Mar 17, 2021 | Lent 2021
Solidarity is a virtue which calls us—like all the virtues—to “excellence” in how we live together. Many experience solidarity in the world we live in right now as a kind of “lost” virtue. Our present world judges primarily according to the life and cultural values of economics, business, politics, technology, and “the self”. Solidarity takes seriously our obligations and duties to others and to the common good. Recently we have been hearing often from the Gospel of Mark. I am continually struck by how deeply concerned Jesus is throughout Mark’s Gospel for others around him— especially the sick, the suffering, the dying, the hungry, and those close to him. Jesus is constantly on the move in Mark’s Gospel and what he does is mostly inspired by his concern for others. In the stories we have about him, Jesus is directed outward—toward others.
Mar 11, 2021 | Lent 2021
Recently someone gave me a card which said, “God’s deepest desire is that we let Him love us . . . and freely love Him in return.” Jesus is the friendly face of God. When we think of Jesus in the New Testament, we meet Jesus the Teacher, Jesus the Healer, Jesus the Sage, Jesus the Charismatic Leader of followers, Jesus the believing Jew and follower of the Torah, Jesus the grace-filled rebel, Jesus the Prophet, Son of God, Son of Man, Christ, Herald of the Kingdom, and other faces/masks. The theologians tend to speak of the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. But when we meet Jesus in scripture and in the sacraments, we meet a real person who loves us, values our friendship, and wants to develop that relationship.
Mar 3, 2021 | Lent 2021
We turn to God for the healing of our sin and sinfulness, a grace which God offers us and of which he assures us. But what does it mean to be healed? It is not to stop sinning. None of us will achieve that in this lifetime. Rather, to be healed is to be able to truly accept forgiveness—for your own sins and for those committed against you.
Feb 24, 2021 | Lent 2021
Lent begins with the call to “repent and believe in the Gospel.” These words that may accompany the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday echo Jesus’s call to the people of Galilee at the start of his ministry and call attention to the link between repentance and belief. Contrition for our sins reinforces our belief in the God who forgives. More fundamentally, however, feeling and expressing sorrow for our sins helps us experience a heartfelt reorientation toward the God who loves us so much he continues to love and forgive us, always hoping we will love more and sin less. The more we open ourselves to the fullness of God’s love, the more we desire to respond to that love by trying to avoid the pitfalls that lead us to sin.
Feb 20, 2021 | Bulletin Essay
Lent is a time of contemplation and preparation for the coming of Easter, a time of making sacrifices and personal changes. The Psalmist tells us that “the Earth is the Lord’s” (Psalm 24); it is a gift meant for all of us to share and protect. Perhaps this year, our Lenten fasts can help us make progress toward one of the goals Pope Francis laid out in his encyclical letter on the care of our common home, Laudato Si. Francis reminds us of our ‘responsibility within creation, and duty towards nature and the Creator’ is an essential part of our faith (Laudato Si 64).
Often, we think of our personal health as an issue distinct from our planet’s health, but when it comes to diet, healthy food often helps make a healthier world. Much of this comes down to resources; a diet heavy in meats (particularly beef), fats, and sugars requires a production system that treads heavily on our planet. In contrast, a healthy plant-based diet puts much less strain on the Earth and its resources..
A simple calculation illustrates the stark difference between these diets. Compare the environmental footprint of a bowl of rice and beans versus a plate of beef, assuming they have equivalent amounts of protein: The serving of beef uses twenty-three times more land, consumes six times as much water, and emits twenty-one times as much greenhouse gas than a serving of rice and beans.
People may wonder, what they can do to help heal the planet? At the same time, they may feel a sense of despair that their individual actions are inconsequential in light of the enormity of the climate crisis. In fact, the good news is that one of the most consequential things anyone can do is personal wellbeing through a sustainable diet. Nothing is closer to us than the food we put into our bodies. The food that treads most lightly on our bodies also treads most lightly on the planet.
We cannot separate human health from the health of our communities, our resources and our world. As a community, it is important to think about and advocate for policies and practices that promote health and well-being at the individual, community and planetary levels.
