30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 30^th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Exodus 22: 20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10; Matthew 22: 34-40

Selected Passage: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."  (Matthew 22:36-40)

Meditation: The Love of God and Love of Neighbor remains the basic ethical measure of our words, thoughts and actions. We should not behave and think like the Pharisees and Scribes who multiply laws yet are lacking in the real measure that counts.

In the Muslim Letter – the Common Word between you and us – addressed to all Christian Leaders, it challenges Muslims and Christians to live the Common Bond that unites them both – that is – the Love of God and Love of neighbor.

www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

South Sudan: New Chance for Peace?

Jan Egeland 

Secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council

OSLO, 18 October 2017 

In the coming weeks South Sudan’s leadership, the opposition, and a cadre of armed groups are expected to come together to reignite peace talks. For the first time in months, an air of possibility floats over the war-ravaged nation.

But many critical questions remain unanswered about who will be included in the talks and exactly what will be negotiated. It is vital that smart and effective external pressure is placed on the men with guns and power. Now, more than ever, neighbours and influential nations must spare no effort to help end this horrific man-made catastrophe.

The east African regional body, IGAD, is meant to lead the process to end the war. The rest of us must do everything in our power to support them. Previous talks have been led by the “Troika”, an alliance of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Norway. They helped end the Sudanese civil war and ensure independence for South Sudan in 2011. They also supported the talks that led to this young and troubled nation’s peace agreement in 2015.

But the international players on the peace field have changed drastically, and support for South Sudan has waned.

President Donald Trump’s America first policy has left the United States yet to outline a policy for South Sudan, or even to appoint a special envoy. This leaves the remaining two Troika members – Norway and the United Kingdom – with a big responsibility in supporting IGAD. They have a unique opportunity to guide international efforts toward a sustainable peace for the nation they helped create. Not stepping up now will have deadly consequences.

Africa’s largest refugee crisis

The past 12 months has driven South Sudan’s humanitarian crisis to new lows. Armed conflict has spread. Militia groups have fragmented and multiplied. The humanitarian situation has deteriorated. Some 7.6 million South Sudanese – about two in every three people – depend on aid to survive. Famine has been declared in two regions this year, and the number of people on the brink of mass starvation is climbing. Nearly four million people have fled their homes and across borders to Uganda and elsewhere, making it Africa’s biggest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

For ordinary South Sudanese, continued conflict will incite even more suffering. The repercussions of failure will reach far beyond South Sudan’s borders, as refugees will continue to flood out of the country and place ever greater strain on their neighbours, already buckling under the pressure of hosting two million refugees.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 28^th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Isaiah 25: 6-10; Philippians 4: 12-14; Matthew 22: 1-14

Selected Passage: 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' (Matthew 22: 8-9)

Meditation: The Parable tells us of God’s invitation to ALL! One caveat is finding ourselves NOT WORTHY TO COME.

In responding to God’s call, we should do it properly. It is not enough to be present. We should show respect to the host, as well as, exhibit self-respect and exhibiting good behavior. We do not take the invitation for granted and neither do we trivialize God’s invitation. BEWARE! Cf. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Always in a Hurry

ALWAYS IN A HURRY

As a priest, I can rationalize this by pointing to the importance of the ministry. Ministry is meant to conscript us beyond our own agenda, but deeper down, I know that much of this is a rationalization.  

Sometimes too I rationalize my busyness and hurry by taking consolation in the fact that I came to be this way legitimately. It’s in my genes. Both my father and my mother exhibited a similar struggle. They were wonderful, moral, and loving parents, but they were often over-extended. Responding to too many demands is a mixed virtue.

It’s no accident that virtually all of the classical spiritual writers warn about the dangers of overwork.  Indeed, the dangers of haste and hurry are already written into the very first page of scripture where God invites us to make sure to keep proper Sabbath. When we are in a hurry we see little beyond our own agenda.

The positive side to haste and hurry is that they are, perhaps, the opposite of acedia. The driven-person who is always in a hurry at least isn’t constantly struggling to get through the morning to the lunch hour. She always has a purpose. As well, haste and hurry can help make for a productive individual who is affirmed and admired for what he does, even as he is stepping over his own children to get to his workplace.  I know this too: I get a lot of affirmation for my work, even as I have to admit that pressure and hurry prevent me much of the time from being a Good Samaritan.

Haste makes waste, so goes the saying. It also makes for a spiritual and a human blindness that can severely limit our compassion.

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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

(In the Philippines, the second Sunday of October is dedicated to the Indigenous Peoples)

Readings: Isaiah 5: 1 -7; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43

Gospel Passage: “42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?  43 Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” (Matthew 21: 42-43)

Meditation: The chief priests and the elders of his people rejected Jesus yet God has made him the very cornerstone of the kingdom.  Whoever believes in Him is given the power to be God’s children and the reign of God lives in him/her.  And the reign of God in us should grow and expand and bear fruit.

Today, we accompany the Indigenous Peoples who continue to aspire for their own ancestral domain and right to live according to their customary laws within the said domain.

www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.