May 13, 2010
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Note: Fr. Joe McCloskey’s reflection for Sunday, May 16 will cover the Ascension of the Lord. See this article for a longer discussion on whether today is a Holy Day of Obligation in your diocese.)
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, "Are you discussing with one another what I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. John 16:19-20
Piety
“Peace and happiness are available in every moment.
Peace is every step. We shall walk hand in hand.
There are no political solutions to spiritual problems.
Remember: If the Creator put it there, it is in the right place.
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.”
An Indian Chief, 1876
Study
Most Catholics of my age or older (I am older than 27) grew up with the 40th day after Easter being celebrated as the Ascension of the Lord. That would be today. However, as attendance in mid-week holy days has dropped, many areas throughout the U.S. have moved the commemoration to the following Sunday. That move still leaves a lot of Catholics confused and wondering what their obligation is on what was formerly known as Ascension Thursday.
Perhaps then it is appropriate for us to reflect upon this passage in John 16 where the disciples were pretty confused by what Jesus was telling them and what the Lord meant. Confusion is not an uncommon state when it comes to the disciples…or us. Many times, we have a hard time understanding the figures of speech that Jesus employs in his teaching and preaching.
We can scratch our heads like St. Peter wondering what is Jesus saying? What does Jesus mean? What does it matter?
If we have all the facts spelled out in front of us, then coming to some common conclusions based upon knowledge of those facts would be pretty simple. However, we don’t know everything. So we have to rely on faith, not facts.
Jesus tries to give us a picture of the experiences through which we will live. Yet, even though he tries to tell us what to expect, we still have to experience the mourning, the weeping and the grief, before we can experience the joy. You had to be there then. You have to be there now. You have to be there in the future.
Action
(https://secure.crs.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=611&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CRSActionAlerts+%28Catholic+Relief+Services+Action+Alerts%29)
With the Nuclear Security Summit just concluded and the New START Treaty just signed, now is the time to promote the “Global Security Priorities” Resolution, H. Res. 278, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA). Urge your member of Congress, especially those on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to cosponsor H. Res 278.
WHY IS H. RES. 278 IMPORTANT? H. Res. 278 has two goals:
Addresses the threat of international terrorism and protects the security of the United States by reducing the number of and access to nuclear weapons and preventing their proliferation. H. Res. 278 urges the President to continue negotiations to further reduce nuclear arms, to cut the number of nuclear weapons deployed by the U.S. and Russia, to assist other countries in reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons, and to expand efforts to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear materials.
Directs a portion of the resulting $13 billion saved annually towards child survival, food security, and universal education. H. Res. 278 requests $5 billion over five years to enhance global child survival through new high-impact and low-cost health and nutrition interventions at the community level, and an additional $1.5 billion annually over five years for existing programs that reduce child hunger and increase child nutrition and educational opportunities. These added resources would enable organizations such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to strengthen food security programs with local partners in poor countries to boost long term food security and life-saving emergency aid.
President Obama has already called for substantial verifiable reductions in the nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia, and has committed the U.S. to new leadership in the international campaign to reduce global poverty by doubling international assistance.
WHY DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORT H. RES. 278?
The U.S. bishops have long supported nuclear disarmament, the effective securing of nuclear materials from terrorists, and a reduction in the overall number of nuclear armaments. Church teaching supports preventing proliferation of these horrific weapons and ultimately eliminating them. H. Res. 278 embraces these goals and takes important steps in this direction.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and CRS recognize that if we want peace, we must work for justice, and commend the bill’s commitment to “enhance child survival in the world’s most needy countries” and to improve “child nutrition and educational opportunities.” Through funding vital programs that assist poor and vulnerable people worldwide we can strengthen our nation’s commitment to reduce global poverty and the situations of injustice and deprivation that terrorists can exploit. CRS has a long history of providing lifesaving nutritional and educational programs in developing countries around the world.
In a November 2, 2009 letter to Congress, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard noted that Pope Benedict XVI has linked disarmament and development. In his January 1 message for the 2009 World Day of Peace, the Holy Father recommended that “resources saved [by reducing expenditures on arms] could then be earmarked for development projects to assist the poorest and most needy individuals and peoples.” H. Res. 278 does just that.
