Upcoming World Day of the Poor

Pope Francis released today his 4^th annual message for the World Day of the Poor on the feast of the Patron of the Poor, St. Anthony of Padua. The day will be celebrated in November. In his message Francis noted that the “pandemic…has made us all the more aware of the presence of the poor in our midst and their need for help.”

#PopeFrancis releases his message for the 4th World Day of the Poor, and calls on people to keep their gaze fixed on the poor, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.#coronavirus #WorldDayOfThePoorhttps://t.co/qqcXzXVMdH

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) June 13, 2020

Podcast

Inside the Vatican Podcast” highlights both the Vatican and the world.

On the latest episode of @InsdeVaticanPod, @gerryorome and @ColleenDulle discuss the death of the former superior general of the Jesuits, Adolfo Nicolás. https://t.co/WSs1Bf4Miy

— America Magazine (@americamag) May 28, 2020

Care, Worship, Name

The Global Catholic Climate Movement sponsored a webinar during Laudato Si! Week. Cardinal Peter Turkson participated. Daughters of St. Paul Sister Bernadette Mary Reis summarized his contribution. The post includes an audio-link to the cardinal’s 9-minute presentation.

Cardinal Peter Turkson explains how care for Creation is connected with worship, and St Francis of Assisi’s vision of Creation. #LaudatoSi5 https://t.co/Q5XrvaHH7B

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 22, 2020

Effective

Microcredit extends very small loans to impoverished borrowers who do not qualify for conventional loans. Microcredit does help the lives of poor people. Vatican News highlighted the “largest interest-free microfinance organization in the world.”

The magic of Akhuwat, founded in 2001 in Pakistan by Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib, lies not in interest rates but compassion, solidarity and equality.https://t.co/wVTKyVkhJg

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 22, 2020

More on Anniversary Week and Year

Also contains audio of Fr Joshtrom Kureethadam’s remarks.

Fr Joshtrom Kureethadam, an official at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, reflects on the upcoming 5th anniversary of #PopeFrancis' encyclical Laudato Si'. #LaudatoSi5 https://t.co/TNCdn5tql5

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) May 19, 2020

Silent Beauty

Attempts to connect with beauty are never pointless. Lockdown during the pandemic can tempt otherwise. Such temptations can register as turning in on self. Those turning are always dangerous, St. Ignatius of Loyola counselled, because one misses the accurate, whole picture.

Natural beauty is a connection of the first order. One need not travel far; a bird’s nest in a yard can be a portal to silent beauty, Gavin Thomas Murphy noted and “offers…3 minute guided meditation” to access it.

https://t.co/Iz6CYoQCVq Can we find God in nature and in the "sound of sheer silence" during the Covid-19 pandemic? Writer Gavin Thomas Murphy offers a 300 word reflection and a 3 minute guided meditation on this theme. @ThinkingFaith @JesuitsBritain @MgrPublications

— Irish Jesuits (@jesuits_ireland) April 27, 2020

Human Needs

H

uman needs are found among all people. Also affected are people for whom religious faith plays no role. Humanist, atheist and agnostic spiritual communities are affected equally by the isolation caused by the pandemic. James Croft, a clergy person at the Ethical Society of St. Louis, spoke with Beliefs producer Jay Woodward to learn how his congregation has handled the past several weeks. The conversation began with good introduction to humanistic communities.  

This week on @BeliefsPodcast, producer Jay Woodward sits down with James Croft of the @EthicalStL; don't miss it!https://t.co/JWAXhRfTFG

— Religion News Service (@RNS) April 26, 2020

Earth Day: Begin Online Retreat

On Earth Day begin (or revisit) an audio retreat. “Walking with the Risen Christ–New Creation Retreat” offers daily scripture, reflections and music with a focus on integral ecology.  Offered by the Jesuits in Britain it is 6-weeks (6-days each week) and available at Pathways to God.

___________________

Wiki-image  August 2010 CME SDO Multi-Wavelength by “NASA/SDO/AIA - NASA Image of the Day | PD-US"

Adapting Prayer, Receiving Support

The very popular prayer-site Pray As You Go has added a “prayer-support series” during Covid19. The original audio-aid to praying continues with its 3 aims:

• become more aware of God's presence in your life
• listen to and reflect on God's word
• grow in your relationship with God [from its About page]

Learn about Pray As You Stay in its Welcome.

___________________

Wikimage Earbuds / CC0 1.0"

From Compensation to Consumption

Lloyd Alter at treehugger offers a brief overview of “Boxing Day, A Great Idea That Turned into Wretched Excess.” A not-so-popular carol recalls the opposite of excess.

Origins of Well-Known Carols

Well-known hymns play, and some join in. Christmas carols play, and everyone joins. What are the origins of well-known carols? Veronica Scarisbrick of Vatican Radio hosts a music historian to answer that question. 

_________________________________________________

Wiki-image of Carols Old and New is in the public domain in the U.S.

Tuesday word, 18 Dec 2007

Advent Tuesday3 (18 Dec 2007) Jer 23. 5-8; Ps 72; Mt 1. 18-25
Homily of Fr. Paul Panaretos, S.J.
Our Mission: Between Bookends

We’ve heard the phrase, the justice of God is tempered by God’s mercy. God’s justice, not comprehensible by humans and at the same time beyond human comprehension, is the attribute that makes the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, sacred and “great Lord of might,” as today’s antiphon cries.

God’s justice was and is like no other because God remains close to us even when we distance our hearts and selves from God’s heart. Because God accompanied humans from the first, one prophet could call God Emmanuel, God-with-us. God with us took on a greater significance when God in Jesus let go of his divinity in order to join our humanity. God in our flesh is Emmanuel in a way that confounds human imagining! This blending of divinity and humanity in Jesus truly is our salvation. As Pope St. Leo the Great put, it “The Conqueror’s victory would have profited us nothing if the battle had been fought outside our human condition.”/1/

Let us pause in our human condition. Step into Joseph’s skin. Imagine hearing the angelic messenger announce to you, the child of your betrothed you are to name...Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. If God were mighty, as Joseph surely believed, how great a Lord of might Joseph appreciated!

Joseph surely marveled, Why and how is it I? as did Mary. God’s choice of Joseph gave him a new vision of God’s justice, namely, making good God’s promises from the start. Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, again and again not only this once. His godliness didn’t allow him to mope unworthily in a pitiable way. No. God’s justice became flesh in order to save all people. If we have any doubts, Jesus reassured disciples in every age saying at the close of Matthew’s gospel, “I am with you always.”/2/ It ended as it began: God with us.

This annunciation to Joseph suggests that an antidote to an unhealthy feeling of unworthiness is to consider the justice of God, who creates us each moment to be a more faithful disciple.
____________
/1/ Letter 31, excerpt in the Office of Readings, 17 December, Liturgy of the Hours, vol. 1, p. 321.
/2/ Matthew 28.20.
________________________________________________________
Wiki-tune of today's Advent antiphon (embedded above at "great Lord of might") is used under the terms of the GNU.

Sudoku Without A Pencil

Sudoku enthusiasts will find it hard to imagine solving one of these logical teasers without a pencil. However, at John Carroll University that what 81 people did. Read or listen to the NPR Weekend America story, which showcased John Carroll University's effort to solve it and to explore Swarm Theory at the same time.