“When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.'”
mt 8:9:4
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Because I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)”
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 #249, current events and an occasional question in that regard:
CHAPTER SEVEN
PATHS OF RENEWED ENCOUNTER
MEMORY
“A serious mistake was made in bringing John Salazar to the Diocese of Amarillo for ministry,”
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
249. Nowadays, it is easy to be tempted to turn the page, to say that all these things happened long ago and we should look to the future.
“The Lebanese people must be given the opportunity to be the architects of a better future in their land without undue interference.”
For God’s sake, no! We can never move forward without remembering the past; we do not progress without an honest and unclouded memory.
“She experienced his joy and his sadness. She experienced his fear, anger and sorrow. She experienced his death. It is only natural that in times of such sorrow and pain that we run to our Mother for help.”
We need to “keep alive the flame of collective conscience, bearing witness to succeeding generations to the horror of what happened”, because that witness “awakens and preserves the memory of the victims, so that the conscience of humanity may rise up in the face of every desire for dominance and destruction”.[234]
“avoid excessive fixations on benefit, isolation and nationalism, blind consumerism, and denial of the clear evidence of discrimination against our ‘disposable’ brothers and sisters.”
The victims themselves – individuals, social groups or nations – need to do so, lest they succumb to the mindset that leads to justifying reprisals and every kind of violence in the name of the great evil endured.
“There are not many words to say in something this catastrophic but ‘God be with you,’
For this reason, I think not only of the need to remember the atrocities, but also all those who, amid such great inhumanity and corruption, retained their dignity and, with gestures small or large, chose the part of solidarity, forgiveness and fraternity.
“the contemplative of the Vatican who spends his life praying for the church and for the Diocese of Rome, of which he is emeritus bishop.”
To remember goodness is also a healthy thing.
“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.
development of cultures and policies that protect our common home and all
who share it. That is why Developing resilience by analyzing the physical, social, and spiritual ways our community is likely to be affected by climate change and biodiversity loss and making a plan to resiliently prepare for those changes, ensuring buildings are prepared for changes in heat, storm intensity, and sea-level rise, and ensuring members of the community are able to travel to other
locations in the event of a weather emergency is part of our Laudato Si Plan.
Amarillo—A Training Day for Evangelizing at the Tri-State Fair will be offered Saturday, Aug. 21 from 9:00am to 1:30pm in the Reception Room at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 South Washington.
A further concern, even if an explanation is given, is that it is always
A Reflection on Christian Life, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
summarily dismissed; and then another false narrative appears.
Today I ask the Blessed Junipero Serra to pray that those of us in the Diocese of Amarillo, but especially those at St. Mary’s Cathedral and, “the few” , listen to Bishop Zurek’s concern in “A Reflection on Christian Life“, and instead of dismissing explanations or producing “another false narrative” in regards to the legacy of clergy abuse in our diocese; that we retain our “dignity and, with gestures small or large, chose the part of solidarity, forgiveness and fraternity”; because we have a “God who (has) given such authority to” us.
