Today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark (Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B) is one of the more challenging ones. Jesus’ disciples have been struggling to figure out what it really means to be great in the Kingdom, to be a follower of Jesus, and what kind of exclusivity pertains to their role as His followers. John tells Jesus that someone who is not one of their group is driving out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus’ followers are trying to get the man to stop doing it – he’s not authorized to use the power - almost as if it were under trademark protection or something. Jesus assures them that anyone not actively against them is for them, so it’s OK for the other person to cast out demons using Jesus’ name (a term also meaning power and authority). He continues, “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” (Mk 9:41)

The reading goes on to include Jesus’ teachings about removing things from our lives that get in the way of a free, loving  response to God’s presence and call  in our lives. It’s very dramatic in its images – plucking out an eye, or cutting off a hand or foot! But sometimes those physical actions might actually be easier than the spiritual work that is really required. Forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply, trusting again, giving freely of our time, talents and treasure when those gifts were not accepted graciously the last time we offered them, moving forward in faith when danger is all around and there seems no way that good can prevail… All in all, a couple of challenging passages.

Yet this year, the twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time coincides with the feast of St. Vincent de Paul.  And that has been on my mind all day today. Here was a man who took to heart the teaching that whatever is given to someone who belongs to Christ is given to Christ. Furthermore, he truly believed that whatever was given to the least of God’s children, was given to Christ. And he set about organizing groups of people, to care for those “children” of God, as well as working with political and religious leaders to change social and religious structures of oppression.

The work goes on today, some four hundred years after the time St. Vincent de Paul began his work. There are still oppressive social structures. People still struggle to survive. Many in the world go to bed hungry after spending all day hungry as well. Health care is not guaranteed to all. Education is not available to all children. Decent housing and clothing are not assured to all, even in the United States, the richest, most powerful nation in the world.

Still, we have Jesus’ promise and reassurance. “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ … will surely not lose his reward.” May we also be ones who give that cup of water to drink to others who belong to Christ, in all the beautiful and all the distressing forms in which they come to us.

About a year ago I had dinner with a lovely couple who happened to be members of a different political party than I. It was not long before the 2008 election, and the handwriting was pretty much on the wall that it was not going to go well for their candidate. It could have been a tense experience, but it wasn’t. I grew up in a family whose politics tend to be quite different from mine, so it doesn’t surprise me that some people of good will think differently on a variety of issues than I do. And it certainly doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time together talking about many things!

At any rate, as the conversation went forward during the evening, the question of how one might choose a candidate arose. It was at this point that I was surprised. In my family and experience, candidates are chosen based on their stand on the issues and their record. At least that’s what most of us would say publicly. It’s definitely conceivable that a vote would go across party lines, though not common. We tend to be pretty independent even when we are members of a party.

However, the gentleman with whom I was dining expressed a totally different idea. He described politics as if it were a game. The analogy he used was of rooting for a college football team. In college football, the record and beliefs of the team members don’t matter. If one is a fan of, say Cal Berkeley, one cheers for Cal Berkeley. If one favors Stanford, then Stanford receives the cheers and allegiance. (These were not the colleges mentioned at the table, but to protect the innocent I’ve changed the names!) In his opinion, politics is also a game. If my team doesn’t win this round, the next starts tomorrow and I’ll do anything in my power to make sure my team wins next time.

I’ve been watching with dismay the controversy over the proposed reform of the health care system and I find myself wondering if it’s become part of the “game” of politics for some. 

There are many complicated issues that must be addressed, many differences of opinion about what services should be offered and to whom, many challenges regarding funding and affordability. Most are not being addressed. Instead, some opponents of the reform bills are circulating outright lies about the proposed reform bills and repeating them at the top of their lungs. They’re out to frighten rather than enlighten middle America. And, I hate to say it, but they seem to be succeeding. Fear wins out over reason every time!

It happened again one morning this week as I was reading the morning paper and its comics page (sacred reading in my book – generally sets the day off to a happy start). Our paper has both conservative and liberal strips, as well as the general funnies and serials. The conservative strip showed a caricature of President Obama saying that he is determined to get rid of people’s clunkers and has him holding a picture of an elderly woman. Talk about fear-mongering and outright lies! I was furious. Nothing in any of the bills comes anywhere close to proposing what the comic strip implied.

The same newspaper, the same day, included an article in the news section reporting on a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (about as conservative as they come). According to the article, so called “end-of-life counseling” improved the mood and quality of life for cancer patients. The study was not done anticipating the current controversy, though it’s an example of the types of studies of outcomes/best practices that are proposed in some of the bills under consideration. What is the best way to care for the ill, the elderly, the young, etc.? The author of the study, nurse practitioner and researcher Marie Makitas, noted: “They [cancer patients] seem to feel a whole lot better knowing there’s someone who’s looking at the rest of them and not just the tumor.”

Isn’t that what quality care should include? Isn’t that an issue of personal rights to decide on important questions such as who will make decisions for me when I no longer can? It seems pretty conservative and pretty obvious to me. Yet critics keep shouting words that frighten rather than discuss the deeper issues and challenges we all face.

The only way I can make any sense of all this to think that for some very powerful people, it’s either just a big game or they have a financial stake in keeping the status quo as it is. Maybe it’s both.

It’s certainly not a big game for the family that lost the rental property they expected would help support them through retirement when their son, through no fault of his own, sustained a major closed head injury in a car accident while in his early 20s. The driver who injured him was not insured and he was between health insurance policies, so his parents ended up paying full price for his care.

It’s not a big game for the woman who is battling ovarian cancer and is concerned that the company for which she works may go out of business, taking her health insurance with it. She would qualify for coverage through the HIPPA program, but it costs more and offers fewer benefits than she currently gets. If she’s out of work and/or medical leave, she’d have to find a way to pay the entire cost of the plan.

It’s not a game for the woman who doesn’t have insurance now because she has a pre-existing condition but can’t get help because there’s a small trust set up with her as beneficiary. No state or federal help for such people!  Her only option is a high risk plan sponsored by the state that offers only $75,000 in total benefits per year and costs 3-4 times what a normal, healthy woman her age would pay for $5 million in coverage!

It’s not a game for the family whose new baby will cost them over $300 per month to insure on his mother’s insurance plan. Dad’s unemployed and Mom has to return to work 6 weeks after his birth so she can keep her job. (Fortunately for that family, the baby qualified for a “big government” program – Medicaid. Thank heavens for “big government” and the vision of those who fought for Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s.)

It’s not a big game for the family whose employer had to reduce costs and so changed the company insurance plan to a high deductible plan that requires the family to pay the deductible before they receive any real benefits from the plan.

It’s not a big game for the thousands of people who find their employers no longer offer health insurance or their doctors no longer accept their insurance plan.

In over 30 years of working in the health care arena, including design of services and facilities, translation of patient informational materials, comparative studies of rates and costs of providing services, and many other assignments, as well as over 10 years in the insurance industry, I’ve seen a lot of cases in which the existing system has not lived up to the promises and claims made for it. We’ve come a long ways towards providing care for all, but we still fall far short and the system is too expensive to be sustainable as is. It’s not a game for too many people.  

Perhaps those who are in favor of health care reform need to know that for at least some of their opponents, it may all be a big game or a question of ratings or of who will win the next election. It may not have anything at all to do with economic realities or morality or social justice or even good patient care! Is it really all just a big game?

Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, Jr.

President Barak Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Pedro Jose “Joe” Greer, Jr. this week. The White House comment on Dr. Greer’s work follows:

Dr. Pedro Jose “Joe” Greer Jr. has devoted his career to improving medical services for the uninsured. A native of Miami, he followed his passion for helping others to medical school and founded the Camillus Health Concern (CHC) in 1984 as a medical intern. Today, CHC treats thousands of homeless patients a year, serving as a model clinic for the poor and inspiring physicians everywhere to work with indigent populations. Dr. Greer’s tremendous contributions to the South Florida community and our nation as a whole stand as a shining example of the difference one person can make in the lives of many.

The Camillus Health Concern, named in honor of St. Camillus de Lellis, patron saint of nursing, has been a leader in providing health care services to low income and homeless residents of Miami-Dade County since 1984. The work of the Brothers of the Good Shepherd at Camillus House (founded in 1960), including providing food, shelter, housing, rehabilitative treatment, and health care for the poor and homeless, is an example of ways the Gospel call to service of “the least of my brothers and sisters” is being lived in our day. The fruit of Dr. Greer’s work, begun while still a medical intern, to add primary care health services to the mixture of services at Camillus House is recognized by this award.

We at Theologika.net add our congratulations to Dr. Greer and the other winners of the Medal of Freedom.

Eastern Orthodox Icon of Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost falls 50 days after Easter. Pentecost was originally a celebration of the first harvest and people came to Jerusalem from all over the known world to celebrate the feast.

For people in northern climes, the thought of a first harvest celebration in Spring may sound strange. After all, the snow has barely melted and crops are nowhere near ready to harvest. Even early crops like strawberries and lettuce aren’t ready yet. Nevertheless, in the Middle East, and by extension in that general latitude around the globe, many crops have already been harvested. Just go to a grocery store and you’ll see the fruits of our fields waiting for your table!

Within the Church, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples – men and women who had been friends, family and followers of Jesus. This outpouring of the Spirit of God, the God Who is Love, gave birth to the Christian community that endures to this day. Jesus’ friends and followers were transformed from frightened “mice” into fearless “lions” who proclaimed boldly that Jesus had been raised from the dead, that He is the long awaited Christ, that God has made Him both Lord and Savior, that a new age has dawned and the Kingdom of God has begun.

These early disciples wasted no time in putting their beliefs into action. They shared what they had. They cared for and healed the sick. They took care of widows and orphans – the powerless ones of their society. They recognized the gifts of women who were leaders in their communities. They spread the Good News of the Lord to all who would listen. And they struggled to understand the implications for themselves and their society of the Good News and the freedom of God’s children. Who were God’s chosen ones? Who could be followers of the Way? What parts of the Law were non-Jews required to obey? How can the pastoral needs of the community be met? Who will look out for the powerless ones in our own communities? How do we choose leaders for our communities? How should Christian family members behave with each other?

For nearly 2000 years we have dealt with these issues as a community. Today we still face many of them, though in a much wider context, as a global, international community that includes peoples of all cultures. More than ever we must count on the continued outpouring of the Spirit to guide us and make us bold witnesses to the Good News.

Much of what we take for granted today is the result of the work of Christians who actively put their beliefs into practice and stepped out to make their part of the world a better place. Institutions such as hospitals, schools for poor and even middle-class children, education for girls, social safety nets, and many others have resulted from the Christian insight that God cares about all humans, even those who traditionally have been excluded.

The Christian belief that all receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation also leads to the understanding that all are responsible to share the gifts they have received and bear fruit in their lives. Together we listen to the Spirit and share in the development and shaping of both our Church community and the world.

As we move through these days following Pentecost, we face many challenges. It’s a time of global financial challenges. Governments are moving quickly to try to minimize the harmful effects of the banking crisis on their people. Social service agencies and churches are struggling to offer aid to the increasing numbers of people coming to their doors. Here in California there’s talk of dismantling all state funded social services, including health care programs for children of low income families and the welfare to work programs that helped so many families keep roofs over their heads and food on their tables.

What will we as children of God, brothers and sisters, do to address these challenges in our communities, states and countries? Will we say, as so many do, “It’s not my responsiblity to care for the children of the poor. Why don’t their parents just go get jobs?” Will we say, “Don’t ask me to pay more taxes. I shouldn’t have to cut back my lifestyle to pay for other people’s mistakes.” Will we sit in judgement of people who are losing their homes because they lost their jobs? Will we smugly assume that we’ve saved enough money to keep us safe if we get ill or lose a job? Will we criticize the people who lost their savings to the stock market when the money should have been somewhere safer? I hope not.

This year the time from Pentecost onward can be a time in which we truly listen to the Holy Spirit’s call to build up the Kingdom by caring for the poor, the powerless, those who are ill and who are losing their security (whether as a result of their own errors or those of others). It’s a time to trust that if we give of what we have, share from our abundance or our need, God will make sure that our needs are met. Our ethic of life must include not only the unborn but also those who are here and in need. Womb to tomb includes all those days in-between as well. Let’s not forget that as a Church community.

Robin Young of National Public Radio’s “Here and Now” interviewed one of the patients of murdered late-term abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller.

“We speak with a former patient of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, the Wichita, Kansas doctor who was murdered on Sunday. She explains why the procedure was so necessary for her.”

Abortions past the 20 week “age of viability” are difficult to justify by pro-choice advocates. How could the loss of one of the three physicians who performs these procedures, which are less than 1% of abortions, represent any moral or clinical loss? The implications for the physical and mental health of families becomes evident in this interview. The values presented in this story are about the desire and wonder of having children, the anguish of carrying a doomed child, the inability of doctors to present the couple with any real alternatives.

An earlier ban on late term or “partial birth” abortions provides an exception for the health of the mother. Aren’t these just cavalier acts of barbarism by selfish women?

What would you do with a child that you wanted very much but who would not survive birth? What would be the most loving and caring thing to do? This is a very compelling story that should give us pause when we want to throw the first stone.

My Late-Term Abortion
President Bush’s attempt to ban partial-birth abortions threatens all late-term procedures. But in my case, everyone said it was the right thing to do — even my Catholic father and Republican father-in-law. This article provides another instructive example from 2004 published in the Boston Globe.

In this second case, the situation seems to be less clear cut since the birth of this child would have meant a short and very unacceptable quality of life for the child as judged by the parents.

In both cases there were voices which opposed the choices made by the parents. Reviewing both cases is useful in terms of gaining a more nuanced perspective on the ethical and moral issues involved and the struggles of these couples.

In the “olden days when I was a girl,” the beginning of Lent was often met with the question, “What are you giving up for Lent?” The focus was on penance and self-mortification. Typically we gave up candy and television, though my mother allowed us to enjoy both on Sunday and my brother, whose birthday often fell during Lent, got to eat the candy from his slice of birthday cake.

The focus of Lent has changed in the past 40+ years and now we look to see what positive things we can do during Lent, to enrich our faith and to help those less fortunate around us. With this change of focus in mind, I’ve been reading the newspaper, listening to the  news on radio and TV and following the internet news on MSN.com in the past days and weeks. I’d like to share some gleanings from these sources obtained during the past 24 hours, with some thoughts about what maybe we should all give up for Lent!

The San Jose Mercury News reported today, February 24, 2009, that President Obama’s budget will include all government spending, including that for the military and the wars in which we are now engaged. The funding for war was never included in the budgets submitted by President Bush over the past 8 years, making it appear that total government spending was much lower than it actually was. (Hmm … I wonder how far my family would get if I left out a major portion of our expenses in my budget!)

Radio and TV news and talk radio shows: Critics of the proposed mortgage relief program are angry because they believe it will benefit people who “didn’t play by the rules” when buying or refinancing a home. They particularly condemn people who bought houses they now can’t afford or who got an adjustable rate mortgage whose payments have gone up too high, as well as those who are “upside down” on their loans because the real estate market has adjusted downward. (This despite the fact that lenders actively pushed such loans, encouraged refinancing into adjustable rate loans, and often left the self-employed with few options other than “stated income” loans for financing their homes as recently as 6 months ago.)

The SJ Mercury News again. As of 2007, 47% of senior citizens in California struggle to make ends meet. The Federal definition of a poverty level income was set at $10,000 annually in the 1950s and remains at that level. Nine to ten percent of California senior citizens fall below that income level. For the most part, these are people who played by the rules. Yet the funds to help them and those receiving disability payments from the state are being cut as part of the budget deficit solution here in California.  

Again the Mercury News. Public funding for family planning prevents an estimated 2 million unplanned pregnancies per year, resulting in approximately 800,000 fewer abortions. For each $1 spent on funding family planning, $4 is saved in Medicaid costs for prenatal care for lower income mothers. Nevertheless, opponents of funding these services claim that such services are a “shameful population control program that targeted low-income families.” [ Troy Newman of Operation Rescue speaking of the attempt by members of the House of Representatives to include such funding in the stimulus package.] (One wonders if there is any similar outrage about the ability of middle and upper income couples to pay for medications and/or services for planning the size of their families. Do only those with money have a say for themselves in such personal decisions?)

Also from today’s paper. Currently (2008), 46.6% of health care spending was paid by governments, including Federal, state and local funds. By 2018, over 51% will be paid by government sources, with no increase in entitlement programs (Medicare/Medicaid), amounting to a cost of $2.2 trillion. About 45 million Americans have no health insurance and the number is growing as people lose the jobs that provided it. COBRA coverage is too expensive for many of them because they no longer have jobs. Private insurance is also too expensive or cannot be purchased due to pre-existing conditions. The stimulus package helps those who lost their jobs after September 1, but not those whose jobs were lost in the 9 months of the recession which preceded that date. (The fact that care for the uninsured is much more expensive because they often wait until conditions are serious or life-threatening before seeking care at hospital emergency rooms has been well documented. Then hospitals charge everyone more to cover the cost of care that they must provide and write off in order to qualify for federal funding. Does this make sense?)

Federal deficits during the recent Bush administration began at $158 billion and ended at $455 billion, totalling $2.5 trillion. (Is that without including the war funding?)

The stock market continues to fall. Investors worry that there’s no end in sight to the recession, after one whole month of a new administration that had warned from the start that the economy would get worse before it could get better! (Hello… It’s going to take time to work our way out of this.)

So what should our response as Christians be?

We’re in a major recession. Many people have seen their savings lose 1/2 or more of their value. Lots of people who have had steady work, been responsible citizens, employers, employees, consumers, community members, etc. have lost jobs, taken pay cuts, lost their businesses. Even those with 30 year fixed rate mortgaes have seen them become unaffordable when unemployement, illness or disability hits a family.

It’s time to quit judging each other and instead exercise a bit of compassion. Yes, some made mistakes in judgement that got them into this trouble. Some spent more than they should have. A few have cheated on loans. More have been cheated on housing purchases. But most people played it straight. Most people honestly made their best efforts. Lots of them have been hit by forces beyond their ability to control or predict.

It’s time to quit blaming the victims.

For Lent this year, let’s give up judging others and instead focus on how each one of us can add 1 “brick” to rebuild our economy, our communities and the lives of our sisters and brothers.

Let’s nurture a spirit of hope, a hope that is essential before any change can begin and that will bring new energy to face the challenges.

Let’s stop the politics and rhetoric of division. It doesn’t help anyone to try to defeat the efforts of those trying to solve the tremendous problems we face. No one has all the right answers. Maybe if we actually talk with each other, we can learn from each other too and come up with better solutions.

Let’s remember that compassion is fundamental in this endeavor. The term itself refers to a sharing of passion, and passion includes both love and pain. So we share each other’s pain as we share each other’s love.

And finally, let’s care for God’s ”Little Ones,” the ones who can’t care for themselves or solve their own problems without our help. As the past months have demonstrated, any one of us could become one of those needing help. And those who traditionally have needed help, generally need it even more now.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

This post was written January 15 by Rafael Pozos for www.21stcenturycatholic.net. It is reprinted here with permission on the national holiday in honor of Dr. King’s birthday.

Today would have been the 80^th birthday of one of the greatest Americans and also one of its own great popular theologians, the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This day caused me to reflect on this great American prophet and the impact he had on all of our society – including American Roman Catholics. It’s true he was a Baptist Minister, and a consummate rhetorician – all very valuable when one is a reform Christian clergyman – but what he had to say, and said very consistently are things that very much agree with current Roman Catholic social teaching and they both draw from the common ancient Christian tradition they share.

In terms of the place of the speech in American history, it came during the famous march on Washington DC in the summer of 1963 – only months prior to the Kennedy assassination and right around the same time as the Second Vatican Council was called. Prior to that, King had successfully lead the effort to desegregate the busses in Montgomery Alabama, was one of the founding members of Southern Christian Leadership Conference and wrote a book about the Montgomery experience entitled Stride Twoard Freedom:the Montgomery Story among other things. Just prior to the march on Washington, he had been incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama, where he had been leading a peaceful protest which had been met by attack dogs and fire hoses – all in plain view of the media – including the newly emerging television and what would become later the 24 hour news cycle.

Just as powerful as the images from Birmingham were in terms of starting to get the American public on the side of civil rights, was the setting for this key speech. It took place on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, a massive temple style monument to President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which was the first federal step to attempt to free the slaves in the US. In front of the statue of Lincoln, resplendent with his writing in the inner sanctum of the monument was where King gave the speech – which is really in a lot of ways more sermon than speech.

In this sermon, he exhorts us, using references from Amos and Isaiah to make his point. Starting with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, he mentions that despite it, black people still were not free 100 years later. Comparing the promise of liberty as articulated in our Constitution to a bad check, with insufficient funds, he then fundamentally rejects it in very eloquent and prophetic language which he closes with a reference from the book of Amos “….we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream’(Amos 5:24)”

While King was quoting this in English, the Hebrew of this passage from Amos is far more powerful “Let judgment roll like water, and uprightness like a wadi” the context of this passage is the doom of Israel. A wadi is a flood valley which is dry most of the year. However when it rains, massive flash floods occur in the valley and take out everything in sight – often with no warning. A professor of mine, Fr. John Endres SJ, who studied in Israel said that he would hear of cases where somebody had been hiking in a wadi and the flood came on so fast and so massive that they couldn’t get away and drowned, with the body being found days later washed up somewhere. While King may not have seen this passage in Hebrew nor totally known how destructive a wadi flood can be, he would have  known that this passage came during a doom sequence for Israel… an ominous oracle for those who would oppose the civil rights movement.

After this, he transitions to the great dream he has, which nearly every American student is exposed to at least once in school. Deeply rooted in not just Christian tradition but also in our Declaration of Independence, which he calls our “creed”, it is a dream of equality and equal opportunity for all. This is such a radical shift that he quotes Isaiah 40:4-5 in making his point. “ I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” He said, and followed it up by quoting lyrics of our first national anthem, saying “let freedom ring” In a series of exhortations starting with “let freedom ring”, he goes all over the country from north to west.

Even more powerfully, he continues to call for freedom in former slave territory in the southeastern United States. “But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia” he starts. Stone Mountain is significant because it was the main rallying point for the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacy terror organization that is still active today which also conducts terror operations against Catholics. This on top of calling for freedom in Tennessee and Mississippi, one of the worst states for segregation further reinforces his point.  He then closes the sermon by looking forward to the day when everybody can join together and sing free at last. A bold and prophetic statement of faith in America and in God’s preference for the poor and disadvantaged – all things that most believers of all confessions of Christianity can get behind.

Sadly, King was gunned down by James Earl Ray in 1968 – a very bad year for the United States. Before the assassination, he said in a speech organizing sanitation workers in Memphis, TN:

Well I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter to me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And’ He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not any fearing man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

It ended up being prophetic because the next day, he was dead. He was one of many martyrs for equality and for Christianity in general. He had a vision, a dream, and he paid the ultimate price for it just as our Catholic Latin American martyrs including Archbishop Oscar Romero and Fr. Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J. did for similar ideals.

Last November, part of Dr. King’s dream came true when for some the unthinkable happened. Barack Hussein Obama, a black Christian whose name sounds Muslim, was elected President of the United States. On Tuesday, the day after the United States observes the federal holiday commemorating his birth, he will be sworn in as the 44^th President of the United States. Only in a country inspired by Dr King’s dream could something like this happen. In his policies, Obama will continue to advance King’s ideals. All of which we as American Catholic Christians we can agree on and support so we can all sing in the end “Free at last!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk - You Tube’s recording of the full version of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech.

40 Hours of Prayer and Remembrance

I received this invitation from Susan Weissert of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers AIDS Task Force. I invite you too to participate in this prayer vigil, remembering those who have died, those who live with the disease, and those whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the pandemic and asking God’s help in finding a way to prevent and cure HIV/AIDS.

December 1 is World AIDS Day.

To commemorate this day and the 27 years since the AIDS pandemic began, we invite you to participate in our 40-Hours Prayer Vigil. This devotion will last from Sunday, November 30 at 7:00 PM to Noon, Tuesday, December 2.

To participate, e-mail mkinformation@maryknoll.org with your Name, Location, and Day/Hour of Prayer (using Eastern Standard time). Please write 40-Hours in the Subject area of your e-mail.

Your name will be added to the list of participants from around the world who will offer one hour in prayer. Visit www.maryknoll.org/aidstf to see the list.

If you would like to receive action alerts on AIDS and other peace and social justice issues, please indicate that in your e-mail, too.

Peace and Advent blessings,

Susan Weissert
Maryknoll AIDS Task Force

List of 40-Hour Devotion Participants

Feeding the Hungry in Jesus' Name - Baton Rouge, LA

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King. The Gospel reading was from Matthew, speaking of the judgement of the nations on the last day. The King, a.k.a. The Son of Man, invites ”the righteous” to enter the kingdom saying, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” When they ask when they gave him this service, He assures them, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers [and sisters] of mine, you did for me.” He goes on to tell those who are not invited to enter the kingdom that when they denied this same care to the least, they denied it to Him. (Mt 25:31:46)

At this time of global economic crisis, with millions of people facing financial troubles they never expected to see, and other millions finding resources that were never enough in the first place becoming even more limited, these words ring loudly. They are a challenge to all of us – those who have just barely enough, those who still have plenty, those who have not enough at all. How do we recognize the Son of Man around us and what do we do to reach out and help?

I suggest that we look at this time as one for affirmation of hope and trust in our King. We have a King who cares so much about all of us, who loves us each so deeply, that He was willing to live among us and share in all that we experience. He was willing to challenge unjust structures and interpretations of the Law. He spoke up for God’s “little ones,” however old they were, who couldn’t speak up for themselves. He insisted that we are all created for the freedom of God, a freedom that allows us to do what is right and good for those in need, without worry about whether it is approved by those in power or authority. A freedom that lets us give of the little we have to help those with less. A freedom that can lead to the cross, but also to the joy of new life.

In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. Churches, schools, even gyms have been collecting food for weeks to share with “those less fortunate.” Many will offer dinners on Thanksgiving for those who are homeless or have no one with whom to share a meal. It is a special time when we reach out to each other in care.

The outreach will continue through Christmas. Gifts will be collected again at churches, schools, banks, and gyms for children and adults who might not receive a gift otherwise. Food baskets aren’t prepared and distributed for Christmas dinner, but collection of food for food pantries will continue throughout the year.

Then one calendar year ends and a new one begins - with hope and expectation of better times to come. It will be a time of especially high hopes in this country, as we see the beginning of a new presidency. And I wish all the best to those who will govern us. It’s not an easy job in the best of times – and these are not the best of times!

But what do we as people of faith bring to the party?

As Christians, we begin our new year at the end of this week. The first Sunday of Advent is next Sunday. A new year. New hopes. New expectations. New dreams.

Let us together move into this new year with a commitment to hope, to service, to caring for each other. Most of us will not ever have the chance or the means to effect dramatic change in this world. But remember, the little things are the ones that can be HUGE for an individual or a family. A gift of food, a gift of a smile, a gift of a kind word, a gift of hope, a gift of time for a visit. All of these affirmations of the value of the other person help ease the burden of hard economic times. Jesus wants to live in us and through us. We are to be His face, His voice, His touch to those around us. And when we reach out in service, we reach out to serve Him. When we graciously accept the loving help and kindness of people who reach out to us as well, we receive His love as well as return it to them.

As we move from the Feast of Christ the King into the new season of Advent, let it be with hope, trust and joy. Our God is with us. The Kingdom has begun. “Whatever you did for one of these … you did for me.”

(Picture from http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/16945146.html in Baton Rouge, LA.)