Marking the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which was widely celebrated in the Middle East, churches celebrated Holy Mass which is reminiscent of the crucifixion of Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, pomegranate beads and pomegranate juice, which symbolize the blood of Lord Jesus Christ, were also distributed as a tradition and fires were lit in all squares adjacent to churches.
The Lord himself takes away the veil of our human understanding to show what is really happening, spiritually, to us on earth.
The Gospel begins, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.”
If we think of Jesus as waiting patiently for us to honor him, we’re wrong. In fact, Jesus himself takes the initiative. He is up early, looking for us, approaching us and inviting us.
And when he finds us, he sends us to his vineyard, not to enjoy a reward — but to get to work.
When Germans go to the polls this Sunday, September 24, they are likely to re-elect Angela Merkel as chancellor, an office she has occupied since 2005. Merkel’s expected victory will be all the more remarkable given that the recent populist backlash against the global establishment has tended to see her as its chief enemy. Many had thought she would not survive the anger that her handling of the refugee crisis inspired.
On June 14, 2009, Asia Bibi was thrown into jail. A year later she was sentenced to death for blasphemy, and since 2013, after two transfers, she has been languishing in one of the three windowless cells on death row in the southern province of Multan in the Punjab Penitentiary. A year after the Supreme Court of Pakistan postponed her appeal amid death threats by 150 muftis (Muslim legal experts) against anyone who would assist “blasphemers,” the case has not progressed by one iota. On August 30, Asia Bibi had spent 3,000 days in prison.
Never letting a serious crisis go to waste, climate change advocates seized upon hurricanes Harvey and Irma as evidence that climate change is real and happening, its effects devastating, and without drastic remedial measures global cataclysm is inevitable.
Joining in was Pope Francis. While Irma was hammering the Florida coast, El Papa warned against inaction, predicting, “History will judge our decision.”
I love this quote from the Lebanese Maronite mystic and poet Kahil Gibran: “An eye for an eye and the whole world would be blind”, for it sums up in one pithy sentence a lot of what we struggle with in Christian life.
Our Lady of Sorrows, or Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, is a name used for our Mother, the Virgin Mary--a title used out of deference to the many painful events in her life. Practices aimed at the Seven Sorrows of Mary are very popular devotions for Catholics, and many prayers and rituals are dedicated to Mary in this form.
“Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.” —St. Rose of Lima
There is a line in the Mass readings for September 14 that grabs my heart every time I read it or hear it proclaimed:
…he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross. (Phil 2:8)
September 14 is the day that the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The line occurs during the Second Reading for the day, and is taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.
On the return flight from Colombia, Francis answers questions on the policies to stop immigrant landings and expresses his gratitude to Italy. On hurricanes and floods, “We are arrogant, we do not want to see. But scientists are very clear about the human influence on climate change.” On Trump who abolished dreamers’ DACA law, “If he is a good pro-life, he should defend family unity. On Venezuela, “I believe that the UN must.
Asking the right question is always critical if we want arrive at good answers to what it is we seek or to the problems we face. With that in mind I want to ask us today: How much of your life and mine is governed by “we” and how much is it governed by “me?” That question is fundamental in our lives. Do I arrive at answers and base my decisions all by myself or with others? Do I live my life alone or with others?
