OUR PIUS UPDATE

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020

 

OUR ‘PIUS’ SMILES

 

An officer sees a man exit a bar at closing time and get into his car.  After observing some erratic driving, he pulls the man over. The officer asks the driver, "Where are you going at this time of night?"
 

The man replies, "I'm on my way to attend a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has onthe human body, as well as smoking and staying out late." The officer then asks, "Who would be giving that kind of lecture at this time of night?". The man says, "My wife."

**************
 

A father is explaining ethics to his son, who is about to go into business...

"Suppose a woman comes in and orders a hundred dollars worth of material. You wrap it up, and yougive it to her. She pays you with a $100 bill. But as she goes out the door you realize she's given you two $100 bills. Now, here's where the ethics come in:  should you or should you not tell your Mother.”

COVID 19 PRAYER HELPS
 

The Spirit of God Prays in Us

 

Silence means rest, rest of the body and mind in which we become available for him whose heart is greater than ours. That is very threatening; it is like giving up control over our actions and thoughts, allowing something creative to happen not by us but to us. Is it so amazing that we are so often tired and exhausted, trying to be master’s of ourselves, wanting to grasp the ultimate meaning of our existence, struggling with our identity?   Silence is that moment in which we not only stop the discussion with others but also the inner discussions with ourselves, in which we can breathe in freely and accept our identity as a gift. “Not I live, but He lives in me.”  It is in this silence that the Spirit of God can pray in us and continue his creative work in us… Without silence the Spirit will die in us and the creative energy of our life will float away and leave us alone, cold, and tired. Without silence we will lose our centre and become the victim of the many who constantly demand our attention.

Henri Nouwen, You Are God’s Beloved, May 2

 

God speaks in the silence to remind us that you, ‘me’, we are members of God’s eternal family.

God and the Nitty-Gritty
 

We have all heard the expression: Finding God In All Things but have we made this axiom a way of living our Christian vocations? Fr. Marc Thibodeau, SJ, challenges each of us to broaden/deepen our awareness of God’s Holy Presence in the following presentation.
 

 

My  faith  tells  me  that  God  is  everywhere  at  all  times,  and  that  Christ  is  in  my  

heart  and  embedded  in  all  of creation—regardless of how conscious I am of his presence at anygiven moment. That’s wonderfully consoling, but I want more! I want to feel his presence all the time. I want to feel him not only when I leave the nitty-gritty of my life and go to church; I want to feel his presence always! And I want to share with him even the smallest details of my life: the irritating e-mail I just received and the pleasant smile of the woman at the post office; the dread in my heart for the difficult meeting I’m about to step into and also the delight of biting into that perfectly sweet and crunchy apple during my break. I want to talk to Christ about the stupid thing I just said to my boss and also the little victory I had in getting that boring multi day task completed. Sure, I want to share with Christ the really big things: my grave sins and my overwhelming consolations, and I will share those big things during my daily meditation and when I

go to Mass or confession. But the closer I grow to Christ, the more I want to share with him the seemingly insignificant things as well. I know that he’s there, in the midst of it all, and I long to tap into his presence right there in the mud and muck, the pencils and French fries of my complicated yet incredibly ordinary life

VATICAN ANNOUNCES LAUDATO SI' ANNIVERSARY YEAR
By Junno Arocho Esteves
Catholic News Service

 

VATICAN CITY  (CNS)  -- The  Vatican  announced that  it  will commemorate  the  fifth anniversary  of  Pope  Francis' encyclical on the environment with a yearlong series of initiatives dedicated to the safeguarding and care for the Earth.
 

 

In a statement released by the Vatican press office May 16, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced a "Special Laudato Si' Anniversary Year" from May 24, 2020, to May 24, 2021, which will emphasize "ecological conversion in action."
 

 

As the world continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the dicastery said, the encyclical's message is "just as prophetic today as it was in 2015."
 

"Truly, COVID-19 has made clear how deeply we are all interconnected and interdependent. As we begin to envision a post-COVID world, we need above all an integral approach as everything is closely interrelated and today's problems call for a vision capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis," the statement said.
 

 

Among the events set to take place throughout the year are prayer services and webinars dedicated to environmental care, education and the economy. The dicastery also detailed the rollout of a "seven-year journey toward integral ecology" for families, dioceses, schools, universities, hospitals, businesses, farms and religious orders.
 

 

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said that amid the current pandemic, "Laudato Si'" can "indeed provide the moral and spiritual compass for the journey to create a more caring, fraternal, peaceful and sustainable world."

 

"We have, in fact, a unique opportunity to transform the present groaning and travail into the birth pangs of a new way of living together, bonded together in love, compassion and solidarity and a more harmonious relationship with the natural world, our common home," the dicastery's statement said.
 

 

"As Pope Francis reminds us," it said, "'all of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.'"
 

 

Recalling  the  fifth  anniversary  of  his  encyclical  after  reciting  the  "Regina  Coeli"  

prayer  May  17,  Pope  Francis expressed his hope that the message of "Laudato Si'" will encourage people to take upon themselves the shared responsibility of caring for the Earth.
 

 

"In these times of pandemic, in which we are more aware of the importance of caring for our common home, I hope that all our common reflection and commitment will help to create and strengthen constructive behaviors for the care of creation," the pope said.

WHERE IS GOD
IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PANDEMIC?

 

If you have been asking questions about how to make meaning in these uncharted waters that we are in, you are not alone. If you've asked where God is, or how you might hear God's voice, others are asking the same questions.
 

 

If you would like to take part in an online discussion about your own experiences and how it all relates to God and faith, the Redemptorist Adult Faith Formation Team (Fr. Tony Bidgood, CSsR, Fr. David Louch, CSsR and Anne Walsh) would like invite you to a virtual Zoom gathering of people who want to share their thoughts, questions and faith.

 

Simply email us at the following address:
 

rafftcssr@gmail.com

and the Redemptorist Adult Faith Formation Team will contact you about how to connect to the virtual discussion. We look forward to hearing from you.

Peace!