"Finally, a last point that perhaps seems a little difficult for us. St. Paul in the conclusion of his Second Letter to the Corinthians repeats and also puts on the lips of the Corinthians, a prayer originating in the first Christian communities of the area of Palestine: Maranà, thà!, which literally means, 'Our Lord, come!' (16:22). It was the prayer of the first Christian community and the last book of the New Testament, Revelation, also closes with this prayer: 'Come Lord!'"Can we also pray like this? It seems to me that for us today, in our lives, in our world, it is difficult to sincerely pray so that this world perishes, so that the new Jerusalem comes, so that the final judgment and Christ the judge come. I think that if we don't dare to sincerely pray like this for many reasons, nevertheless in a just and correct way we can also say with the first Christians: 'Come, Lord Jesus.'
"Certainly, we don't want the end of the world to come now. But, on the other hand, we want this unjust world to end. We also want the world to be deeply changed, the civilization of love to begin, a world of justice and peace, without violence, without hunger, to arrive. We all want this -- and how can it happen without the presence of Christ? Without the presence of Christ, a just and renewed world will never really arrive. And though in another way, totally and deeply, we too can and should say, with great urgency and in the circumstances of our time, Come, Lord! Come to your world, in the way that you know. Come where there is injustice and violence. Come to the refugee camps, in Darfur and in North Kivu, in so many places in the world. Come where drugs dominate. Come, too, among those rich people who have forgotten you and who live only for themselves. Come where you are not known. Come to your world and renew the world of today. Come also to our hearts. Come and renew our lives. Come to our hearts so that we ourselves can be light of God, your presence."In this sense, let us pray with St. Paul: Maranà, thà! Come, Lord Jesus! And let us pray that Christ may be really present today in our world, and that he may renew it."
--Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience [fulltext]
12 November 2008
6 comments:
Father C.,
Here is a link to an inpiring story of conversion regarding a Sebian doctor who performed over 48,000 aborions and through a dream in which St. Thomas Aquinas appeared has stopped performing abortions.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14322
Tom P.
when will this blog be starting again?
Father, I have a question... You said in your Christmas Eve sermon that Joseph went against society's law in not divorcing Mary (which would put her in danger of being stoned), and instead (thankfully) chose to follow God's law (the direction given to him by the angel). But wasn't the punishment of divorce and/or stoning for adultery the prescription of the Halakha -Jewish law? So wouldn't Joseph have really been going against the church law of that time?prever
Father,
May I please request that you reconsider the platic disposable water bottle on the alter. I feel it goes against recent direction from the vatican to "respect creation" in that "disregard for the environment always harms human coexistence, and vice versa". This sets a bad example to those in the pews. Also, I strongly feel it is aesthetically distracting from the sacredness the alter should hold. Thank you.
Well, I probably didn't properly clarify things in that Homily. The point I meant to make, is that sometimes we have to appear "different" or "unconventional" or even "strange" if we are to do what the Lord asks of us. Going against the grain as St. Joseph did by marrying Mary when she was pregnant with a child that was not his would have definately appeared to be strange and unconventional.
It would never be correct to disregard Divine Law. God cannot contradict Himself, so the Law of God (as opposed to the law of man) will never contradict itself. Within the Church there are distinctions in law. There is the Divine Law which can never be broken, and there are other laws that help us to grow in our faith, but they do not come directly from God, and therefore can change depending on the situation.
I hope that helps to clear things up. If not, don't hesitate to write another comment.
Regarding the second post from Anonymous. I agree that we need to be respectful of our environment. That is why, generally, we try to recycle here at St. Rose, and the bottle you are referring to is one that I fill over and over again.
I agree wholeheartedly that it isn't very dignified. But, it is convienient and doesn't spill. I am certainly open to suggestions on something I could use that would be more dignified and still be practical. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
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