ABVM PARISH COMMUNITY

  GRATITUDE + GENEROSITY = HAPPINESS What kind of world would we live in if gratitude was absent from it?  Just think, if we never said thank you to the store clerk, if we never said thank you to the waiter, if we never said thank you to someone who went out of their way to give us a lift.  What if we never expressed gratitude to war veterans, firefighters, teachers, and doctors?  A world without thanks would be bleak indeed.  I imagine we would become like Ebenezer Scrooge, the famous protagonist in A Christmas Carol .  Never smiling, always frowning, he is described by Charles Dickens in his 1843 novella “as hard as flint…secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”    After the forced visit with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, Scrooge changed his attitude and became a generous and warm person.  He forgot the things that he had allowed to make him mean; as a boy, the neglect of his father, the absence ...

  THE UNITY OF THE HUMAN RACE During his second missionary journey Saint Paul found himself in Athens after fleeing persecution from a city in the north.  In the town square he took the opportunity to share the gospel with any who would listen.  Some became curious and invited him to join them in the Areopagus, a famous gathering site of philosophers of different persuasions on a northern hillside of Athens.  According to Luke, “Now all the Athenians as well as the foreigners residing there used their time for nothing else but telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21).  They wanted to hear the new thing about a certain Jesus, and the resurrection of the dead, of which Paul spoke. Paul was exasperated from seeing so many altars erected to idols.  But he was intrigued by one altar which was dedicated “To an Unknown God.”  He intended to make Him known.  “What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.  The God who made the w...

  NOSTRA AETATE FOR TODAY Pope St. Paul VI promulgated a “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions” on October 28, 1965, the shortest of the sixteen documents of the Second Vatican Council.  He explains the reason for its promulgation: “In our time [ nostra aetate ] when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.”  Nostra aetate first briefly speaks of the relation of the Church to Hinduism and Buddhism, highlighting what she considers to be positive elements in their beliefs and practices.  It affirms that “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reveren...

  Dear Parishioners, As you know, our world is being torn by terrible wars and internal civil conflicts around the world.  The current situations in Ukraine and Israel and Palestine have the potential to become wider conflicts.  The situation is so serious that the United States has sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean.  We are the children of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, who taught us that those who are peacemakers will be called “children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  Let us be children of God by our prayers.  We came together as a Church in response to Pope Francis’ dedication of October 27 as a day of fasting and prayer for peace.  Thank you to all who participated here in our parish church.  Let us continue to be vigilant in asking God for peace, for a change of hearts that will lead to the laying down of arms and the reconciliation of enemies.  On October 4, 1965, in the first visit by the head of the C...

  WHY DO SO MANY AMERICANS SUPPORT TERRORISM? I am sure that you were horrified to learn about the terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.  As of the writing of this article it was reported that there were at least 1,300 murdered.  Hamas was founded in 1987 during an antifada, or “uprising,” against the Israeli settlement of Palestine.  “Hamas” is an acronym for “ Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmiyyah ” which means “Islamic Resistance Movement.”   Their purpose is to create an Islamic state in place of Israel and remove all Jews from Palestine.  They believe that it is a religious duty of all Muslims to fight Israel.  The means of accomplishing this purpose have included rocket attacks and suicide-bombings against Israeli civilians.  Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005.  Hamas took control of the administration of Gaza after fighting with the less radical Fatah Party in 2007.  Ever ...

THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF MARTYRDOM The above title is inspired by St. Ambrose’s commentary on Psalm 118. He writes, “As there are many kinds of persecution, so there are many kinds of martyrdom.” The English word “martyr” is derived from the Greek word μάρτυρας (mártyras), which means “witness.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes martyrdom as “the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death” by an act of extraordinary fortitude (#2473). In the Book of Revelation the apostle John has a vision of martyrs in heaven: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” When they asked when their blood will be avenged, “they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been” (Rev 6:9-11). Thu...

ONE HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, recently created twenty-one new cardinals for the Catholic Church.  According to Canon 349 in the Code of Canon Law, “The cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitute a special college whose responsibility is to provide for the election of the Roman Pontiff in accord with the norm of special law; the cardinals assist the Roman Pontiff collegially when they are called together to deal with questions of major importance; they do so individually when they assist the Roman Pontiff especially in the daily care of the universal Church by means of the different offices which they perform.”  Those who are chosen must be men who have been ordained to the priesthood and to the episcopate.  They are to be “outstanding for their doctrine, morals, piety and prudence in action” (Can. 351).  Eighteen of the newly made cardinals are under the age of eighty, which means that they are eligible to participate in...