Sudan and South Sudan Bishops' Conference Pastoral Exhortation

PASTORAL EXHORTATION

FROM THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN

Meeting in Juba from 21st - 31st January 2014

LET US REFOUND OUR NATION ON A NEW COVENANT

The Lord said to Moses, 'Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them'. (Exodus

32:7-8)

Preamble

The Catholic bishops of Sudan and South Sudan, meeting in Extraordinary Plenary assembly of the Sudan Catholic Bishops'

Conference in Juba, South Sudan, from 21st to 31st January 2014, address this Pastoral Exhortation to the people of the two nations and to all people of good will who journey with us. We welcome the new Papal Nuncio to South Sudan, Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo. We are grateful for the presence amongst us of our brother bishops from the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) and for their message of solidarity. We encourage them to advocate on our behalf with the member governments of the African Union and IGAD as they lead international peace efforts.

We meet at a time of crisis, perhaps one of the gravest situations we have ever faced. Our vision of a liberated nation in which all people will be equal and live in peace appears to be shattered. The blood of the innocent, in their thousands, cries out from the ground! The Lord will judge harshly those who continue to murder, rape and loot his innocent children, and even more harshly those who incite this violence and fail to prevent it in their greed for power. We affirm the dignity and right to life of every human being created in God's image and likeness. The cease-fire signed on 23rd January 2014 must be implemented in good faith. There are no excuses for not doing so.

Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' He said, 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! (Genesis 4:9-10)

At this time more than ever, the bold Prophetic Voice of the Church needs to be heard, and we speak from our hearts. You are your brother's and sister's keeper! In November 2010 and again in April

2011 we wrote, "Sudan will never be the same again"; in January 2014 we say, "South Sudan must never be the same again". There is no longer "business as usual". Now is the time for our nation to rise from the ashes, but not to take up where the old one left off. Now is the time for a new nation.

However Jesus came not to condemn but to redeem. We too do not condemn individuals, but we condemn evil and seek to heal both individuals and our nation. We call for repentance and conversion of heart. Let those who have committed atrocities admit it honestly. Admission of guilt is a virtue, not a weakness. We invite the prodigal son to return to the family, the lost sheep to the fold, the sinner to right behaviour.

We have been shocked by the events that have rocked our new nation since December 2013. We have witnessed things that should never have taken place on the soil of this nation, as brother fought against brother, leading to so much unnecessary death and displacement of individuals and communities, with many fleeing as refugees to neighbouring countries, and the most appalling destruction. We cannot remain silent in the face of what we have witnessed and heard. We speak on behalf of those who have spoken to us, people now displaced and destitute. We speak on behalf of the silent victims of our two nations. Violence is the daily experience of so many of our peoples in South Sudan, Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Abyei and Blue Nile.

Causes of the Conflict

We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. (Ephesians 4:14-15)

This crisis has been caused by many issues which need to be addressed:

a. We have witnessed the growing tensions within the governing party, the SPLM. The failure to deal with these through internal party mechanisms has played a significant role in the escalation of tension that preceded the violence that erupted on 15th December 2013.

Democratic reform is urgently required within the SPLM. Internal party disputes should not be allowed to destabilise the nation.

b. We stress the need for better governance. Too often we see the tendency to personalise political power, to behave in ways counter to the best interests of our communities, a failure to appreciate that public office is a service to the people. Our institutions across the country need to be staffed by individuals chosen for their competency and professionalism.

c. Corruption and nepotism have contributed to the destabilisation of South Sudan. This has prevented basic services from reaching the people and is breeding resentment and disillusionment towards the institutions of our state.

d. Our history is an open wound that desperately needs healing. We must heal our society by allowing our communities to tell their stories openly and without fear. Negative narratives fester and poison our social relations. We retell them in our villages to our children.

Let us end these vicious cycles by creating space where we can speak and work towards peaceful coexistence and reconciliation.

THE WAY FORWARD...

Truth and Reconciliation

The reconciliation we seek is a process that involves truth telling, knowing what happened when violence erupted between various communities, and why. Thereafter one can speak of accountability, restitution, forgiveness, and peaceful coexistence. There are no quick-fixes to the deep social divisions and trauma within our society. With time and by promoting processes that are holistic and people-centred, we believe that our painful history and our trauma can be healed and our nation reconciled. This is our expectation of the National Committee on Healing, Peace and Reconciliation. This Church-led committee must not fail in its important mission. However reconciliation is not only the work of specialised committees.

Reconciliation must become the single most important priority at every level of national life. The National Budget must reflect this, as must the plans of all ministries, government bodies, UN agencies, NGOs (including international NGOs) and all institutions and individuals.

Inclusive Negotiations

We are critical of the exclusion of the Churches and other civic forces from the peace talks in Addis Ababa, not for the first time; they were excluded from the IGAD talks which led to the CPA in 2005, despite the leading role the Churches had played in advocacy and working for peace. In 2013, Churches were asked to lead the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation, and to negotiate an end to the rebellion led by David Yau Yau in Jonglei State; in 2012, a Church leader was asked to chair the Jonglei peace process; previously Church leaders were asked to negotiate with George Athor. Why are Church and civic leaders now excluded from the ongoing IGAD talks? Why is it that only those who took up arms are discussing the future of our country? What is the legitimacy of any agreement signed in Addis Ababa built on military groups determining our future? A handful of political leaders instigated a crisis in which their followers have devastated the country; how can they alone be entrusted with negotiating the future of the nation without input from the citizens?

The message of peace is not about a negotiated settlement but rather the conviction that the unity brought by the Spirit can harmonize every diversity. It overcomes every conflict by creating a new and promising synthesis. Diversity is a beautiful thing when it can constantly enter into a process of reconciliation and seal a sort of cultural covenant resulting in a "reconciled diversity". (Evangelii Gaudium, 230)

Governance and Democratic Institutions

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

Our young nation has embraced democracy as our political system of governance, which offers those who wish to stand for elected office and represent their communities an opportunity to do so. We must openly challenge each other on the future of our country, but we must ensure that our disagreements are dealt with openly and in a civil manner, firmly rejecting all recourse to violence. Resolving our problems through violent means reveals the lack of maturity and depth in our democratic system. We cannot allow South Sudan to fail due to the actions of a few who are immune to the suffering of their own people, who personalise political power, turning their positions of public service into opportunities for personal enrichment and nepotism. Our state institutions must be strong enough to prevent this, and public leaders must be mature and ethical in their service of this nation.

The country needs accountability and transparency from its elected leaders and government officials. There must be no impunity for crimes committed by political leaders, officials, armed forces, police and others. Impunity for senior leaders gives legitimacy to unacceptable behaviour patterns within our society.

Responsible Reporting and Public Communication

We are critical of the conduct of both national and international media institutions. It is often stated that truth is the first victim of war. We still do not know what actually happened to trigger the recent violence, as no investigation has yet been conducted, but the media quickly lost sight of their duty to report responsibly and impartially. Reports based on information which may not have been accurate inflamed violence and revenge attacks and induced panic.

Journalists and the whole of society must embrace their identity as peacemakers and reconcilers, ensuring that communication is truthful, and that negative stereotyping of communities does not happen.

Responsible reporting should not create hatred and violence.

We call upon our national leaders and all in public office to communicate responsibly. In the interest of peace, stability and national unity we urge them to refrain from hate speech, incitement to violence, propaganda, abuse, misinformation, untrue and exaggerated statements, unfounded allegations, speculations and rumours.

Reform of the Organised Forces

The reform of our organised forces, especially our national army and police, is urgent. Our army has grown in size since the signing of the CPA and has become a significant cost to our nation, at the expense of investment in development priorities. It lacks cohesion. We are conscious of the need to address reconciliation within the armed forces themselves. There is no longer any place for personal militias.

We believe our armed forces need urgent support and pastoral care. We also feel that our national army needs a new name, not associated with a single political party. A professional army should never be involved in politics.

We deplore the manner in which children have been conscripted and recruited into armed forces during the current conflict. Children have no place in the conflict. The manner in which our youth were manipulated has left much to be desired. We urge those who exploit the youth and incite them to illegal activities to desist.

We call upon all armed groups, whether government or opposition, whether formal or informal, to respect international norms for armed conflict. This includes respect for and protection of civilians, dignified treatment of prisoners of war, and refraining from extra-judicial killings. The Church and other agencies which assist the people have been targeted and looted; pastors from our sister churches have lost their lives and we fear for the safety of some of our own personnel. We insist on respect for institutions such as hospitals, churches and places where displaced civilians shelter

Education

Education is essential for the future of the nation, and for building peace and reconciliation. National schools can strengthen diversity.

Centres for peace and development studies can help the growth of the nation. Education can help people understand the structures and dynamics of society. But there must be more than simply academic education; it should include formation in moral and ethical values.

Many of our leaders are churchgoers, but their behaviour does not indicate a good moral life. We need to form consciences and professional ethics.

Violence in Sudan

As we focus on South Sudan, we remain painfully aware of the suffering of the peoples of the Nuba Mountains, Darfur and Blue Nile in Sudan, and the contested area of Abyei. Daily bombing causes great suffering and death to civilians. Confined in their own areas, they do not have access to food, medicines, vaccines and other humanitarian necessities. Women, children and the elderly shelter in caves. Many have been displaced. They too deserve justice and peace, the freedom to practice their own culture and religion, and full citizen rights in the land of their birth. The people of Abyei are yet to receive the official referendum which they were guaranteed in the CPA; we support their right to determine their own political future. South Sudanese and Christians in Sudan also deserve to have their basic human rights guaranteed, and we condemn attempts to harass and restrict the activities of the Church.

We Commit Ourselves

We commit ourselves to the rebuilding that is necessary within our new nation. The task ahead is daunting, but we stand in solidarity with those who need our support. We express our solidarity with our pastoral agents: local personnel, missionaries, and laity. They have chosen to stay with their people at great personal risk.

The Diocese of Malakal, covering the three states of Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile, will receive our particular attention as we source more local personnel, missionaries and other resources to ensure that the immediate and long-term needs of this Diocese are supported. The humanitarian crisis in this Diocese is particularly acute and we appeal to all agencies, especially our own Caritas Internationalis family, to support these vulnerable communities through all possible means, while not forgetting the needs in other parts of our two countries. The presence of the Church in the rural parts of Greater Upper Nile will help to bring stability and human development.

We offer ourselves, our time and our energy, and the resources of our Church to support the mediation process.

We reiterate our support and ownership of the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation.

We commit ourselves to continuing our long-standing education programmes.

We offer our Catholic Radio Network and other media resources to support the process of peace and reconciliation.

The Building of a New Nation

Jesus said, 'Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!' (Matthew 7:24-27)

We are convinced that we stand at a decisive moment in the history of South Sudan. Fundamental choices must be made about how we deal with our past and present history, about how we govern ourselves as a nation, about how state institutions serve the poor. We must seize from the present crisis an opportunity to re-found our nation on democratic principles of dialogue, inclusion, and respect for diversity, God's gift to humanity. We encourage that which strengthens diversity and weakens barriers. We need to work to support the notion that we are one nation sharing one identity, rich in culture, blessed by diversity, which is to be celebrated. Mature and strong leaders can help us to see beyond ourselves to that which is beautiful in our societies. Insecure leaders will remind us of our differences, drive wedges between our communities, and ultimately destroy us. Where are our Mandelas and Nyereres? Where are those who will lead us in re-founding this newly independent nation? We proclaim our hope and expectation that the people of South Sudan can and will rise above the crisis.

Let our nations be built not on foundations of sand but on strong foundations of truth, justice, reconciliation, diversity and peace, on the foundations of the Gospel values enshrined in Catholic Social Teaching. Hear these words and be wise!

When the crisis erupted, our people turned spontaneously to prayer. We call on the nation and all people of good will to continue to accompany the peace and reconciliation process with prayer and fasting. Furthermore, we appeal to our leaders to join their people in this endeavour.

May God bless you.

Given this 30th day of January 2014 in Juba, South Sudan.

H E Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako

Archbishop of Khartoum

President of SCBC

H G Paulino Lukudu Loro

Archbishop of Juba

H L Erkolano Lodu Tombe

Bishop of Yei

Vice-President of SCBC

H L Rudolf Deng Majak

Bishop of Wau

H L Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala

Bishop of Tombura Yambio

H L Michael Didi Adgum

Bishop of El Obeid

Mgr Roko Taban Mousa

Apostolic Administrator of Malakal

Mgr Thomas Oliha Attiyah

Apostolic Administrator of Torit

H L Santo Loku Pio

Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Juba

H L Macram Max Gassis

Bishop Emeritus of El Obeid

Fr John Mathiang

Coordinator of Rumbek

South Sudan and Bloody Price of Autocracy

South Sudan Crisis: the Bloody Price of Autocracy

José Vieira | mercoledì 29 gennaio 2014

Four states of South Sudan descended once again into the hell of war after nine years of peace.The fighting started as a murky quarrel within the presidential guards on the evening of December 15 but the political leadership used it to quell the opposition within the ruling party. Meanwhile, the presidential fracas turned into an ethnic conflict in Juba and extended to Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states. Until mid-January, ten thousand people were killed and almost six hundred thousand displaced by the fighting.

The current crisis in South Sudan is portrayed as a political-struggle-turned-violent between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former Vice President Riek Machar Teny. In fact, it is a fight between Kiir maneuvering to consolidate his power over the SPLM, South Sudan’s ruling party, and a number of historical leaders unhappy with his dictatorial drive.

Kiir did an excellent job during the interim period between 2005 and 2011. He kept southerners united, reining in warlords that during the civil war sided with Khartoum with amnesties and bribes, ignored the many “banana skins” Sudan dropped along the road to the referendum in a bid to derail the whole process.

The first sign of change in Kiir’s camp came prior to Independence Day during the review of the Interim Constitution that led to the Transition Constitution. Opposition and civil society groups were kept out of the process with the excuse that it was a minor exercise: the real constitutional review would be the draft of the Permanent Constitution. The Transitional Constitution Kiir signed and presented to the nation on July 9, 2011, on the occasion of the proclamation of independence, increased his powers substantially without proper checks and balances.

After the independence, the SPLM leadership, very active during the months that led to the referendum, went into limbo busy with their own lives. Kiir governed the country mostly through republican decrees read out at state-owned SSTV during the evening news. Sudd Institute, a very active research think-tank said 'the South Sudanese problem, however, is that their president has not been making that many public appearances, particularly as circumstances of national importance arise'.(See In 2013 Reflect Upon 2012: A Review of the New Year’s Call from President Kiir). It said Kiir was more a ruler than a leader.

The power struggle within the SPLM went on fire in February 2013 when its 19-member Political Bureau met in Juba to review the four key party documents: Constitution, Manifesto, Rules and Regulations and Code of Conduct. The four key documents should have been voted during an extraordinary Convention in March and a the party leadership renewed in May at the ordinary Convention. At the beginning of the politburo Vice President Riek Machar Teny, Secretary General Pagan Amum and presidential advisor Rebecca Nyandeng, John Garang’s widow, said they would contest the party’s leadership in the Convention.

They may have been working on the assumption that Kiir would not run for the presidency in 2015.He said many times that his job was to lead the nation to the referendum and implement its result. But Kiir changed ideas – or the people around him made him change them – and he tried to bury competition within the ruling party. The Political Bureau managed to pass the new SPLM Constitution and Manifesto but there was no consensus about Rules and Regulations and Code of Conduct, key documents to discipline party members. Another buzzer went off in May 2013: Kiir dismissed Justice Ajonge Perpetuar, the deputy head of the legal drafting team in the President´s Office. He also disqualified her as a first class judge through another republican decree, a clear breach of the separation of powers, sacrosanct in any functional democracy.

The discontent within and without the SPLM brewed: the country was under austerity since January 2012 and impunity and corruption continued to grow unchecked although Kiir declared zero tolerance to graft. At the end of July, the president dismissed the entire cabinet, including VP Machar. The move sided a number of gray party characters who passed from one ministry to another since 2005 without leaving any real mark. It also increased the opposition to Kiir that became more vocal.

Secretary General Amum gave an interview to private CTV in the cozy setting of a Juba hotel,blaming Kiir for almost all that went wrong in post-independence. Kiir suspended Amum, limited his movements, forbade any contact with the media and established a commission led by former speaker and new VP James Wani Igga to investigate the secretary-general. The tension upped in mid-November when Kiir inaugurated the SPLM House in Juba. He declared all party structures, including the Political Bureau and the National Liberation Council except the chairmanship, illegitimate since their mandate ended in May 2013 and 'the party was not functioning and dissolved itself' (http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48843). A number of historic members of the politburo met on December 6 in Juba while the president was in Paris attending an African summit organized by the French government. In a stern statement they wrote that Kiir had 'dictatorial tendencies' and 'completely immobilized the party, abandoned collective leadership and jettisoned all democratic pretensions to decision making'(See the Press Statement By Riek Machar).

Kiir went ahead with the National Liberation Council on December 14 without the Political Bureau’s okay that statutory had the power to set its agenda. The fighting between Dinka and Nuer presidential guards in a Juba barrack took place at the end of the Council’s meeting on December 15. The soldiers’ quarrel changed into an all-out chasse for Nuer males in Juba. Human Rights Watch documented that in one incident alone soldiers slaughtered between 200 and 300 Nuer men in Gudele, Juba, on December 16 (See South Sudan: Soldiers Target Ethnic Group in Juba Fighting). On December 16, Kiir appeared on TV, donning presidential guard fatigues.

He announced that the army foiled an attempted coup led by Machar and supported by a number of disgruntled ministers that lost their job in July’s cabinet dismissal. Kiir quitted the army in 2010 to be able to run for the presidency of South Sudan. Security operatives arrested ten of the named coup plotters and another four went on the run including Machar.

Three days of fighting in Juba killed at least one thousand people. On December 18, Peter Gadet led an uprising in Bor. Gadet is a Nuer warlord that got the command of Division 8 in Jonglei State after he made peace with the government for the second time and was reintegrated in the army. At least one thousand people were killed in the combats. The army retook Bor one month later helped by Ugandan forces. The fighting extended to Unity and Upper Nile states and Bentiu and Malakal, the respective capitals, were controlled by rebel forces for a while.

The media portray South Sudan’s as a Kiir versus Machar struggle for power. What is happening is a struggle to control the SPLM between Kiir and his acolytes and historic party members that contest Kiir’s autocratic drive. The fight became ethnic due to old scores between Nuer and Dinka. In 1991, Nuer forces loyal to Machar killed some two thousand Dinka in Bor. Earlier, Machar broke away from the SPLM, contesting John Garang’s style of leadership, and sided with Khartoum.

For South Sudan to gain peace and start the journey of prosperity, the current national leadership has to pass on the rudder of the country to a younger generation with new ideas and attitudes. The old liberators took already enough reward for their part in the struggle towards independence: those in power pocketed billions of dollars since 2005. The time arrived for a generation of technocrats within the SPLM and from the civil society that are better prepared for the job of government.

The old guard, Kiir included, should retire to their cows, women and ‘merissa’ – the local beer – for the sake and the future of South Sudan.

The Feast of the Lord's Baptism (A)

Dhikr for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (A)

 Readings: Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7; Acts 10: 34-38; Matthew 3: 13-17

 Text: “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him.” (Matthew 3: 16)

 Meditation: We, too, at our baptism were filled by the Holy Spirit and we have become “Spirit-filled persons”.  Let us, then, honor the HS in us and let the Spirit continue to be at work in our lives… By the power of the same Spirit, we become God’s own sons and daughters

 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.

Special Prayer for Peace in South Sudan

We appeal to all people of goodwill to Pray for Peace in the new Republic of South Sudan. UN reports stated that over a thousand casualty and over 200 thousands are now displaced.  While there is a scheduled peace negotiation in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia, the parties have still have to put in place a cessation of hostilities or ceasefire. The  ethnic divides continue to hound the new Republic.

• Pray for the cessation of hostility between the government forces and the rebels;
• Pray that all protagonists come to the peace negotiating table and negotiate for the common good of the Republic of South Sudan;
• Pray that the new nation finds solution to the ethnic divides and work for a social cohesion - the thread that would bind all South Sudanese notwithstanding the ethnicity; and
• Pray for the victims of the renewed hostility.

Web Master

The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (A)

Dhikr for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (A)

Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-7; Ephesians 3: 2. 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

Text: “They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  (Matthew 2: 10-11)

Meditation: This feast celebrates the manifestation of the Lord to the Magi… They saw his star and followed it until they saw the child, the savior.  We need to see, too, his star and follow it in our daily journey and hoping that one day, we shall find him and pay him homage… For this to happen, we need to be able to discern the signs of the times.

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.

The Feast of the Holy Family (A)

Dhikr for the Feast of the Holy Family (A)

Readings: Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3: 12-21; Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

Text: “…behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." (Matthew 2: 13)

 Meditation:  Like the Holy Family, there are times that we need simply “to flee” until the “tempest” is gone else we are destroyed…  The important thing is to discern God’s voice within us. God's message leads to a new understanding not only of ourselves but of the reality out there...

SPECIAL PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLES OF SOUTH SUDAN THAT THEY MAY BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND THE PRESENT TEMPEST THAT THREATEN THE VERY FIBER OF SOCIAL COHESION OF THE NEW NATION...

 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.

Bapa Jun Mercado, OMI

4th Sunday of Advent (A)

4th Sunday of Advent (A): Readings: Isaiah 7: 10-15; Romans 1: 1-7; Matthew 1: 18-24

The short reflection is taken from the Gospel reading: “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.  She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’."  (Matthew 1: 20-21)

In facing life’s challenges, we are, often, afraid.  The message to us is similar to Joseph… ‘DO NOT BE AFRAID’. Trust in God… He is with us!

I considered some of the awful things my parents and grandparents had seen in their lifetimes: two world wars, Nuclear Explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killer flu, polio and small fox. But they saw other things, too, better things: the end of two world wars, the polio vaccine, and the post War Reconstruction and the space travels.

I believe that my generation will see better things, too -- that we will witness the time when AIDS is cured and cancer is defeated; when the Middle East will find peace and Southern Philippines will find the peace formula. Ever since I was a little kid, whenever I've had a bad day, my mom would put his arm around me and promise me that "tomorrow will be a better day." I challenged my mother once, "How do you know that?" she said, "I just do." I believed him. My grandparents did, and so do I.

What the future holds for the next generation, when I hear them speak ‘tomorrow’. I, too, want to put my arm around them, and tell them what the Angel Gabriel told Joseph:  “DO NOT BE AFRAID” Trust in God… He is with us!  Don't worry, tomorrow will be a better day. This, I believe.

Bapa Jun Mercado, OM

2nd Sunday of Advent (A)

Dhikr for the 2^nd Sunday of Advent (A)

Readings: Isaiah 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12

Text: In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea (and) saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3: 1-2)

Meditation:  The reign of God is at hand… it finds home only in a repentant heart.  Change our old ways and bad habits!  After receiving the Baptism of Repentance,  we make visible our commitment to new life.   This takes courage…!

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.

Christ the King NAILED and HANGING on the Cross

Dhikr for the 34th Sunday of the Year (Christ the King) Year C

Readings: 2 Samuel 5: 1-3; Colossians 1: 12-20; Luke 23: 35-43

Selected Gospel Passage: “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power." And Jesus said to him: "truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23: 42-43

Meditation: Our King is Jesus hung on the Cross for his great love for us...  this reminds me of the story told by Elie Weisel at the Nazi Concentration Camp.  The night before a prison guard was killed. The camp rule said that for a guard killed, 10 prisoners were taken to be hung before all the prisoners of the camp.  So that morning, the Nazi gathered ten young boys... and they hung them before all the prisoners.  A loud cry came at the back: "'Where is Yahweh, our God!" And answer came back: 'There is Yahweh, our God, HANGING IN THE GALLOWS...'.  When we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, NEVER forget that the Christ the King is NAILED and HANGING on the Cross.

Visit:  www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

Badaliyya

The “other” person that journeyed (mystically) with Fr. Charles de Foucauld in that “enterprise” (Badaliyya) in the world of Islam is Fr. Louis Massignon.  One of the great contributions of Fr. Massignon in Muslim-Christian Relations is his monumental studies on Islamic Mysticism, specifically on the Life and Martyrdom of the Great Sufi Al-Mansour Al Hallaj.

Louis Massignon’s Meditation on Badal (Ransom)

In Charity.  It is an active and sensitive charity.  Solidarity understood as the ability to suffer with those who suffer injustice.  It is an attempt to liberate … at least to know how to protest with sorrow.  It is to accompany the poor with help and sympathy. Charity is shown with great delicate respect to a person before many and varied religious option.
                                       

With the Figure of Abraham.  The figure of Abraham is a mystery of election and exclusion.  Is it also a mystery of acceptance and a mystery of rejection?  Ismael vs. Israel, David and Paul…  Hadith has it: “No one is truly a believer until one prefers not for his brother what one prefers for himself.”

Being Badal – Ransom/Substitution.  Louis Massignon had “discovered” the reality of BADAL – Ransom/Substitution for the reparation of injustices and for witnessing to the poor and victims of injustices.  Ransom/Substitution demands an offer of the total self – similar to the test of fire.  The witness “par excellence” is the one who does complete or offered as a total ransom for all that is lacking in truth that God knows… Massignon found this in the life and martyrdom of Husayn at Kerbala in the Shi’a Theology.  Husayn is the vivification of the mystery of redemption.

The Ram in place of Isaac/Ismael
The Paschal Lamb for the first born of Israel
The tribe of Levi for the nation of Israel
Jesus for humanity.

Examples used by Fr. Louis Massignon…
The demand on the part of Christians at Najran – the Test of Fire
The offer of St. Francis at Damietta – the Test of Fire
The Desire of St. Raymund of Lull - Ransom
The acceptance of Fr. Massignon mystically to become Badal…
In their lives, each person is assured by Christ, ransomed by him and in return they assure and ransom others … assuming unto themselves all others and standing in the place of others notwithstanding their weaknesses before the mystery of God through via dolorosa unto the violent death of the cross.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips.

3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

A Mystical Imagination

A MYSTICAL IMAGINATION

For this reason, faith is a struggle, but so are a lot of other things. When the surface is all that there is, it's hard to be enchanted by anything, to see the depth that's uncovered by poetry, aesthetics, altruism, religion, faith, and love. And it's especially difficult to understand community.

When the physical is all that there is, it becomes virtually impossible to conceive of the body of Christ and it becomes difficult even just to understand our real connection with each other.

As human beings, we are connected to each other in ways beyond the physical, beyond time, beyond separation by distance, and even beyond separation by death. But to understand this we need a mystical imagination.

The mystical imagination is the other half of the scientific imagination and, like science, its purpose is to help us see, imagine, understand, speak about, and relate to reality in a way beyond fantasy and superstition. But the mystical imagination can show us something that science, wonderful though it is, cannot, namely, it can show us the many grace-drenched and spirit-laden layers of reality that are not perceived by our physical senses. The mystical imagination can show us how the Holy Spirit isn't just inside our churches, but is also inside the law of gravity.

But how do we learn that? A saint might say: "Meditate and pray long enough and you will open yourself up to the other world!" A poet might say: "Stare at a rose long enough and you'll see that there's more there than meets the eye!" A romantic might say: "Just fall in love real deeply or let your heart get broken and you'll soon know there's more to reality than can be empirically measured."

And the mystics of old would say: "Just honour fully what you meet each day and you will find it drenched with grace and divinity."

(Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

Religious Leaders and Building Peace the Philippine Experience

Religious Leaders & Building Peace: The Philippine Experience

Prof. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, OMI (Graduate School Faculty, Notre Dame University)

Fulbright 2002 New Century Scholar (Georgetown University)

I believe, a very important attempt to weave the experiences and lessons of religious leaders’ participation in building peace.  There are many and varied lived experiences of peace building that involve religious leaders of all faiths. It is interesting to note that both violent and peaceful people continue to use religious images and passages from the Scriptures or Holy Books to “justify” their acts and actuations that either promote conflicts and violence or building peace.

The peoples of Mindanao are witnesses to and participants in these two strands. They have seen both the violence and bloodshed in war and rehabilitation and reconstruction in peace building. In fact, war, piracy and kidnappings have always marred, from the very beginning, the encounters between Islam and Christianity in Southern Philippines.  It is often said that the Southern Philippines has really not known peace. What we, sometimes, experience are fleeting truces that allow peoples to build anew their homes and livelihoods until war erupts again and send them back to evacuation centers. 

A multi-awarded movie of the late Marilou Abaya Diaz produced a movie entitled “Bagong Buwan” (New Moon) that became the top grosser during the Manila Film Festival in 2002. The movie was a masterpiece that captured the continuing cycle of war and peace in Mindanao. Peoples live in a continuing “evacuation”.

 I will borrow Shakespeare’s words to describe the relations between Muslims and Christians in Mindanao.

" . . . Creeping murmur and the pouring dark

Fill the wide vessel of the universe:

From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night

The hum of either army stilly sounds

That the fixed sentinels almost receive

The secret whispers of each other's watch. . .

Each battle sees the other's umber'd face."

So Shakespeare's chorus described the eve of Agincourt. The words might well have been written also of Mindanao, more particularly of Muslim-Christian relations. When faiths and religious traditions confront each other, it is, for the most part, with "fixed sentinels" and even with the "whispers of each other's watch".

         

It is said that Christianity and Islam are, indeed, physically adjacent.  Yet, for all their nearness, the relations between these two faiths and their respective followers are largely shrouded in mutual suspicion and darkness. There are few exceptions on either side to rise above the general ignorance and suspicion. But these are rare … When faiths and religious traditions confront each other, it is for the most part, with "fixed sentinels." It is in the context of that “fixed sentinels” in Mindanao realities that I will share with you the few exceptions in building peace.

In the Philippines, particularly in the South, Christianity and Islam have always been presented as two competing faiths for the same geographical area. Wittingly or unwittingly, the recent spate of lawlessness like kidnappings, terrorism and plain and simple banditry is read along the understood "separateness" between Christianity and Islam.

         

This tragic and sad reality is further exacerbated by the contemporary surge of the so-called fundamentalist movements both in Islam and Christianity. The likes of the Abu Sayyaf and Pentagon Group/s that are often associated with fanaticism send jitters to the people in the area.

All these are familiar enough and part of our present problem. Often, they exercise tyranny over our spirits. They have produced a culture and a habit of suspicion and confrontation that make inter-religious collaboration and dialogue, truly, a very difficult task. It requires a commitment and determination to steadily school ourselves to resist and reject our habit of preferring suspicion to trust; our instinct to prefer the familiar confrontation to a new relationship of partnership in the world that is in difficult transition.

In the past as well as today, there is an ever-growing awareness of common territory and affinity between Islam and Christianity. The Qur’an in Chapter 5 verse 82 unequivocally encourages Muslims to cooperate with Christians. “Thou wilt surely find the nearest of them in love to the believers are the ones who say, ‘We are Christians’; that because some of them are priests and monks, and they wax not proud” (S.5:82).     

The Second Vatican Council document, Nostra Aetate, clearly articulates the common territory and affinity between Christianity and Islam.

 “The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own.  Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his Virgin Mother they also honor, and even times devoutly invoke. Further, they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer alms-deeds and fasting.”

“Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The Sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all men, let them together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values.”  (NA3).

Muslim-Christian Partnership towards Peace & Development

Long before the historic document, Nostra Aetate, there were a few Religious Leaders in the Southern Philippines (the traditional Bangsamoro Homeland) who have understood the importance of Muslim and Christian understanding to attain a lasting peace and sustainable development. There were difficulties, frustrations and pains, yet, they were transcended as they continued to learn how to live as neighbors. The Missionaries of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) have pioneered the new relationship between Muslims and Christians right at the very heartland of the Bangsa (Nation) Moro.

These attempts now constitute the noted “few exceptions” that trail blaze Religious Leaders participation in building peace in Southern Philippines. I will outline five traditions of Muslim-Christian leaders’ involvements in peace building that are associated with the OMI.

The first tradition was the continuing attempts to bridge the education & development gap in the Southern Philippines due to long years of government neglect. In the then empire province of Cotabato and the Archipelago of Sulu, OMI’s began the Notre Dame School System that brought quality education to the Moro peoples long before the establishment of the Mindanao State University.  The Notre Dame School system has generated so much social capital that educated Moro people and the leadership both in the rebel front and in local government easily point to their experiences in the Notre Dame campuses all over the Southern Philippines as examples of harmony and unity between Muslims and Christians.  This was also true in the island province of Basilan with the Claret Schools under the Claretians.

Post Vatican II, Sulu, Basilan and Cotabato had embarked on development programs following the universal call from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, Populorum Progressio  that specifically articulated that “development is another name for peace.”  Resources were generated to bring potable water to the rural communities, clinics were established in remote areas, to build houses for the poor and the “evacuees” now called “internally displaced persons”. To bolster agricultural productivity, farming cooperatives and credit unions were established.  Five foreign Bishops epitomized this tradition. They were Bishops Gerard Mongeau, OMI in Cotabato, Francis McSorley, OMI in Sulu, Philip Smith, OMI both in Sulu and Cotabato and George Dion, OMI in Sulu and Jose Maria Querexeta, CMF in Basilan. 

The ‘original’ Mindanao Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC) and its Implementing Arm, the MSPC Secretariate, ventured farther in Muslim-Christian Relations. With some Protestant churches and Muslim leaders, they carried further the dialogue into meaningful activities such as “Duyog Ramadhan” (Accompaniment during the fasting month of Ramadhan) and conferences on the rights of the Moro people to “self-determination”.

In a similar vein, the Protestant Churches through their Mindanao institutions had also launched dialogue and development programs both in Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato. The Dansalan College in Marawi City and Southern Christian College in Midsayap with their pioneering extension programs served rural Muslim communities.  These two institutions became the leading local partners of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines’ programs of dialogue among peoples of living faiths and of educating Christians about Muslims or PACEM.

Fr. Eliseo Mercado, OMI and Bishop Antonino Nepomuceno were pioneers in the beginning of this Interreligious dialogue both at the national level and local levels that involved the Catholics, Protestants and Muslims.

The second Tradition was the struggle for justice and human rights, particularly during the dark years of Martial Law.  Arbitrary arrests and detentions, Military “zoning” (military encirclements of a community where all males were lined up in the public square and houses were searched and ransacked usually at nights), Cases of “salvagings” (killed or liquidated and later the bodies were dumped into the river) and ‘disappearances’ led to the formation of the first Christian-Muslim Leaders Association of the Philippines. Prominent personalities in this struggle were Bishop Antonino Nepomuceno, OMI, Episcopal Bishop Manguramas, and Sheik Omar Bajunaid. This group conducted capacity building for dialogue and monitoring human rights violations for priests, Imams and Pastors (Through Bishop Nepomuceno, I got involved in this work). 

They constituted the first “quick response” team to assist Muslim individuals and communities that were constantly harassed and repressed. The military wantonly violated their rights during military operations both in urban areas as well as in the remote areas.

It is a tradition that speaks of concern and sincere effort to achieve understanding between Muslims and Christians and to work together to preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice, and moral values.

The association was there to protect people’s civil rights against the constant assaults of the fascist army of the Dictator Marcos. In times of war and calamities, Bishops Nepomuceno, Manguramas and Sheik Bajunaid were in the forefront to give relief, assistance, release of prisoners and moral support as well. They were able to forge Muslim-Christian solidarity that witnessed to the common tradition of trust, friendship and hospitality amid the legacies of suspicion, anger and hatred.  The Social Action Center in Cotabato, during the Martial Law years, became the powerful symbol of Muslim and Christian solidarity for justice, freedom and brotherhood..

The third tradition is the path personified by Bishops Bienvenido Tudtud (Lanao del Sur) and Benjamin de Jesus, OMI (Sulu). Both Bishops were gentle, jovial and friends to all, but most especially to the poor and the vulnerable sectors of Philippine society. Their passionate commitment to the poor and dialogue of life led them to venture in a humble and non-threatening friendship with the Muslims in the Vicariate of Sulu and the Prelature of Marawi. They wanted to be the humble and compassionate servants of the peoples of Sulu and Lanao del Sur. This path is now enshrined in the universally accepted dialogue of life that translates into everyday life the desired friendship that should characterize the relationships between and among neighbors.  It is a path that continues, in daily living, to break down the walls (both visible and invisible) that separate Muslims and Christians.

To advocates of this path it is actually a dialogue of life that carries out the joyful and humble work of proclaiming God’s unconditional love and his inclusive kingdom that recognizes and respects the dignity and spiritual treasures of the Muslim neighbors.

The fourth tradition is the pioneering peace education and advocacy began by the OMI run Notre Dame University (NDU).  It is the first institution of higher learning that has integrated peace education in its curriculum where both Muslim and Christian students are required to take peace studies.  The University’s peace advocacy has led to mediation and conflict resolution efforts of the citizens (Muslims and Christians) in Southern Philippines.

Following the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine Government and the Moro National Liberation Front, Peace Education became one of the flagship programs of President Ramos. Funds were appropriated for NDU to train people and build capacity for all Mindanao Universities with the hope that these Universities would in turn establish their own training centers.  Today, the government Mindanao State University (MSU), the Jesuit run Ateneo de Davao University and Ateneo de Zamboanga University are few examples of Institutions of Higher Learning that grant degrees on Peace and Development Studies. These institutions also conduct a non degree peace education workshop to high school and elementary teachers both in the public and private schools. The aim of these institutions is to integrate in the formal school system, particularly in Mindanao, the culture of peace.

The fifth tradition is the actual involvement in peace making and peace building.  Beginning with the Peace Talks between the Philippine Government and the MNLF in 1992 until 2000, prominent religious leaders like Fr. Eliseo Mercado, OMI of Notre Dame University in Cotabato City, Sr. Amelia David, ICM of the Diocese of Pagadian and prominent lay leaders Josephine Leyson of the Diocese of Dipolog (in Zamboanga del Norte) and Atty. Alan Flores of the Diocese of Iligan in Lanao del Norte got involved not only in that historical peace process between the Philippine Government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) but also in the transitional Consultative Assembly from 1996 to 2002 implementing the 1996 Final Peace Accord. 

It should be noted that a Protestant Pastor (Rev. Absalom Cerveza) became a prominent negotiator in the MNLF Peace Panel. He also served as the deputy Chair of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) during the time of “transition” from 1996 to 2001.

In many ways this tradition is symbolized by the NDU Peace Center that also helps in the forging of the initial ceasefire agreement between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). NDU was also tasked to form the religious leaders both Muslims and Christians to monitor and supervise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. From 1997 to the days immediately prior the “all out war” policy of President Estrada, the religious leaders under the leadership of NDU Peace Center monitored and supervised the ceasefire agreements.

It also facilitated the birthing of the still functioning Coordinated Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) that continues to monitor and supervise the existing ceasefire agreement between the Philippine Government and the MILF. 

Beginning the 2000 all out war policy of President Estrada, another OMI, Fr. Roberto Layson, OMI got involved in giving sanctuary to refugees. With the Church-led organization like Tabang Mindanaw (Mindanao Assistance), he is has been in the forefront of rebuilding people’s lives ravaged by a never ending war.

These traditions show concrete Muslim-Christian collaboration on the ground that indicates the heart of dialogue and peace building. Like politics, peace building is local. They are rooted in “being” with the people, especially the poor and the vulnerable sectors of society. It is a “rootedness” that is shaped and fashioned by a shared living, sympathy and solidarity. This becomes the well-spring of active participation in all human endeavors, economic, political and cultural, always in favor of the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized.  Oftentimes, this kind of witnessing is clearer and more eloquent than any signing of agreement.

Muslim-Christian collaboration is not something abstract. It is a human activity which involves our total life experience. It takes place in the individual as well as communal lives as peoples of differing faiths live out their faiths and conviction according to the living traditions. No doubt, the partnership and collaboration depend upon a bridging leadership that enhances mutual trust and understanding. It demands respect for the identity as well as the integrity of the other. It rests on the conviction that God who is all merciful and compassionate desires to draw all peoples and the whole creation into a relationship of love and peace.

This type of partnership should enhance a new culture that enables and empowers peoples to draw from each other’s traditions and common resources to help face today’s threats to global survival and work together toward peace with justice and the integrity of creation. Religious leaders as exemplified in the five concrete traditions on the ground should spare no effort to live and work together towards reconciling conflicts, eradicating bigotry and prejudices, and empowering grassroots level communities to act upon their own choices in self-development towards a more just and participatory society.

There are no simple formulas for enhancing collaboration and partnership. Every situation demands a serious study and reflection of the many and varied factors at play. Some of these are historical, social or doctrinal. But whatever the factors and their magnitude, it is, in the final analysis, everyone’s duty to see a better community where peoples of differing faiths and traditions live in love, justice and peace. As religious leaders, we have the obligation to emphasize that which unites us and to make a determined effort to set aside that which would divide us. We can only do this if we have full understanding of what the other believes, and are committed to the principle of respect and recognition of the beliefs and feelings of every community and person.

In concrete terms, there is the urgent need to steadily school ourselves to prefer trust to suspicion; prefer friendship to familiar confrontation; and above all, prefer love and service to the usual hatred and bigotry.  This demands a shedding off the old as well as dying …. But is this not the meaning of the saying:  “the old gives way to the new and death leads to life?”

It is precisely in this reality of continuing search for peace that I would like to cite two people. The first is the former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali in his message to the 2^nd International Forum on the Culture of Peace, 26 November 1995: “Peace is the basis for the realization of all the finest aspiration of life itself.”  The second is Pope John Paul II, a man known to harness both the religious leaders and traditions to promote peace and dialogue among religions. During his visit to the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, 6 May 2001, he said: “It is my ardent hope that Muslim and Christian religious leaders and teachers will present our two great religious communities as COMMUNITIES IN RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE, NEVER MORE AS COMMUNITIES IN CONFLICT”. It is crucial for the young to be taught the ways of respect and understanding, so that they will not be led to misuse religion itself to promote or justify hatred and violence.  Violence destroys the image of the Creator in his creatures, and should never be considered as the fruit of religious conviction.”

“Better mutual understanding will surely lead to a more objective and comprehensive knowledge of each other’s religious beliefs at the practical level, to a new way of presenting our two religions NOT IN OPPOSITION, as it happened too often in the past, BUT IN PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GOOD OF THE HUMAN FAMILY.”

Again in his departure address (8 May – Damascus), he appealed to all the peoples and to their political leaders “to recognize that confrontation has failed and will always fail.  Only a just peace can bring the conditions needed for the economic, cultural and social development to which the people of the region have a right."

In our commitment to peace building, we have to continue to believe and assert that PEACE is essential premise for human development, accomplishment and success.  This belief and assertion need always to be nurtured with care and protected from assaults and degradation by violent and evil men and women of our age.

There is no ready-made culture of peace for Mindanao or anywhere for that matter.  There are no easy quick-fixes to our difficulties and problems.  But together, we can weave a new “mat” where PEACE can take roots, grow and flourish.  But to be able to weave that new mat, we need to teach ourselves to speak the language of peace and reject the language of war!  

My dear friends, notwithstanding the difficulties and at times what appears hopelessness of our efforts… it is our collective responsibility to transform the language of war to language of peace – from force to reason, from imposition to dialogue, from exploitation to partnership, from enemies to friends.  It may sound as a new utopia…. But there is a the urgent need to plant, cultivate and nurture a new and refreshing attitude of openness in mind and heart, an essential disposition in understanding and living through the relations between Muslims and Christians in Mindanao.  The Arabic word for this is TADABBAR.  This is the new attitude that will pave the way for a new beginning for each one of us and for each of our faith communities – yes, a new PASSAGE from the culture of war to a culture of peace.

In conclusion, I would like to quote a ten-year old Negah’s understanding of Peace…

"I know what a mine, a tank or a gun is, but I don't know what Peace looks like, because I haven't seen it.  Some people say it is a bird.  Some people say it is luck.  But I know when there is peace everyone can go to his homeland and live in his home.  When it comes, I will see what peace is and I will forget the names of all the weapons that I know." (Read at the IA Consultation – London, October 5-6, 2004)

Prophecy - Challenge and Comfort

PROPHECY - CHALLENGE AND COMFORT

Working for a summer in one of our Oblate parishes, I was living in the rectory with an elderly priest, a fine, saintly man. He had been ordained for more than 50 years and had, during all those years, been exemplary, honest, faithful, and generous. He was deeply respected. I was taken by his goodness.

One evening, I asked him: "Father, if you had your life as a priest to live over again, would you do anything different?" I was expecting him to say no, given his obvious goodness and fidelity. His answer surprised me.

"If I had my priesthood to live over again," he said, "I would be a gentler with people the next time. I would console more and challenge more carefully.

I was one of those people who was taught and who deeply believed that only the full truth can set us free, that we owe it to people to challenge them with the truth, in season and out. I believed that and did it for most of the years of my ministry. And I was a good priest, I lived for others and never once betrayed in any real way my vows and my commitment.

But now that I am older, I regret some of what I did. I regret that sometimes I was too hard on people! I meant it well, I was sincere, but I think that sometimes I ended up laying added burdens on people when they were already carrying enough pain. If I were just beginning as a priest, I would be more gentle, I would spend my energies more trying to lift pain from people. People are in a lot of pain. They need us, first of all, to help them with that!"

What the world needs first of all from us, the churches, is comfort, help in lifting and understanding its complexity, its wounds, its anxieties, its raging restlessness, its temptations, and its infidelities and its sin. Like the prodigal son, the world needs first of all to be surprised by unconditional love. Sometime later, and there will be time for that, it will want hard challenge.

(Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

The Newness of the Christian Message

The Newness in Christ’s Message…

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. (Matthew 5: 38-42)

·       No resistance to one who is evil…

·       Turning the other cheek…

·       Handing over your cloak, as well…

·       Going the extra mile…

·       Not turning of one’s back from the needy…

Are these the values we live by…?

The Jesus Code - Unraveling the Secret

THE JESUS CODE – UNRAVELING THE SECRET

There is no level of reality where one doesn't see the relentless deep pull inside of all things towards a unity, community, fusion, and oneness beyond self. Love stirs all things, speaking to every element in the language it can understand. Deep inside of us, we know too that this alone can bring us home.

And there is an inner code, a certain DNA, within love itself. It too has inner secrets, an inner structure, and a code that needs to be cracked if we are to properly understand its dynamics. And we don't crack that code all at once, at a weekend retreat or at religious rally. We crack it slowly, painfully, with many setbacks, over the course of a lifetime.

Jesus gave us the keys to crack it. They can be named: vulnerability, the refusal out of love to protect ourselves, self-sacrifice, putting others before ourselves, refusing to give back in kind when someone hurts us, a willingness to die for others, the refusal to give ourselves over to cynicism and bitterness when things beset us, continued trust in God and goodness even when things look the opposite, and especially forgiveness, having our hearts remain warm and hospitable, even when we have just cause for hatred.

These are the keys to the wisdom that Jesus revealed and the gospels tell that we are "inside" or "outside" the true circle of love, depending upon whether or not we grasp this wisdom.

(Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

To read more click here
Or copy this address into your browser

http://www.ronrolheiser.com/columnarchive/?id=110