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Monday, September 17, 2012
This may help to understand the papal visit in Niddle East. cm.
Sep. 17, 2012
Beirut, Lebanon — Some papal trips are important for their substance, while others matter more for their symbolism. Benedict XVI’s Sept. 14-16 outing to Lebanon fell into that second category, showing the world a different face of the Middle East in a moment of mounting violence and deep doubts about the future of the Arab Spring.
As Lebanon’s Daily Star put it, the trip came off as a “symbol of tolerance” in a region whose profile is more often that of fundamentalism, terrorism, and sectarian strife.
Benedict arrived on the very day that the recent bout of anti-American and anti-Western violence reached its peak, and while a bloody civil war in neighboring Syria continued to rage — neither of which were on the horizon when plans for the trip were originally crafted.
In that context, the focus shifted. Originally, the trip seemed calculated to deliver a shot in the arm to the Christian minority of the Middle East, in decline and full of anxiety about its future. As events unfolded, however, both the pope and his Lebanese hosts seemed determined to use the outing to accomplish something more pressing — to illustrate that the Middle East is not exclusively defined by radicalism and the “clash of civilizations.”
NCR senior correspondent John L. Allen Jr. traveled with Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon. Here is a list of stories Allen covered during the pope’s visit.
Papal charge to Middle East Christians: 'Be peacemakers!' , Sep. 16, 2012
On trip about unity, Catholic division a striking omission , Sep. 16, 2012
Strong words but no shift in substance on Syria , Sep. 16, 2012
Archbishop (gently) corrects pope on Arab Spring , Sep. 15, 2012
Pope tackles elephant in room of Christian exodus , Sep. 15, 2012
Muslims want Christians in Middle East, mufti tells pope , Sep. 15, 2012
New papal bumper sticker: If we want peace, defend life! , Sep. 15, 2012
Transcript of pope en route to Lebanon , Sep. 14, 2012
Pope's trip showcases another face of the Middle East , Sep. 14, 2012
In Lebanon, pope mixes bitter and sweet , Sep. 14, 2012
'Statehood for Palestine now', patriarch tells pope , Sep. 14, 2012
Getting Lebanon's Catholics to work and play well together , Sep. 13, 2012
With world on the brink, can Benedict be a firebreak? , Sep. 13, 2012
http://ncronline.org/print/news/vatican/pope-lifts-other-face-middle-east-lebanon
posted by claire marie at 9:16 PM
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The terms “Right” and “Left” came from the Estates General
in France. It’s interesting that we now use them as our basic
political terms. On the left sat the ordinary people, on the right sat the
nobility and the clergy! (What were the clergy doing over there?!) I think you
see the pattern, despite Jesus’ clear and consistent identification with the
outsiders and the poor.
In most of history you will
invariably have these two movements, because we didn’t have the phenomenon of
the middle class until very recently. The vast majority of people in all of human history have been poor, as
it was in Jesus’ time. Yet the people who wrote books and controlled the
institutions have almost always been on the Right. Much of history has been
read and interpreted from the side of the “winners,” or the Right, except for
the unique revelation called the Bible, which is an alternative history from
the side of the enslaved, the dominated, the oppressed, and the poor, leading
up to the totally scapegoated Jesus himself. He tries to put
inside and outside together, but is killed by those entrapped and privileged on
the inside.
Richard Rohr
Help me be compassionate in my action.
posted by claire marie at 9:13 PM
Friday, April 06, 2012
 Friday, April 6, 2012
Good Friday
The supreme irony of the whole crucifixion scene is this: He who was everything had everything taken away from Him. He who was perfect was totally misjudged as "sin" itself (Romans 8:3-4). The crucified Jesus forever tells power and authority, and all of us, how utterly wrong we can be about who is in the right and who is sinful (John 16:8). All human solidarity and sympathy was taken away from Him and He finally had to walk the journey alone, in darkness, in not-knowing, as most humans finally have to do.
Jesus hung in total solidarity with the pain of the world and the far too many lives on this planet that have been "nasty, lonely, brutish, and short.” After the cross, we know that God is not watching human pain, nor apparently always stopping human pain, as much as God is found hanging with us alongside all human pain. Jesus forever tells us that God is found wherever the pain is, which leaves God on both sides of every war, in sympathy with both the pain of the perpetrator and the pain of the victim, with the excluded, the tortured, the abandoned, and the oppressed since the beginning of time. I wonder if we even like that. There are no games of moral superiority left. Yet this is exactly the kind of Lover and the universal Love that humanity needs.
What else could possibly give us a cosmic and final hope? This is exactly how Jesus redeemed the world "by the blood of the cross.” It was not some kind of heavenly transaction, or "paying a price" to God, as much as a cosmic communion with all that humanity has ever loved and ever suffered. If he was paying any price it was for the hard and resistant skin around our souls.
Adapted from The Great Themes of Scripture (no longer available, see
Prayer:
"Faith is a journey into darkness, into not-knowing." ~ Richard Rohr
posted by claire marie at 4:35 PM
Saturday, March 31, 2012
 Be discreet and be silent! The Gospel writer, Marc, does not put much emphasis on miracles. Jesus sends the healed lepers home telling then not to say anything about what happened. He does the same with the deaf and dumb that he healed, also with the blind to whom he restored the sight! They must not talk about what happened! When Jesus brought back to life the daughter of Jabirus, Talitha, and the weeping women were utterly stunned by that, Jesus order them strictly to keep quiet. No one must know about it.
In such circumstances is it not unrealistic on Jesus’ part, to impose silence? Why did Marc insist so much on this call to silence? Marc's Gospel was written he in the seventy’s (1st Century) and it was addressed to the Christian communities living under the Roman Empire. It must be said that, at the time, the Emperors and the Empire were a most fascinating WHOLE! So it was that, sometimes after his death, the Emperor was laid in the Pantheon, the Gods’ world. There, statues and temples were erected in his honour. The Historians vied with zeal and it was who would put the emperor in the best light! This explains the reason why the people were often tempted to put the “Messiah”, Jesus, on a par with the emperor. For example: the Emperor was « a Son of God », therefore, Jesus too should be a Son of God. The Emperor was seen as a « Saviour and a God », consequently Jesus too was to be seen as a Saviour and God. According to their biographers, the Emperors had worked miracles during their lives, so it was assumed that Jesus too would have had accomplished miracles! Jesus: An almighty and authentic Emperor? A radiant Son of God? A successful Wonder worker? It cannot be so: because Power and Success are no criteria fitting God’s Kingdom as announced and lived out by Jesus. He who pretends he is a believer of an Almighty and invincible God is also ready to go and wage war in His name.
No! The characteristics of the God of Jesus are not Power, or Might or Domination, or Wonder worker! On the contrary, the witness of Jesus’ life shows clearly that God is, “He who is identified with the poor and the afflicted.” Hermann-Josef Venetz Translation: Claire-Marie
posted by claire marie at 3:10 PM
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The third human temptation is the need for control, importance, and power. The devil tells Jesus to bow down before the power systems of this world: “All of these I will give to you” (Matthew 4:8). Make these into your actual belief and security system. Formal atheism is rare, but this kind of practical daily atheism is almost the norm. Jesus refuses to bow down before these little kingdoms, the corporations, the idols of militarism and materialism, race and nationality, and all imperialistic thinking. He knows that the price of such love of power is to “fall at Satan’s feet and worship him!” Matthew 4:9).That’s a very heavy judgment on all the security systems of this world. These will finally and inevitably demandyour full allegiance, loyalty, and attention, but it will all feel like you “are just doing your job.” When Jesus saw through this one and said, “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve God alone,” then the devil left him (Matthew 4:10-11). When you can face these kinds of well-disguised demons, Satan doesn’t have a chance. From Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, p. 296, day 310 Labels: reflection
posted by claire marie at 8:14 PM
Saturday, March 17, 2012
A very happy Saint Patrick's day to all my irish friends
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven, The glorious sun's life-giving ray, The whiteness of the moon at even, The flashing of the lightning free, The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks, The stable earth, the deep salt sea, Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need. The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward, The word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard.
From claire-marie
posted by claire marie at 9:01 PM
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
I like to share with you: Richard Rohr's thought; with much gratitude
Since I am God's making through my parents love, I and all of us are who we are, simply and, as for me, I think my job and Mission in life is to promotes freedom from systems, so that everyone is free to be and to enjoy to be simply herself, himself!
« We fear nothingness. That’s why we fear death, of course, which feels like nothingness. Death is the shocking realization that everything I thought was me, everything I held onto so desperately, was finally nothing (read Kathleen Dowling Singh’s The Grace in Dying).
The nothingness we fear so much is, in fact, the treasure and freedom that we long for, which is revealed in the joy and glory of the Risen Christ. We long for the space where there is nothing to prove and nothing to protect; where I am who I am, in the mind and heart of God, and that is more than enough.
Spirituality teaches us how to get naked ahead of time, so God can make love to us as we really are. »
posted by claire marie at 9:30 AM
Monday, March 12, 2012
Letting go
The notion of a spirituality of subtraction comes from Meister Eckhart (c.1260-1327), the medieval Dominican mystic. He said the spiritual life has much more to do with subtraction than it does with addition. Yet I think most Christians today are involved in great part in a spirituality of addition.
The capitalist worldview is the only one most of us have ever known. We see reality, experiences, events, other people, and things—in fact, everything—as objects for our personal consumption. Even religion, Scripture, sacraments, worship services, and meritorious deeds become ways to advance ourselves—not necessarily ways to love God or neighbor.
The nature of the capitalist mind is that things (and often people!) are there for me. Finally, even God becomes an object for my consumption. Religion looks good on my résumé, and anything deemed “spiritual” is a check on my private worthiness list. Some call it spiritual consumerism. It is not the Gospel.
posted by claire marie at 11:22 AM
Sunday, March 11, 2012
 For the lenten season, I woould like to share with you the thoughts of Father Richard Rohr. For today "do-it-yourself"...which is tought for food as I feel it... LETTING GO A common saying is, “God helps those who help themselves." I think the phrase can be understood helpfully; but in most practical situations it is not true. Scripture clearly says, in many ways, that God helps those who trust in God, not those who help themselves.
We need to be told that very strongly because of our "do-it-yourself" orientation. As educated people, as Americans, as middle-class people who have practiced climbing, we are accustomed to doing it ourselves. It takes applying the brakes, letting go of our own plans, allowing Another, and experiencing power from a Larger Source to really move to higher awareness. Otherwise, there is no real transformation, but only increased willpower. As if the one with the most willpower wins! Willfulness is quite different than willingness. They are two different energetic styles and normally yield very different fruit.
posted by claire marie at 8:52 AM
Sunday, March 04, 2012
 I send you as lambs amidst wolves
The Good News of Jesus and his praxis constantly faced with resistance from pious a
nd powerful prople. They could not admit that Jesus presented, with him, an unemployed person in the middle of a liturgy in the synagogue. They could not admit that Jesus sat at the table and ate with sinners, thieves, prostitutes. They could not admit that Jesus condemned the stoning of the woman taken in adultery. They could not admit that for Jesus, compassion had priority over sacrifice… To love is good, they said, but love should not defy law and order, love should not throw overboard our representations of good and evil, of purity and impurity of what is important and what is not important, of what is up and what's down!
Yet what Jesus announced and what he practised in his own life is exavtly what the Kingdom of God is supposed to be and will be. There will be no up or down, there will be no important people and less important people, there will no room for exclusively important people, while the less important would be excluted from the elite circle. In the kingdom of God the last and least of men have their own dignity and the sinners have their chance and their own worth! So It is no wonder that Jesus, as he sent his disciples on the way said to them: "Go, behold I send you as lambs amongst wolves." Hermann-Josef Venetz Translation: claire-marie Courtesy of the author
Labels: lambs
posted by claire marie at 2:37 PM
Sunday, January 08, 2012
 Image from Würzburg Diocese http://www.kirchenserver.net/bwo/dcms/sites/bistum/verbaende/erwachsenen_verbaende/fdk_familienbund/z-nachrichten/index.html?f_action=show&f_newsitem_id=54389Luke’s Gospel 2:12
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
The chanceIn the wide free fields the shepherds wandered in the night, when, lo! the sky burst open with dazzling light and throngs of jubilating angels singing: the Saviour and Messiah is born! Dumb struck at the heavenly liturgy, the shepherds gazed: what’s this God given sign? Back to parched winterfields earth, bare-footed poor hastened to the draughty stable, to behold the True Sign in utter simplicity: a baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger because there had been no room in the Inn. A homeless child, nothing more but surely nothing less than that!
The child is there present for all people with whom he’s about to enter into solidarity: the poor and despised, the man with the withered hand, the bent-down woman whose sole horizon is the earth below, the blind Bartimaeus, the so called adulterous woman whom he saves from stoning ...Today still, the Christmas electric lights, the angels’ liturgical sonorous message, all this “stage performance” satisfies our need of a sign! But we need this to learn what these signs truly mean.
If we have eyes to see, and ears to hear, we will daily meet these signs as did the shepherds in Bethlehem, in utter simplicity: the homeless families, lost asylum seekers, roofless people, the countless little people who of no worth for society .The birth of the Savior is the chance of an emerging new world, a new beginning bringing peace and justice for all at long last!
Hermann-Josef Venetz trad. claire-marie Jeannotat with kind permission of the author Labels: What a Chance
posted by claire marie at 10:41 AM
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