He Must Increase
Piety
We have this confidence in him that if we ask anything
according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard
to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours. 1
John 5:14-15
John answered and said, “No one can receive anything
except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said
that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the
bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices
greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He
must increase; I must decrease.” John 3:27-30
Study
On this last weekday of the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle,
we encounter the final testimony of John the Baptist. Herod has not yet
arrested or executed John. But this time
of transition shows that John’s ministry decreases in importance while Jesus
takes over the lead role.
This statement also rings true in our lives. Our ego and selfishness must decrease if Jesus is to have any
room in our mind, on our lips, and in our heart to live. If we ask for it, then
it will happen.
Action
The world today is filled with
the reality and repercussions of a changing climate. Glaciers are melting.
Intense storms are strengthening. Seas are rising. Floods are spreading. Heatwaves
and droughts are prolonging. And the destruction and disruption all those
events bring to people in all parts of the globe are increasing.[i]
Science alone has not provided the spark to overcome
political opposition. Something more –
perhaps a moral force – is needed. Into
that void stepped Pope Francis, who introduced nearly five years ago his
landmark encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," a
compendium of Catholic teaching and thought on creation and humanity's role
within it. With it, he outlined in unequivocal terms the essential duty to care
for nature at the core of what it means to be Christian and positioned the
global Catholic Church as a prominent voice on climate change and the environmental
degradation that faces populations across the planet.
Right now, we have two pressing priorities in different
parts of the globe. The news of the wildfires in Australia and the recent
earthquake/aftershocks in Puerto Rico are devastating. It is difficult to see
the suffering of our Australian and Puerto Rican brothers and sisters when
there is so little that we can do to help.
Financial support to disaster relief organizations - to the
workers on the ground - is often the best way that we can help. Listed below
are the Catholic Church's agencies that are providing local aid.
Australia: You can give through the St. Vincent de Paul
Society (Australia) Bush Fire Appeal here:
https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-vic/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-vic
Puerto Rico: You can give through Catholic Relief Services here:
https://support.crs.org/donate/help-crs-respond-emergencies
 |
| Friday, January 10, 2020: Thick clouds of brown smoke from Australia's bushfires spread across the Tasman Sea in this photo captured by an astronaut at the International Space Station. The picture was from January 4 when the station was orbiting 269 miles above the Tasman Sea. — Hanneke Weitering |
No comments:
Post a Comment