Reflection on Christian Life, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
Today I ask St. John the Baptist to pray that those of us in the Diocese of Amarillo, but especially those at St. Mary’s Cathedral and, “the few” , heed Bishop Zurek’s words in “A Reflection on Christian Life“, and focus “always…always… on Jesus“; conflict caused by the legacy of clergy abuse in our diocese ,“if it abstains from enmities and mutual hatred, gradually changes into an honest discussion of differences founded on a desire for justice” and brings about events in which all will be “amazed”.
