Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
mt 8:4
Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Faith
Faith is an island in the setting sun
But proof, yes
Proof is the bottom line for everyone“
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 #245, 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” to keep the name of Bishop Matthiesen, which was put by a serious sexual abuser on a Religious Education Center because Matthiesen went against Church officials in giving that same abusive priest a second chance; a second chance that John Anthony Salazar used to land himself 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
245. On numerous occasions, I have spoken of “a principle indispensable to the building of friendship in society: namely, that unity is greater than conflict…
“It is my ardent desire to listen to all, especially the lambs, which represent the youth and the people on the peripheries, because of the least attention given to them by the Catholic Church sometimes,”
This is not to opt for a kind of syncretism, or for the absorption of one into the other, but rather for a resolution which takes place on a higher plane and preserves what is valid and useful on both sides”.[229]
“There will be no national policy on withholding Communion from politicians,”
Will Bishop Zurek give us his thoughts about this document?
All of us know that “when we, as individuals and communities, learn to look beyond ourselves and our particular interests, then understanding and mutual commitment bear fruit…
“As you have communicated elsewhere, Chief Cadmus, even for those of us who were not there or not involved, it is nonetheless the painful legacy that we need to carry. The incredible burden of the past is still with us, and the truth of that past needs to come out, however painful, as only truth can lead to reconciliation. As you said of the gravesite, ‘the truth is there.’ Thank you for your courage as chief and that of your whole community as you seek out the truth and search for a reset that brings an end to racism and opens a path to justice and to healing.”
in a setting where conflicts, tensions and even groups once considered inimical can attain a multifaceted unity that gives rise to new life”.[230]
“I didn’t want to be that unwanted, unloved child that was whisked into this world by violence. I wanted to be the child I grew up thinking I was, which was loved so much that your birth mother gave you to two parents.”
“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.
On care for our common home Celebrating the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’- A renewed commitment to hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
Join CARITAS & LAUDATO SI Website
LINES OF APPROACH AND ACTION (Laudato Si 164-175)
“So far I have attempted to take stock of our present situation, pointing to the cracks in the planet that we inhabit as well as to the profoundly human causes of environmental degradation. Although the contemplation of this reality in itself has already shown the need for a change of direction and other courses of action, now we shall try to outline the major paths of dialogue which can help us escape the spiral of self-destruction which currently engulfs us ((LS 163)).
and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy. That is why growing some of our own food is part of our Laudato Si Plan.
“Poverty exists all over the City of Amarillo, but now our footprint is right in the heart of an area suffering from a higher percentage. We are in the neighborhood of people who desperately need our assistance. Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle, formerly Catholic Family Service, started in 1932 to comfort the poor and alleviate poverty. We continue that work today.”
When we lose that
A Reflection on Christian Life, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
focus, we begin to adopt other secular vices.
Today I pray that those of us in the Diocese of Amarillo, but especially those at St. Mary’s Cathedral and, “the few” , recall Bishop Zurek’s warning in “A Reflection on Christian Life“, to not lose focus on Jesus and thus “adopt other secular vices” such as ” a kind of syncretism, or…the absorption of one into the other”; “‘but rather (opt) for a resolution which takes place on a higher plane and preserves what is valid and useful on both sides’… look beyond ourselves and our particular interests, then understanding and mutual commitment bear fruit… in a setting where conflicts, tensions and even groups once considered inimical” because of the legacy of clergy abuse in our diocese, “can attain “a multifaceted unity” ; “that will be proof” of a “rise to new life”.
