• Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14. The people revolt and worship a golden calf. God threatens to destroy them and raise up a new people through Moses. At Moses’ entreaty, the Lord relented.
• 1 Timothy 1:12-17. God forgives Paul, the former persecutor of the church, to show that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and to display patience.
• Luke 12-1-32. Jesus tells three parables about God’s joy in forgiving sinners: the man with the lost sheep; the woman with the lost silver pieces; the parent with the lost prodigal child.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

With the three readings that we hear about this weekend we are given some powerful examples of the great value of finding that which is lost. With the first reading we witness an amazing interaction between God and Moses. The context for this discussion is that the chosen people have established an idol in place of God. God is obviously frustrated by this transgression but what if the object of God’s concern is not so much the people of Israel but Moses himself? After all, the fact that the people will ebb and flow from their relationship with God should come as no surprise, they have done it before and they will do it again. But perhaps God is concerned about whether they have a leader who can guide them towards the daunting task ahead. This first reading can be seen as the temptation of Moses. When considering the destruction of the chosen people God makes a tempting offer, “Then I will make of you a great nation.”  What an amazing temptation, to be the father of a great nation. Moses must have given this some thought. But instead he responds with amazing compassion for a sinful people. He implores God to exhibit the same patience and compassion that he himself has for them and God relents. Could it be that God really changed his mind because of the persuasive genius of Moses? Or was God intent on seeing that Moses, as a leader, would have the patience and compassion that is required to lead the Israelite community? Moses demonstrates a great lesson for any pastoral leader. The human community is prone to sin and will push the envelope of transgressions. Those of us who are called to become leaders of this community must have an unending supply of patience and compassion to bring people back to the fold.

In the second reading Paul identifies himself as an example for us all. Here we have someone who previously not only disagreed with the Christian message but who actively persecuted the church. Paul identifies himself as the worst of all sinners and yet he tells the early Christian community: “for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.”

The three parables that Jesus shares in this week’s gospel reading offer us three images of God’s great mercy, patience and compassion. The repentance of the lost sinner has an incomprehensible value to God. Jesus almost cannot seem to push this point enough in the first two parables, so he creates the third and more elaborate parable to capture our human imaginations. How many of us are not troubled by the response of the father as he takes in the prodigal son? How many of us cannot in some way share in the frustration of the eldest son? It seems naïve and unfair of the father to display what appears to be a preferential treatment for sinners. And yet this is the image that Jesus wants to convey to us, the image of the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd does not disvalue the other 99 sheep just as the father does not disvalue the eldest son. Their value is equal to all who share a God-given dignity. But the value of the lost one appears disproportionate because we feel that our own value is somehow lessened by the joy the discovery has brought to our heavenly father. We do not share the patience and compassion that God has for all creation.

The parable of the lost coin makes the point for me. Assuming the value of the coin is the same as the other coins in the purse, finding that lost coin does not give the coin any real greater value then all the others, but it does make the purse that much richer. If we have lost a 5 dollar bill and on another day we look in our pants pocket and find it do we not suddenly feel rich? It is still only a 5 dollar bill and its worth has not been altered at all but the fact is that we are now $5 richer then we were before.

The fact of the matter is that one way or another we are all lost. If we feel disvalued by another then we too suffer from some loss of our own personal value and juxtapose our own value system to accommodate this loss. God evaluates Moses’ own value to fulfill the divine mandate through Moses’ response to the corporate sin of the Israelites. Moses was able to see the corporate value of all the people and because of this he was able to have the patience and compassion necessary for pastoral leadership.   This week’s readings challenge us to reassess the value of all humanity no matter what our judgment of any member of the human community is. Our harsh judgment of others demonstrates our own loss of dignity. God places great value on the redemption of the lost human community. The work of the pastoral leader is to bring us all back to the fold through patience and compassion. We must be directed by our pastoral leaders to exemplify mercy and compassion to all of God’s creation, no matter what our opinions of them might be.

This week our thoughts turn to the national tragedy of 9-11. There can be no doubt that this tragic event will continue to affect the conscience of Americans because of the violence that we suffered from a group that continues to demonstrate great hate for us. Our Christian challenge is to be able to still see the dignity of those who are lost within their own hate of America, and to respond to them with the dignity that arises from desiring their reconciliation with God and the human community. That is one reason why any act of social violence that destroys a human life becomes an ethical and moral problem for us Christians. It’s one thing when we have a lost soul or a lost community that is wandering and wayward because of their own ideological idols, but to deprive those souls from their hope of redemption is a moral problem. The Shepherd could have prioritized the good of the 99 sheep and left the one to die but that is not the way of the Good Shepherd.

• A call for accountability to the corrupt Afghan government that suffered a recent electoral debacle
• A stronger Afghan security force and government
• A initial planed withdrawal of US forces by 2011
• A commitment against permanent occupation

By now many Catholic and other faith-based organizations here in the United States have openly criticized the strategy for being vague on the mission and for its focus on a military troop surge. Much of this response stems from the Christian position of promoting peace and non-violence, a position that we as Passionist generally support because of the consistent position of Christ himself as a promoter of peace even in the midst of the violence he experienced with His Passion and death. The Catholic social tradition has supported both the Just War and Non-Violence theory with regards to its position on war and peace.  However Catholic social teaching also reminds us that peace is a value only insofar as it related to justice. In his 1972 Message of Peace titled “If you want peace, work for justice” Pope Paul VI said:

And where other unquestionable forms of Justice have been injured or crushed – be they national, social, cultural or economic – could we be sure that the Peace resulting from such a tyrannical process is true Peace? That it is a stable Peace? Or, even if it be stable, that it is a just and human Peace?

Any analysis of the situation in Afghanistan reveals that the situation is very complicated. Unfortunately there are no simple solutions here. Peace is always desirable, but the lens from which we measure peace demands that we also review its ability to promote justice. Paul VI also qualifies what this peace based on justice looks like in this famous speech of his: “A Peace that is not the result of true respect for man is not true Peace. And what do we call this sincere feeling for man? We call it Justice.”

It is for this reason that I will not be so quick in judging the current strategy of President Obama on the merit of his military surge. The situation in Afghanistan is critical and, not being in a position of evaluating the full scope of global security, I cannot presume to know the resources necessary to achieve a just goal and an actual peace.

What I would critique however is the emphasis of President Obama’s strategy objectives. Especially with regards to the “war of ideas” it is necessary to offer a clear vision and related goals for the promotion of a just scenario where the sincere respect for the people of Afghanistan is evident. This vision cannot be to merely “deny al Qaeda a safe haven” and to “reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government.” This vision must be rooted in a plan to partner with the Afghan community for the political, social and economic development of the nation.  It is not enough that the President touch on the value of promoting mutual respect and a form a collaborative partnership with Afghanistan when he shared his commitment that the United States would not engage in a permanent occupation. This principle should have been the cornerstone of his strategy.

True development should not come from our own economic or military interest but the interest of the Afghan community and their culture. The 3D (Development, Diplomacy, Defense) Security Initiative suggest in their report, “Missing Elements of a Comprehensive Strategy in Afghanistan,” that a greater surge priority should have been for a development surge and as a model they suggest supporting the Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Program (NSP) which are development projects that are run by local, democratically elected, mixed gender Community Development Councils.

The military strategy needed to win the stability of Afghanistan is beyond my scope of analysis. Think tanks like the Brookings Institute or the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace have offered some interesting points on this matter. But if our position is based on a priority for justice, solidarity and compassion for a people who are experiencing social and economic suffering then our own position must prioritize a vision to partner with them in achieving a social and economic development that works for them.

• Jeremiah 31: 7-9. Jeremiah announces the return of the northern tribes, exiled in their pitiable condition by the Assyrians.
• Hebrew 5: 1-6. Priests should deal patiently with erring sinners for they themselves are beset by weakness and must make sin offerings for themselves.
• Mark 10:2-16. Jesus cures the blind man Bartimaeus, declaring “Your faith has healed you.”

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

The readings this week call us to be humble and compassionate. In the first reading Jeremiah is reminding Israel that the Northern tribes will eventually return. God’s people have been humbled after the Assyrian exile of the northern tribes of Israel and Jeremiah prophesizes that in the end the God of mercy will “bring them back from the land of the north.” Jeremiah goes on to describe the great compassion that God will have for his exiled people. Famed Passionist scripture scholar Fr. Carroll Stuhlmueller’s suggests that this prophesy is specifically informing the southern tribes of Judah that the northern tribes of Ephraim will return since the Assyrian empire is collapsing at the hands of the Babylonians. But what happens historically is the northern tribes of Israel never returned and they are lost to history.

The old Kingdom of Israel in not restored in its original form. The Jewish people have two choices; they can either dismiss their faith in God altogether, or they can allow themselves to be open to a new way of understanding God’s promise to them. Perhaps God desire to “gather them from the ends of the world with the blind and the lame in their midst” meant something greater than the return of the Northern tribe. Here is where the Gospel reading comes in. Now, through Jesus Christ, Jeremiah’s prophesy can be fulfilled. The compassion that Jesus has on Bartimaeus is reflective of God’s compassion to the lost tribes of Israel.

With humility comes compassion. The message in the second reading is that if we are truly humble then we will be aware of our own limitations and weaknesses. When we do that then we can appreciate the weaknesses and limitations of others. That is when we will be serving our own human community in a way that is compassionate and pastoral versus indifferent and judgmental.   

Humility is a valuable virtue that seems lost in our own society. Opinionated pundits are governing our own way of life and the message seems to be that nothing else should matter, not even the truth, outside of your own opinion. Facts and data are only useful insofar as they can back up your opinion. Principles and morality are also generally irrelevant unless they are the basis for your own opinion. It is fed to us by the media where the opinionated pundits are taking over all forms of journalism. But then it is played out in social networks and blogs. Now it is finding its way in social places like café’s and bars. There is no respect for dialogue and any kind of objective approach. This does not only hold true for politics but also for aspects of the faith. It does not matter what theologians, bishops or popes say or think. So long it fits our own opinion and it represents our own self interest then it may have some value. I have heard this type of public talk for some time now, especially with regards to immigration and the environment. Because there is no humility there is no compassion. Those of us who charge in with our own opinions are indifferent to the opinions and experiences of the other. Our own self-interest becomes our only good. Self-interest is not a value of our faith. We must humble ourselves before our God and before each other so that we can be open to God presence and wisdom within each one of us.

If we don’t learn to be humble make no mistake God will humble us, after all, He’s done it before.

• The market should be transparent and held to public accountability
• International laws governing trade and financial flows should be developed and enforced
• The International Financial Institutions should promote access to capital to developing nations
• Public regulations should be carefully developed so that they safeguard the public from market volatility but that they do not obstruct the flow of the market

Behind these ideas another basic premise seem to hold favor with these economist. The capitalist system should continue but it should be held to a more compassionate virtue other then self indulging profit making. One cannot of course look to the market alone to produce a virtues system since the market itself is value free. But this is where our political and social institutions come in, to nudge the market in a way that it can bring financial growth and prosperity while making sure that it does so in a way that can compassionately address the needs of all who are affected by the market.

Passionist spirituality offers us the opportunity to develop an ethic of compassion. Christ Crucified is a central image of God´s compassionate love for humanity. Like wise our spirituality calls us to integrate this universal ethic of compassion to all who continue to suffer in our world. When people suffer from human elements such as economic policies then we are called to be compassionate in a way that also addresses the issues that cause suffering. With this call to promote a compassionate model of capitalism we feel obliged to champion a perspective of what this model could look like. As we are a religious community we do not attempt to offer actual economic policies, but in this blog we would like to highlight an economist who offers some interesting insight into policies that some of us feel may bring about a compassionate form of capitalism.

Hernando De Soto is a famous Peruvian economist who promotes the cause of bringing capitalism to the poor by giving people in developing countries an actual opportunity to have access to capital (versus foreign aid and dependancy) and basic protection of rights to property as well as basic human services and needs. Below is an 8 minute program that he has done called “capitalism at the crossroads.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW5FKNpgg6I

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

I find the readings during the Easter Season fascinating. Here the disciples of Jesus just experienced an amazing tragedy with the death of the Messiah at the hands of the authorities. Afterwards they experience the amazing intervention by God in raising Jesus from the dead. The disciples and followers of Jesus have been shaken to their very core, now they struggle to make sense of all this.

In Luke’s gospel Jesus helps his disciples understand what took place and what this means for the mission that God is giving the early Christian community. This week we take a break from Paul’s epistles to hear about how John and Peter came to understand this mission of being witness to the reconciliation of God and humanity.

Peter continues the miraculous power of Jesus by healing a cripple beggar. The Jerusalem community is again mystified but this time they nervously have to contend with their collaboration in having the Messiah crucified. Peter announces God’s message of mercy and reconciliation but he also corrects them for acting out of ignorance and again invites them to repent.

Likewise John also preaches on how Jesus has forgiven the sins of the whole world and how he is now our advocate as we struggle to atone. But if we are to accept Jesus as our advocate in this worldly struggle we “ought to walk just as he walked.” We must struggle to follow the commandments in the spirit of love as we journey to reach the state perfection that God calls us to.

The message of scripture is that God loves all of creation and he invites us to repent in order to abide in his love. Because we struggle with our own self-interest God breaks into human history with powerful moments that shake us all to the very core so that we can reassess ourselves based on these amazing moments of divine revelation. Peter and John share this powerful intervention by Jesus Christ in giving us a template for incarnational living. Now we are called to free ourselves from the same social ignorance which blinded the Jerusalem community and which continues to blind many of from the love of God. This love is expressed in the compassion that God has for all of humanity, especially for the poor and marginalized members of our society. From this compassion flows justice which God asks us to provide to all members of creation through the application of the commandments in the Spirit of divine love.

Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group:

• Are you aware of any social ignorance you may have had or that you may be struggling with now? Consider your own Easter journey, when have you allow the love of God to break into some aspect of ignorance during the Lenten and Easter season.
  
• Can you identify some aspect of social ignorance that blinds society from the love of God? What social institutions promote this blindness, and why? What can we do to move our society and our community towards the love that God has for all of creation?

The Christian faith has shown us that truth, justice and love are not simply ideals, but enormously weighty realities. It has shown us that God —Truth and Love in person—desired to suffer for us and with us… Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God’s compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises. – Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi

The basic thesis for Pope Benedict XVI is that in the midst of great suffering (social or personal) one can experience some deep meaning that can bring a new vision of true hope that is grounded in the will of God for all of humanity. From this we can begin to address personal and social issues. Below is the link and video link of Pope Benedict’s Easter message. Here I would like to offer a quote from his Urbi et Orbi message in which Pope Benedict identifies many of the issue that impact our global family.

At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope. Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ’s Resurrection. For as I said earlier, Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love. – Pope Benedict XVI, Easter Message 2009

Pope Benedict’s encyclical and message of Christian hope identifies the Paschal Mystery not only in its historical significance but also in the meaning of social and personal suffering in our lives which is usually the place where we struggle to identify Hope. In this way Pope Benedict’s social and spiritual message is firmly grounded in the Passionist tradition which has seen the redemtive quality of Christ Passion, Death and Ressurection in the suffering of the world today. Consider this powerful quote from our own Fr. Don Senior, CP on the fourth vow of the Passionist which is to keep alive the memory of the Passion:

But there are other reasons for the Passionist vow. Jesus’ death on the cross was a death in the cause of justice. He was executed because he challenged accepted values. He sided with the poor and the outcasts. He condemned oppressive structures. Jesus was a prophet and prophets meet strong opposition.

His cross reminds us that Christians must listen to the cries of the poor. We are in solidarity with those whom society may forget or even exploit. The cross is a sign of justice. To remind the world about the cross is to challenge the world for its injustice and neglect. Passionists are pledged to that challenge. -Fr. Don Senior, CP

Here are the links of Pope Benedict’s Easter Message for 2009. I offer you this for your thoughts and consideration as we begin to celebrate our Easter season. Let me know what you think of the global challenge to the Easter message.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Easter Message 2009

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5axrSsEU_U0

• Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46
• 1 Corinthians 10:31–11:1
• Mark 1:40-45

Thoughts for your consideration:

“Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”” In this weeks Gospel reading this phrase jumps out at me. Jesus expresses two social values with this encounter with the leper.

The first value he expresses is compassion. Compassion is derived from the Latin cum-patire which means to suffer with. Compassion is quite unlike pity. In taking pity you are moved by some experience of suffering but pity does not entail an active response. However if you express compassion then you are moving into the realm of action. Had the passage read “Moved with pity Jesus shook his head and walked on,” then pity would have been all that Jesus would have expressed. But instead Jesus expresses a compassion where he actively suffers with this person by touching him, an act which would have rendered Jesus unclean.

In showing compassion Jesus also expresses another social value, solidarity. Leviticus reminds us that a leper was cast out of the community. This was not an act of biblical oppression; rather it was a way to preserve the overall health of the larger community. The leper places his social status on the will of Jesus who represents the will of God. Jesus expresses verbally to the leper that the will of God is to be in solidarity with all who are marginalized and exiled from being part of the human community. He brings the leper back into right relationship.

Above you will find some quotes regarding Catholic and Christian social teaching. The teaching by Pope Benedict XVI through his recent encyclical, Spe Salvi, is very informative on our social responsibility of promoting solidarity through an ethic of compassion. It bears highlighting one more time.

A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through “com-passion” is a cruel and inhuman society.

This value continues to support the Catholic social value of developing a preferential option for the poor. This Catholic social principle has encountered some difficulties based on our distaste for discussing issues of classism between the rich and poor. So instead Pope Benedict has taken this principle and changed the subject to be the suffering members. We do not have to make a list of who are the suffering members. Like Jesus we will know the suffering members of society when we too are “moved with pity.” But as Jesus did and as Pope Benedict suggest we must individually and as a society move from pity to an active value of compassion whereby we suffer with our marginalized neighbors and bring them into solidarity with the entire human community.

Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group:

• When have you observed or been part of a group of people being “left out” because of some form of discrimination?  Have you experienced some healing of this division?
• In the gospel Jesus heals the person who is ill.  He makes some “clean.”  How would you describe the cleansing or absolving or healing that is needed in our social situation today?