Engaging Faith | Wed, Feb 22, 2017
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time [a]
February 26, 2017
Readings
Isaiah 49:14-15
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Matthew 6:24-34
Calendar
February 28: Mardi Gras
March: Women’s History Month
March 1: Ash Wednesday, Beginning of Lent
March 1: International Women of Color Day
March 1: Zero Discrimination Day
March 3: World Wildlife Day
March 8: International Women’s Day
Quotes
Our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us.
— Pope Francis, Laudato Si, 1
The world expects from Christians a consistent witness of communion and solidarity.
— Saint John Paul II, Message for Lent, 2001
A person is alienated if he refuses to transcend himself and to live the experience of self-giving and of the formation of an authentic human community oriented towards his final destiny, which is God.
— Saint John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 41
Sacred Scripture continually speaks to us of an active commitment to our neighbor and demands of us a shared responsibility for all of humanity.
— Saint John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 51
God destined the earth and all it contains for all people and nations so that all created things would be shared fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity.
— Vatican II, The Church in the Modern World, 69
My wish is that the dialogue between us should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced!
— Pope Francis, 22 March 2013
The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor.
— Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 2
Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity.
— Pope Francis, Laudato Si, 240
Thoughts for Your Consideration
Did you ever see the t-shirt which reads: “The rat race is over!? The rats won!”?
Maybe that is the way you feel as you try to make sense of the new administration. Maybe that is the way you feel as you worry about things in our nation. Maybe that is the way you feel as you cope with the stress of your life and relationships.
In some ways our contemporary American culture is a giant rat race. Corporations are engaged in a giant race to increase their profits. Investors are demanding more income from their investments. High level executives are rewarded with high salaries. Average workers seem to get paid too little. Consumers are pressured by ads to consume more and more. Workers are under pressure to do more for less pay and fewer benefits. Jobs move to low-wage countries. People looking for better jobs give up in frustration. People are busy and don’t seem to have the time to focus on what is really important – family, friends, healthy relationships. People are encouraged to run faster and faster and then don’t seem to get anywhere. People can feel like they are hamsters running in a wheel and trapped in their cage. Is this what God wants for human beings? Is this what we want as human beings?
To read the rest of this reflection from John Bucki, S.J., as well as his reflection questions, faith in action links, prayers of intercession, and prayer meditations, become a member of Education for Justice: http://www.coc.org/EFJ-New.
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