Aid to the Church in Need
GO REBUILD MY CHURCH
Strength amid Suffering The true measure of Humanity 15 - 3
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Alexian Brothers Prayer to Christ the Healer the comfort of your love, IthenI memories pour out to you, my Saviour, that haunt me,
the anxieties that perplex me, the fears that stifle me, the sickness that prevails upon me, and the frustration of all the pain that weaves about within me.
ord, help me to see your peace L in my turmoil, your compassion in my sorrow, your forgiveness in my weakness, and your love in my need. Touch me, O Lord, with your healing power and strength.
Amen
Consider the Consecrated Life Alexian Brothers Community Churchfield, Knock, Co. Mayo, Ireland Phone 094 937 6996 Email stalexius@eircom.net
www.alexianbrothers.ie
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Aid to the Church in Need
CONTENTS
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These are difficult times ........................................... J F Declan Quinn................................. 2 The greatest event in history ................................. Cardinal Mauro Piacenza................4 The plight of Middle East Christians .................. Syria ........................................................ 6 Rebuilding in a climate of fear .............................. Syria ........................................................ 8 Your solidarity gives us courage ........................... Syria ........................................................ 9 Because we are Christians ....................................... Pakistan .............................................. 10 Protecting the Faith ..................................................... Sudan................................................... 11 Handing it over to the Lord..................................... Armenia .............................................. 12 Strength amid suffering ............................................ Pope Francis ...................................... 14 The seed of healing and salvation ...................... Colombia ............................................ 15 You will be my witnesses.......................................... El Salvador ......................................... 16 The measure of humanity ....................................... Pope Benedict XVI........................... 18 Hope propels us towards a sure future ........... Pope Francis ...................................... 20 Take up your cross........................................................ Fr. Michael Shields .......................... 22 Be present with Christ ............................................... Pope Francis ...................................... 28 For all our children....................................................... Johannes Freiherr Heereman ..... 32
Editor: JĂźrgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 KĂśnigstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
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THESE ARE DIFFICULT TIMES A chairde,
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e live in difficult times, our humanity is being threatened from within and from without. The factual barbarism which we absorb from our news media is mirrored in and perhaps even amplified by the fictional barbarism in our entertainment media: Jihadists are more than a little ‘media-savvy’ in orchestrating the murder of innocents in their pursuit of the world’s attention. Sadly the cruel and unspeakable inhumanity of the jihadists is transparent to all but themselves. They are blinded to the truth that in claiming to do ‘God’s work’ they are committing crimes against both God and God’s crowning creation, humanity. Their actions clearly demonstrate that Sin is not a fiction but it exists and is rampant in today’s world.
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he rampaging of Sin however is clearly not limited to a growing cadre of misguided jihadists who look derisively at a decadent secularised Western world relentlessly self-absorbed in the pursuit of pleasure, careless in its disregard for time-tested values and given to ‘conspicuous compassion’ and ‘pretending to care.’ So it is, that right this moment while jihadists are persecuting Christians savagely throughout the Greater Middle
East, in the Western world, the former heartlands of Christianity, an overly-secularised culture is quietly and sometimes not-so-quietly suffocating Christians morally. Here I think the truth is that the gross and growing material poverty which we witness in the Global South is being paralleled by a gross and growing moral poverty in the Western World. We live in difficult times.
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n all of this we need to keep in mind that while Jesus established His Church for all times, He established His Church for precisely these times. Consider the following. Secularists would have us believe that ‘Man is the measure of all things’ but before they can credibly make this case they must convincingly answer a much deeper question ‘What is Man? What does it mean to be Human?’ This is the ‘hard’ question which the vast majority of human scientists seek to avoid because it is a metaphysical question; it goes beyond physics, it transcends ‘science’ as it is commonly defined today. More than that however, it is a ‘hard’ question because secular science qua science cannot accept the ‘hard’ answer, namely that Man is a spiritual animal who has been made in the image and likeness of God: a loving personal God has given life to every one of us.
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Moreover He has given each of us a ‘definite service’ to undertake on His behalf. Every one of us has a definite purpose in this life, a life that begins at the moment of conception and continues until our natural death. Contemporary science cannot accept this ‘hard’ answer.
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f course not only does contemporary science deem this truth inconvenient but our contemporary Western culture increasingly considers it to be politically unacceptable, an embarrassment. For different reasons many traditional nonChristian cultures and societies also find it inconvenient to accept the equal dignity of every human being regardless of skin colour, gender, age, ability, caste, poverty or any other point of differentiation.
It was precisely to help each of us live lives worthy of our humanity that Jesus Christ founded His ‘One,Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church’ and that God sent the Holy Spirit to guide and protect it throughout History.
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his is what gives all those who faithfully follow Christ their strength amid all the world’s sufferings and persecutions: Christ is continually available to us in the Eucharist and this is made possible through His mystical body, the Church. These are indeed very difficult times but that is why we are here. However we are not alone. Jesus, suffers with us. Through the Eucharist we suffer and succeed ‘in communion with Christ and with one another.’
As Christians we proclaim that every one of us has the God-given right to life and to a life worthy of our Godgiven dignity.
Beir Beannacht
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J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland)
eyond that we, as Christians know, that God has called each of us by name and has given us a purpose, a model and the means for living a fully human life.
Our purpose is to glorify God with our lives, our model is to follow the teachings of God’s only begotten son Jesus Christ and our means, His mystical body, the Church.
PS Dear Friends, please keep the world’s suffering and persecuted Christians in your prayers and remember that the God who loves us, the God who died for us, will always reward you for whatever material help you can give in the form of donations, Mass stipends or legacies to those in need of your love. Gb, D
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THE GREA TEST EVENT IN H UMAN HISTORY Dear Friends,
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he paths of penitence we walk during Lent are healing ones. By following them we arrive at the greatest event in human history, the feast of the Resurrection. It changes our entire existence, transforming sorrow into joy, tears into rejoicing, death into life. It is the fullness of the saving plan of God because its central figure is the Son of God, the one who is the centre and heart of the universe. It announces to us that our ultimate goal is true and eternal happiness. That is why it is right and fitting for us to bear witness that What Christ is risen, and we needed is are risen with him.
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But Christ has indeed risen, and the light of hope can spread like a radiant dawn across every human horizon.
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v e r y day we hear news of violence, oppression, outbreaks of hatred. People go on peace marches, organise summit meetings. Words pour out in streams from the media, images of gestures full of symbolism go round the world. But nothing, or at least very little, is really seems to change.
conversion of the heart.
uman history would be truly horrifying if the deathly silence of Holy Saturday were to continue for ever. If so, then death would be the abyss of nothingness into which we and those we love would plunge. And love, which alone makes existence worthwhile, would be nothing but a brief, mocking illusion.
Without the Resurrection there would be no forgiveness of sins, no final justice, no reward for goodness. There would be nothing left but resignation and despair.
Why is this? Because that which is really needed is conversion of the heart. Peace is a fruit of humble prayer, a gift from above. True peace can never grow from the roots of political cunning, cynically pursued interests, or indeed from a balance of fear.
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n order to be genuinely able to say ‘yes’ to peace people must work together sharing one mind and one heart, recognising the rule of law for all; and above all they must learn the difficult and noble art of forgiveness.
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This alone can break the spiral of hatred. If we are to prepare ourselves for Easter while at the same time being aware of the state of the world, then we need to remind ourselves that each one of us bears within us the seed of peace, that each one of us is called to courageous inward self-examination – and we must subject all our evasions and excuses for our behaviour to careful scrutiny.
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et us begin by kneeling down before the crucifix in a careful examination of conscience, so that we may then proceed to a liberating sacramental Confession and thus to a fulfilling Easter Communion. This will inspire us to give support to those good works which serve the growth of the civilisation of love. I wish you all this peace of the Paschal feast. I will enfold you all in my prayer at the Altar of the Lord.
My heartfelt blessing on you all.
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza,, President of ACN
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THE PLIGHT OF MIDDLE EAST CHRISTIANS ‘The greatest tragedy since World War II’
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he Middle East is suffering a ‘Way of the Cross’ that is the greatest tragedy since World War Two, Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham said in a recent message. He said the Church, despite its efforts, is having difficulty meeting the growing needs it faces in the region. ‘We fail in front of the suffering of our people in all walks of life, Christians and Muslims. It’s a universal suffering.’ ‘We as pastors are with our people, at their side, in front of them, behind them,’ adding that it is ‘as if we wash the feet of those who are suffering as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.’
‘We are in the fifth year of the Way of the Cross,’ especially in Syria, Iraq and the Palestinian territories and also in Lebanon, ‘which is affected in a tragic way by war, which rages around it.’ sserting that this ‘tragedy is among the greatest tragedies of history - not just in the region, but in the world.’ Patriarch Gregorios called upon ‘all citizens and our children (to work together and with Pope Francis) to not let the flame of hope be extinguished in your hearts.’
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The Syrian-born prelate proceeded to point out that Lebanon has accepted
Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III Laham (CNS)
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waves of displaced people and refugees: from Palestine since 1949, from Syria since 2011 and, currently and in stages, from Iraq.
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ebanon is now hosting more than 1.5 million refugees - mostly Syrians with an increasing number of Iraqi Christians, which is putting a strain on the country’s infrastructure. ‘How many have heard about all the stories of suffering,’ he said. He noted that although the Church encourages the faithful in the region to remain and hold on ‘with ropes of hope and faith and surrender to the will of God,’ the decision whether to stay or to leave one’s country ‘is a personal decision and responsibility of every individual and every family.’
‘You know, my brothers and sisters, loved ones, how the needs of our people in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and the Holy Land are growing, because of the wars and destruction and displacement, as well as displacement and impoverishment due to the economic crisis and rising costs of living, unemployment and limited job opportunities,’ the Lebanese cardinal said.
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e urged people to participate in Church’s fundraising campaigns which are ‘geared to meet these needs,’ which he said must be addressed in charity and love. He also assured people that ‘Christ is capable of renewing everything around us.’ •
‘We as pastors, we will remain with all who remain, and serve them… with all our strength.’ Patriarch Gregorios added and thanked Muslims who urged Christians to remain in the Middle East. These have included leaders of Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s leading institution of higher learning, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. n a separate message, Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite Catholic patriarch, called for greater efforts to preserve the Christian presence in the Middle East.
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REBUILDING IN A CLIMATE OF FEAR
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n Homs a bomb took the lives of 50 children who were just coming out of school. Weeks later a car bomb killed young students. Many families lost two, or even three children in mere seconds because of these terror attacks. Is this destruction of the future, this killing of young Christian people a new form of persecution? A deliberate attempt to drive out Christians? Many Christians in Syria are asking themselves these questions. Many parents who have lost a child in this way no longer wish to remain in this horrific place. Despite this, in the western Syrian town of Homs they have been attempting to return to some kind of normality for the past few months. Although eleven Christian churches have been destroyed or badly damaged, many of the almost two thousand families who have
returned here after three years of war, are happy to be able to go to Holy Mass again in the churches where they were baptised and had their children baptised. ‘We will rebuild our churches with our own hands’, they say. But they urgently need food, clothing and medical supplies. Needless to say, they remain fearful of a new flare up in the fighting, of the barbarian terrorist militia of the ‘Islamic State’, of abductions, and continuing poverty.
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ut, above all, they want their children to be able to go to school again and be able to learn more about their faith in the parishes. Despite everything, they intend to stay and they are grateful for the help ACN has already given. •
A sense of love: In the parish of Saint Cyril these young people can experience something of the Communion of Saints.
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YOUR SOLIDARITY GIVES US COURAGE
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imilarly, in other Syrian towns and cities, their greatest concern is for the future of their children. On Fridays, in the Melkite Catholic parish of Saint Cyril in Damascus, around 500 children and young people meet together to learn more about their faith – something they cannot do in state schools. They also come together so that they can experience the sense of communion in their faith and feel a sense of love, pardon and peace. In the climate of fear that reigns throughout the region, these days are always a source of new strength for the young people. In the same way, ‘the solidarity we experience through your help is for us a greater source of new courage and hope than the financial aid itself’. As Father Georges, the director of the centre for catechism and the youth apostolate
within the parish, wrote to tell us. Clearly, without our financial help they cannot continue their work.
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hey need catechisms; they have to pay for heating and water rates, to maintain the premises, organise meetings and prepare the youngsters for their first holy Communion and Confirmation, get hold of suitable clothing for the children – these are only some of the more pressing tasks. Yet all these things are a necessity if the families are to stay on and if the Christian presence in Syria is to have a future.
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e have promised our help towards this pastoral work with the children and young people in the parish of Saint Cyril. And there are other parishes, in Damascus, Aleppo and in Homs itself, which also need our help. •
The faith that sets us free... For in Christ all men are equal – even in Pakistan.
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BECAUSE WE ARE CHRISTIANS
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iscrimination against Christians is all pervading in Pakistan. Christians are despised and oppressed as a matter of course. In the parish of Toba Tek Singh in the diocese of Faisalabad there are 2,700 Catholic families. Most live a life of continuing hardship as unskilled workers, day labourers, cleaners. Many work in the brick making factories, where they are treated like slaves. They have no rights, and their pitiful wages of around €2.50 a day are generally paid six months in arrears, and only then after they have carried out additional work on the harvest. Their masters are Muslim landowners and brick kiln owners. They even make the children work. In the face of such exploitation the Christians need to find strength from somewhere – and they find it in their Faith.
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ow the Catholics here want to build a small church in their parish, to help them persevere in their faith and live together in solidarity. We are helping them. This same diocese also ministers to Christians in prison. Many of these Christians languish behind bars simply because they are too poor to pay for lawyers and court costs. The Dominican Fathers visit these prisoners and help their families to survive. And you too are supporting these priests, so that they can fulfil the words of Christ: ‘I was in prison and you visited me’ (Mt 25:31).
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n similar fashion we are also supporting Christian nurses – via the diocese of Islamabad. They are discriminated against in the hospitals, simply because they are Christians. They are compelled to do the most menial tasks and are frequently unable to get away, even on Sundays, for Holy Mass. The problem is so glaringly serious that Bishop Anthony has set up a special centre, specifically for the pastoral outreach to these nurses, so that help can be given to them in a sustained and effective manner. The centre acts as an intermediary with the hospital management; the older nurses help to care for the younger girls, comforting them and organising special prayer and catechetical meetings to help strengthen them in their faith. •
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PROTECTING THE FAITH
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n Sudan Christianity’s future is an uncertain one. A lot depends on whether it can continue to maintain its own schools. This is partly related to the attitude of the Islamic authorities, but has more to do with funding. Teachers, books, clothing, electricity and water cost more than the pupil’s parents can afford to pay. Many can afford nothing at all, and face the prospect of having to send their children to a state – or in other words Islamic – school. For children there would be a risk of them losing their faith – and girls may not even been accepted in the first place. But thanks to your generosity we have helped Bishop Daniel of Khartoum to maintain three Catholic schools. In Wadi Ramily there are 600 pupils, of whom 315 are girls. In the School of Our Lady of Hope there are 754 girls in one
area and 743 boys in another. There is certainly no shortage of children and young people – in fact many classes have as many as 80 pupils. But there is a real lack of resources.
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he average monthly income of the families is around €53, with some two thirds of them living below the international poverty threshold. Most of them are war refugees. Yet the standard of teaching is above average, which is why many Muslim parents also send their children to these schools. ‘This is an opportunity for us to show by example how we live the love of Christ’, says school headmaster, Father Sami Bakhit. We have promised to support the archdiocese, to provide an education that protects them and helps them put down roots. •
Happy at school... Thanks to the Church, these girls can look to a better future.
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HANDING IT OVER TO THE LORD
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ister Arousiag lives by trust in God. And because of her trust hundreds of children can live their Faith.
either died of starvation and thirst or were shot and beaten to death by the Ottoman soldiers. Then there followed a time of bitter suffering under the Soviets.
She was born in Aleppo, Syria, today a city of martyrs, growing up in an Armenian family. The majority of Armenians live outside Armenia today because this people, with its ancient Christian traditions, was long persecuted and almost completely wiped out, particularly during the genocide.
The Armenian Church was almost wiped out. Its priests died in the Gulags. That was when Arousiag was born, in a foreign land. She was one of four sisters. The neighbours reckoned that three of them might well become nuns – but never thought it would be Arousiag. ‘I was the cheeky one’, she recalls. ‘But I could never quite silence the voice in me that was calling me to the religious life.’
n April, 1915 the Turkish government sent almost two million Armenians out into the desert, where hundreds of thousands of them
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Sister Arousiag: ‘First the Turks, then the Soviets. You have to make a completely fresh start.’
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n 1976, by now already a member of the Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, she visited Armenia. She said to herself, ‘I am an Armenian, born and bred. My ideal is Christ. Just as he was close to his people, so too I must be with my people.’ And so she stayed on. Today she runs the Our Lady of Armenia centre, where the sisters care for over a hundred poor families who would otherwise be unable to survive. Communism has destroyed not only the religious values, but all the other values as well. ‘So many people simply couldn’t care less whether they lie or cheat’, she says. She believes the only way to rebuild is to start with the children.
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wenty years ago they started up a holiday camp programme, ‘so that for three weeks at least the children can experience a different life’ – can eat their fill, wear shoes without holes and clean clothes. To start with there were 150 children; now there are 800 and they come from all over Armenia. ‘The purpose behind the holiday camps is so that the children can come to know Christ, so that they can accept the circumstances of their lives from God’s hand.’ Sister Arousiag also takes in orphans and street children who are brought to them by the police or by neighbours, mostly from broken families. One mother explains: ‘I am divorced, I have four children, and three of them are here. One of my daughters is psychologically disturbed.’
This is the fate of many people in this damaged nation. But Sister Arousiag is not about to give up, as she trusts in God. ‘I don’t have the money for the summer camp, and there are four groups already. I’ve handed over the problem to the Lord; He will have to do something. I don’t know what He will do, I only know that He loves us.’
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ister Arousiag also has a dream of her own: ‘I always wanted to become a saint. But I’m a long way from that. Now all I say to the Lord is: When the time comes, grant me a little corner of your great Heaven. With enough space so that I can take many of your children with me.’ Just how many that will one day be is partly down to us. Help us help Sister Arousiag. •
New clothing, new thinking: one of the groups on the summer camp, in front of an ancient church.
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STRENGTH AMID SUFFERING by Pope Francis1
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riting to the Christians of Corinth about his sufferings and tribulations, Saint Paul links his faith to his preaching of the Gospel. In himself he sees fulfilled the passage of Scripture which reads: ‘I believed, and so I spoke’ (2 Cor 4:13). The reference is to a verse of Psalm 116, in which the psalmist exclaims: ‘I kept my faith, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”’ (v. 10). To speak of faith often involves speaking of painful testing, yet it is precisely in such testing that Paul sees the most convincing proclamation of the Gospel, for it is in weakness and suffering that we discover God’s power which triumphs over our weakness and suffering. The apostle himself experienced a dying which would become life for Christians (cf. 2 Cor 4:7-12). In the hour of trial faith brings light, while suffering and weakness make it evident that ‘we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord’ (2 Cor 4:5).
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he eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews concludes with a reference to those who suffered for their faith (cf. Heb 11:35-38); outstanding among these was Moses, who suffered abuse for the Christ (cf. v. 26). Christians know that suffering cannot be eliminated, yet it can have meaning and become an act of love and entrustment into the hands of God who does not abandon us; in this way it can serve as a moment of growth in faith and love. By contemplating Christ’s union with the Father even at the height of his sufferings on the cross (cf. Mk 15:34), Christians learn to share in the same gaze of Jesus.
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ven death is illumined and can be experienced as the ultimate call to faith, the ultimate ‘Go forth from your land’ (Gen 12:1), the ultimate ‘Come!’ spoken by the Father, to whom we abandon ourselves in the confidence that He will keep us steadfast even in our final passage. • 1 Extracted and adapted from Pope Francis ‘Lumen Fidei’ article 56.
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THE SEED OF HEALING AND SALVATION
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uring Colombia’s long civil war one small region in particular suffered – the region of Medellin del Ariari. Torture, abductions, murders, bombings, arbitrary arrests, thefts of the livestock people depended on... all were an inescapable part of their lives for decades. Between 2002 and 2006 over 700 families were forced to abandon their homes and fields. Since the civil
war finally stopped raging, the Claretian missionaries,, who endured this time of suffering alongside the people, were once more able to work openly for reconciliation.
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he families returned, and pastoral work started again. In 2010 Bishop José Figueroa Gomez was able to establish a parish here, and in 2013 the people began work on a church which will be the centre of the new parish of San Antonio Maria Claret. Not only will it make parish life much easier; it will also stand as a memorial to the victims of the civil war. But, as a house of God, this monument will point to the future rather than the past, inspiring new hope and inviting reconciliation, so that the sacrifice of the victims may be the seed of healing and salvation. That is why the missionaries also want to reinforce this memorial aspect with prayer, catechesis and study groups to promote human rights.
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n this way a true community can be forged and new life can spring from the bloodsoaked earth. As for the church itself, the physical walls are standing – what is lacking is the funding to complete it. We have promised our help. • San Antonio Maria Claret
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YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES
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n his great commission, the last words of Jesus on earth, he said ‘You will be my witnesses…’ (Acts 1:8). The greatest form of witness is martyrdom, ‘a witness that must not be forgotten’, as Saint John Paul II wrote in his letter for the third millennium. Indeed, less than ever today, when ‘the Church has once more become a Church of martyrs’. Willingness to forgive is part of the mystery of the Cross. How often the persecuted speak the words of Christ: ‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Lk 23:34). Their witness is the beginning of reconciliation, so it must not be forgotten. Without forgiveness the memory fades;
but the witness of love and the imitation of Christ – even to death – opens our horizons to the future. It is this future, this reconciliation that lies at the heart of one particular project in El Salvador.
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he Franciscans of the province of Central America are gathering testimonies about the martyrs of the civil war there. We have all heard of the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero; what is not so well known is the martyrdom of thousands of simple peasants, mothers and fathers of families, rural workers and catechists who were vilified and murdered on account of their faith between 1980 and 1991.
Countering the ever present horror of the civil war –a monument to reconciliation in El Salvador.
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In order to gather, examine and evaluate the many hundreds of accounts, the Franciscans had to establish a special centre in 2004. We are supporting its work with a contribution. Time is pressing, however, as the work has to be completed while the widows, children and friends of these martyrs are still with us.
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he words of these martyrs bear testimony to their love of Christ. Shortly before her death, Gumercinda Chicas said to her killers, ‘God will forgive you for what you are doing to us. For we are innocent, and you do not know what you are doing.’ As for young Julio Hernandez Barahona, he prayed: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my life. Do with me what you will.’ To his mother he said ‘Mama, I am not afraid. I am ready.’ And the catechist Ana Carmen Sanchez was also fully conscious of the danger: ‘I will not hide the Bible; it is the word of God, and if they come and kill me because of it, then I will be dying in a just cause. Christ himself died for the
Gumercinda Chicas
Julio Hernandez Ana Carmen Barahona Sanchez
truth.’ Similarly, for Rufino Ramirez Hernandez it was quite clear: ‘Even if they kill me, they won’t find any weapons on me. My only weapon is the Bible.’
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qually steadfast was Luis Umana Najarro: ‘The Lord knows what I am doing. I am working with Caritas, taking food to the poor, proclaiming the Gospel, teaching the Word of God in the parishes. If they regard that as a crime, then let them think so. But I will not give up this work on that account, as long as I live.’ And again, Armando Oscar Flores has a lesson for us all when he says, ‘There is a time for everything. There is a time to laugh, to weep, to sing. So there is no room for excuses when it is time to follow the Lord.’ Now is the time to make the witness of these disciples of Christ visible and fruitful. •
Rufino Ramirez Luis Umana Hernandez Najarro
Armando Oscar Flores
Simple people; profound wisdom. Some of the martyrs of the civil war in El Salvador, the land of the Saviour.
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THE MEASURE OF HUMANITY by Pope Benedict XVI2
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he true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through ‘compassion’ is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another’s suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope.
ndeed, to accept the ‘other’ who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love.
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The Latin word con-solatio, ‘consolation’, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.
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urthermore, the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the ‘yes’ to love is a source of suffering, because love always requires expropriations of my ‘I’, in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and thereby ceases to be love. 2 Extracted and adapted from Pope Benedict XVI Spe Salvi articles 38-39.
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To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves. These are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself.
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et once again the question arises: are we capable of this?
Is the other important enough to warrant my becoming, on his account, a person who suffers? Does truth matter to me enough to make suffering worthwhile? Is the promise of love so great that it justifies the gift of myself? n the history of humanity, it was the Christian faith that had the particular merit of bringing forth within man a new and deeper capacity for these kinds of suffering that are decisive for his humanity.
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The Christian faith has shown us that truth, justice and love are not simply ideals, but enormously weighty realities. It has shown us that God -Truth and Love in person • desired to suffer for us and with us. SPE SALVI IS AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE AT WWW.ACNIRELAND.ORG Aid to the Church in Need +e315ei_print.indd 23
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HOPE PROPELS US TOWARDS A SURE FUTURE by Pope Francis3
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he light of faith (does not) make us forget the sufferings of this world. How many men and women of faith have found mediators of light in those who suffer. So it was with Saint Francis of Assisi and the leper, or with Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her poor. They understood the mystery at work in them. In drawing near to the suffering, they were certainly not able to eliminate all their pain or to explain every evil. Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.
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o those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, His response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light. In Christ, God himself wishes to share this path with us and to offer us his gaze so that we might see the light within it. Christ is the one who, having endured suffering, is ‘the pioneer and perfecter of our faith’ (Heb 12:2). Suffering reminds us that faith’s service to the common good is always one of hope — a hope which looks ever ahead 3 Extracted and adapted from Pope Francis ‘Lumen Fidei’ article 56.
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in the knowledge that only from God, from the future which comes from the risen Jesus, can our society find solid and lasting foundations.
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n this sense Faith is linked to Hope, for even if our dwelling place here below is wasting away, we have an eternal dwelling place which God has already prepared in Christ, in his body (cf. 2 Cor 4:16-5:5). The dynamic of Faith, Hope and Charity (cf. 1 Th 1:3; 1 Cor 13:13) thus leads us to embrace the concerns of all men and women on our journey towards that city ‘whose architect and builder is God’ (Heb 11:10), for ‘Hope does not disappoint’(Rom 5:5).
In union with Faith and Charity, Hope propels us towards a sure future,, set against a different horizon with regard to the illusory enticements of the idols of this world yet granting new momentum and strength to our daily lives.
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et us refuse to be robbed of Hope, or to allow our Hope to be dimmed. •
LUMEN FIDEI IS AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE AT WWW.ACNIRELAND.ORG
THE CHURCH IS PILGRIMAGE TO GOD’S KINGDOM An introduction to the Catholic Church by Pope Francis
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TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
by Fr. Michael Shields, ACN Evangelist-at-Large
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19, 18).
here they crucified him and with him two others, one on each side and Jesus in the Middle’ (John.
Looking at the three crosses of Calvary, we are able to reflect upon our attitude to our own crosses and the consequences if we reject it, as the Bad Thief, accept it, as the Good Thief or embrace it with Jesus. The Bad Thief rejects the cross and no doubt he suffers both in his body and in his soul. He bears the same torture as his companion; his feet and his hands are nailed to the cross, as were the feet and
hands of Jesus and he suffers the same slow death. He suffers in his flesh and he suffers in his soul.
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e is on his cross and longs to get off: ‘If you are the Christ, save yourself and us with you’ (Lk. 23, 39). He feels that everything is failing him. In his despair he blasphemes God and curses everybody around him. Yes, he suffers. No rest for his body; no peace for his heart. He suffers without humility. His crimes, he knows them well, yet he does not consider himself guilty. ‘Why do I have to suffer?’ His companion remarks on his hardness of heart - ‘You do not even fear God’ (Lk. 23,40). The Bad Thief suffers without faith. He sees the patience and the meekness of Jesus, but it is not enough to open his eyes. He throws Jesus the challenge, ‘If you are the Christ, save yourself and us with you’ (Lk. 23,29). As if to say, ‘If you really were the Messiah, you would work a miracle; you would save yourself and you would save me.’
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his is the call of those who don’t believe and demand a miracle in order to believe: a miracle of their own choosing.
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This was the call of the soldiers, who were mocking Jesus, while standing on guard: ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself’ (Lk. 23, 27). It was the call of the chiefs of the people, who taunted their victim: ‘If he is the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him’ (Mr. 27,42). It was the call of the Devil: ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread’ (Mr. 4, 23). How could he be the Messiah, the Son of God, and yet so powerless to save himself? The Messiah? Let him first get himself out of this, before claiming to save others.
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he Bad Thief suffers and suffers without faith. Moreover he suffers without hope. He does not think of Heaven nor does he desire it. The only thing he is interested in continuing to live, to escape from Death. (‘Save yourself and us with you’). He asks to escape from suffering, to escape from death. He does not know and he does not desire anything beyond the things of his world, his present life. Effectively he is in hell already as already he has no hope and therefore must suffer without hope. He also must suffer without charity, without love of God or neighbor. Aid to the Church in Need +e315ei_print.indd 27
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On top of that not only does he refuse to accept his punishment humbly, as being God’s will, but he tries to get Jesus to reject the will of His Father, just as the Devil had tried at the Temptation in the desert, as the Devil tried again through the mouths of the chief priests and of the soldiers: ‘If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross.’
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he Bad Thief makes the same diabolical suggestion: ‘If you are the Messiah, save yourself.’ Nor does he have any respect for the man dying at his side. With the crowd and the soldiers, he mocks Jesus: ‘He saved others and cannot save himself’ (Mr. 27, 42). Even when dying, the Bad Thief insults a dying man and thus he suffers without charity. So what were the results of all his taunting? The Bad Thief’s rebellion gained him nothing. His punishment was not taken away: his suffering continued, they were not diminished and he died like his companions.
In fact the Bad Thief’s rebellion hardened his sin, his pride and his hatred. He died desperate and probably was finally damned as he died at Jesus’s side. In short the Bad Thief’s rebellion gained him nothing and lost him everything.
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s it not awful to think that Our Lord did not address a single word to him?
Jesus who calls sinners to salvation, who tried to move the heart of Judas in his very act of treason (‘Friend, for what did you come?’ - Mt. 26, 50); Jesus, who on the cross continued to ask forgiveness for those who killed him; Jesus has nothing to say to the Bad Thief who then suffers and dies rejecting his cross, losing his life, losing his soul and is damned for eternity.
FR. MICHAEL SHIELDS, JOHN NEWTON & TERRY MURPHY
Strength am d Suffering
FR. MICHAEL SHIELDS, JOHN NEWTON & TERRY MURPHY
Strength am d Suffering THE MARTYRS OF MAGADAN
THE MARTYRS OF MAGADAN The testimonies of 15 survivors of Stalin’s most brutal gulag. Available to read online at www.acnireland.org
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ow different the scene on the other side, for the Good Thief accepts his Cross.
Certainly the Good Thief suffers, but while there is no rest for his body, a deep peace fills his soul. A sad ending in the eyes of men, but not in God’s sight for the Good Thief accepts his cross with humility. Listen: ‘For us it is justice, for we are receiving what our deeds deserved; but this man has done nothing wrong’ (Lk. 23, 41). He recognises his crimes; he confesses them publicly (certainly everybody knows them, but he still could have pretended to be innocent; he accepts full responsibility; he places himself far below Jesus, who has done nothing but good, while he has committed crimes enough to merit death. What a lesson for us!
23, 24). He saw Jesus as a King on the cross. This Jesus hanging there, naked and mocked by all, dying a pitiful death. What an act of faith.. Even on the Cross, he saw Jesus as King. Do we see Jesus in our suffering as our King? The Good Thief sees the patience of Jesus; has heard him praying for his enemies. It is enough to convince him, he believes.
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he Good Thief believes, while all the wise men and the doctors of Israel remain blind. He believes when Jesus’ closest friends run from the cross. The apostles all doubted, they lost hope, their faith had not been strong enough to withstand the scandal of the death of Jesus. What then was the strength of this thief’s faith?
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is faith is more wonderful still when one considers that he had not followed Jesus during three years as the apostles did. He did not hear all His teachings, witness His miracles, been present at the resurrection of Lazarus, received Holy Communion, as they had; and yet his faith is more enlightened, more firm and more pure than theirs for the apostles ran from the cross. The Good Thief however couldn’t run he had to suffer it. He could only reject it or receive it and he chose to receive his cross. Just listen to him: ‘Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom’ (Lk. Aid to the Church in Need +e315ei_print.indd 29
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The Good Thief on the cross had already understood that the Kingdom to which the dying Jesus was going was not of this world. The heart of this poor thief yearned for heaven. He no longer cared for the goods of this world; he does not ask for them. He only wants Jesus to remember him, when he comes into his Kingdom, that Jesus will find him a little corner in Paradise. The goods of this world are taken from him; he does not cling to them. He lets them go willingly but he would like the goods of heaven.
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or this reason he places all his confidence in Jesus and counts only on the mercy of Jesus, who is, he feels, so infinitely good and compassionate. ‘When you come into your kingdom.’ When everything is all over for him, with no hope of escaping death, with no power on earth that could save him, he still has confidence in Jesus: he can do something to save him.
What a wonderful prayer: ‘Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom’ (Lk. 23, 42). He says very humbly, ‘Remember me.’ He is nothing but a thief, a sinner. He only says, ‘remember me,’ or, in other words, ‘have mercy on me,’ the way the publican did, who did not even dare look up on account of his sins.
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hile his prayer is not long, he succeeds to humbly submit to God’s will. ‘We suffer,’ he tells his companion, ‘But for us it is justice; we are receiving what our crimes deserved’ he is on the cross, he accepts it without rebellion, because he always kept the fear of God, respect for His power and His holiness. He is filled with zeal for his soul: ‘Do you not even fear God, when you are under the same sentence?’ (Lk. 23, 40). What will the result of his sufferings thus accepted? In the eyes of the world, he loses everything. In the sight of God, he gains everything.
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bviously his earthly suffering is not taken away from him. In spite of all His love for him, on account even of this love, Jesus is going to let him suffer, He is going to let him die on the cross. But all has changed. His soul is alive with faith and hope, he will be with Jesus in short time. ‘Amen I say to you, this very day you shall be with me in paradise’ (Lk. 23, 43). 26 +e315ei_print.indd 30
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‘I say to you: to you, to you alone, this grace is granted, to enter with me into paradise; to be the first to enjoy the glory of heaven immediately, after your death, before all the apostles, before the Blessed Virgin, without having to wait - as did all the just of the Old Testament, the patriarchs, the kings, the prophets, St. John the Baptist, and even St. Joseph.’
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hat a lesson, the first to enter heaven immediately after his death is a thief! The most beautiful, the most successful, the most profitable burglar ever! What a lesson of humility. How we must avoid despising anybody. “The last shall be first” (Mt. 20, 16). How we must not rely on our own good works, but only on God’s infinite mercy like the thief who stole heaven. Listen to Jesus: ‘this very day.’ What does it mean? ‘Your suffering, horrible as it is,
will end very soon, this very day; tomorrow, tonight, and forever, rest and joy.’ This very day, right away, ‘This without going through purgatory, you are going to enter heaven, as if you had just been baptised.’ Thus suffering accepted has completely purified this soul, laden with crimes: a few hours of suffering fully accepted have erased years of sin.
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oor thief, he had not run after the cross, he had not desired it; against his will he had been nailed to it; probably some of his old pals were there, watching his death, with some shivers of fear, pitying him for his bad luck. And yet what good luck. Suffering transformed this thief into a saint - the first who entered paradise.
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ow mistaken are those who think it is easy to be saved after a life of sin, through a last minute conversion like that of the Good Thief. The Good Thief had to: recognise his sins, renounce his past, accept his cross in the present and desire only the reward promised by Jesus. At the last minute then the conditions for being saved remain the same as they always are: ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me’ (Mt. 16, 24). •
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BE PRESENT WITH CHRIST by Pope Francis
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hat we see when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, the Mass, already gives us an intuition of what we are about to live. At the centre of the space intended for the celebration there is an altar, which is a table covered with a tablecloth, and this makes us think of a banquet. On the table there is a cross to indicate that on this altar what is offered is the sacrifice of Christ: he is the spiritual food that we receive there, under the species of bread and wine. Beside the table is the ambo, the place from which the Word of God is proclaimed: and this indicates that there we gather to listen to the Lord who speaks through Sacred Scripture, and therefore the food that we receive is also his Word.
his love, for his mercy. ‘Thanksgiving’ in Greek is expressed as ‘eucharist’. And that is why the Sacrament is called the Eucharist: it is the supreme thanksgiving to the Father, who so loved us that he gave us his Son out of love. This is why the term Eucharist includes the whole of that act, which is the act of God and man together, the act of Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
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herefore the Eucharistic Celebration is much more than simple banquet: it is exactly the memorial of Jesus’ Paschal Sacrifice, the mystery at the centre of salvation. ‘Memorial’ does not simply mean a remembrance, a mere memory; it means that every time we celebrate this Sacrament we participate in the mystery
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ord and Bread in the Mass become one, as at the Last Supper, when all the words of Jesus, all the signs that he had performed, were condensed into the gesture of breaking the bread and offering the chalice, in anticipation of the sacrifice of the cross, and in these words: ‘Take, eat; this is my body... Take, drink of it; for this is my blood’. Jesus’ gesture at the Last Supper is the ultimate thanksgiving to the Father for 4 Adapted from Pope Francis Wednesday audiences dated 5th and 12th February, 2014
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of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
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he Eucharist is the summit of God’s saving action: the Lord Jesus, by becoming bread broken for us, pours upon us all of his mercy and his love, so as to renew our hearts, our lives and our way of relating with him and with the brethren. It is for this reason that commonly, when we approach this Sacrament, we speak of ’receiving Communion’, of ‘taking Communion’: this means that by the power of the Holy Spirit, participation in Holy Communion conforms us in a singular and profound way to Christ, giving us a foretaste already now of the full communion with the Father that characterises the heavenly banquet, where together with all the Saints we will have the joy of contemplating God face to face.
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ear friends, we don’t ever thank Lord enough for the gift he has given us in the Eucharist! It is a very great gift and that is why it is so important to go to Mass on Sunday. Go to Mass not just to pray, but to receive Communion, the bread that is the Body of Jesus Christ who saves us, forgives us, unites us to the Father. It is a beautiful thing to do! And we go to Mass every Sunday because that is the day of the resurrection of the Lord. That is why Sunday is so important to us. And in this Eucharist we feel this belonging to the Church, to the People
of God, to the Body of God, to Jesus Christ. We will never completely grasp the value and the richness of it. Let us ask him then that this Sacrament continue to keep His presence alive in the Church and to shape our community in charity and communion, according to the Father’s heart. This is done throughout life, but is begun on the day of our First Communion. It is important that children be prepared well for their First Communion and that every child receive it, because it is the first step of this intense belonging to Jesus Christ, after Baptism and Confirmation.
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he Eucharist introduces us into real communion with Jesus and his mystery. Now let us ask ourselves some questions that spring from the relationship between the Eucharist that we celebrate and our life, as a Church and as individual Christians. How do we experience the Eucharist? When we go to Sunday Mass, how to we live it? Is it only a moment of celebration? an established tradition? an opportunity to find oneself? or to feel justified? or is it something more? There are very specific signals for understanding how we are living this, how we experience the Eucharist: signals that tell us if we are living the Eucharist in a good way or not very well.
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he first indicator is our way of looking at or considering others. In the Eucharist, Christ is always renewing his gift of self, which he made on the Cross. His whole life is an act of total sharing of self out of love; thus, he loved to be with his disciples and with the people whom he had a chance to know. This meant for him sharing in their aspirations, their problems, what stirred their soul and their life. Now we, when participating in Holy Mass, we find ourselves with all sorts of men and women: young people, the elderly, children; poor and well-off; locals and strangers alike; people with their families and people who are alone. But the Eucharist which I celebrate: Does it lead me to truly feel they are all like brothers and sisters? Does it increase my capacity to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and cry with those who are crying? Does it urge me to go out to the poor, the sick, the marginalised? Does it help me to recognise in theirs the face of Jesus?
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e all go to Mass because we love Jesus and we want to share, through the Eucharist, in His passion and His resurrection. But… Do we love, as Jesus wishes, those brothers and sisters who are the most needy? Do I try to help, to approach and pray for those in difficulty? Or Am I a little indifferent? Let us ask Jesus, whom we receive in the Eucharist, to help us to help …(the most needy).
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second indication, a very important one, is the grace of feeling forgiven and ready to forgive. At times someone may ask: ‘Why must one go to Church, given that those who regularly participate in Holy Mass are still sinners like the others?’ We have heard it many times! In reality, the one celebrating the Eucharist doesn’t do so because he believes he is or wants to appear better than others, but precisely because he acknowledges that he is always in need of being accepted and reborn by the mercy of God, made flesh in Jesus Christ. If any one of us does not feel in need of the mercy of God, does not see himself as a sinner, it is better for him not to go to Mass! We go to Mass because we are sinners and we want to receive God’s pardon, to participate in the redemption of Jesus,
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in his forgiveness. The ‘Confession’ which we make at the beginning is not ‘pro form’, it is a real act of repentance! I am a sinner and I confess it, this is how the Mass begins! We should never forget that the Last Supper of Jesus took place ‘on the night he was betrayed’ (1 Cor 11:23). In the bread and in the wine which we offer and around which we gather, the gift of Christ’s body and blood is renewed every time for the remission of our sins. We must go to Mass humbly, like sinners and the Lord reconciles us.
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last valuable indication comes to us from the relationship between the Eucharistic Celebration and the life of our Christian communities.
We must always bear in mind that the Eucharist is not something we make; it not our own commemoration of what Jesus said and did. No. It is precisely an act of Christ! It is Christ who acts there, who is on the altar. It is a gift of Christ, who makes Himself present and gathers us around Him, to nourish us with His Word and with His life.
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his means that the mission and the very identity of the Church flows from there, from the Eucharist, and there always takes its shape. A celebration may be flawless on the exterior, very beautiful, but if it does not lead us to encounter Jesus Christ, it is unlikely to bear any kind of nourishment to our heart and our life. Through the Eucharist, however, Christ wishes to enter into our life and permeate it with His grace, so that in every Christian community there may be coherence between liturgy and life. The heart fills with trust and hope by pondering on Jesus’ words recounted in the Gospel: ‘he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day’ (Jn 6:54).
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et us live the Eucharist with the spirit of faith, of prayer, of forgiveness, of repentance, of communal joy, of concern for the needy and for the needs of so many brothers and sisters, in the certainty that the Lord will fulfil what he has promised us: eternal life. • Aid to the Church in Need +e315ei_print.indd 35
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FOR ALL OUR CHILDREN Dear Friends,
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ndurance is a virtue whose fruit we can see. For what endures more than knowledge, than education for children, than schools? By helping with schooling in Iraq, we ensure the future of more than seven thousand children, and thereby ensure the presence of the Christians in the land of Abraham. I was deeply moved by the grateful smiles of the children and their parents for whom, thanks to your generosity, we were able to fund eight schools in northern Iraq. There were smiles of hope, but their eyes told me more. I could read that they saw a future for themselves.
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f knowledge sets us free, then it is because it makes us sharers in the truth. That is why these schools must be sustainable in the long term. They not only enable them to stay
on in their homeland but are also, in some sense, places of ‘resurrection’. This too was something I could see in their grateful eyes.
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ear Friends, you can be sure that your sacrifices for these children and their parents – and incidentally also for their bishops, priests and religious sisters – provide a foretaste of Easter joy. Christ lives and you, by your generosity, have made it possible for them to gaze joyfully on the empty tomb and look courageously towards the future. For this I too would like to offer you my heartfelt thanks.
Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International
WHERE TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. TEL (01) 837 7516. EMAIL info@acnireland.org WEB www.acnireland.org
IBAN IE32 BOFI 9005 7890 6993 28 BIC BOFI IE2D If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information.
Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.
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ALL I CAN DO IS PRAY... For the Christians of the Middle East I am deeply moved by your plight. Not a day passes when I do not think of you. I am praying for you and I try to offer up my daily Rosary for you. We are profoundly shocked at what is happening and we wonder what the future will bring. All I can do is to pray and give what I can. A benefactor in Paris A sign of joy and hope At the end of Sunday Mass, we publicly read out your letter, promising funding for our chapel. Everybody spontaneously erupted in applause, a sign of joy and hope that the completion of our chapel draws closer every day. A parish priest in Ecuador Love to the Church in Need The work of Aid to the Church in Need is so amazing and I am so grateful to have been able to work with you over the past few months organising our ‘Love to the Church in Need’ initiative. God is so good, and this experience has truly been a blessing. I am blown away that news of our little school’s art works has gone worldwide. I am humbled and thankful and I hope that perhaps other schools can be inspired to make their own messages of love for the children of Iraq and Syria. They really need to know that they are loved, that we admire their bravery and that we continue to pray for them. A teacher in Australia
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...THANK YOU Dear Friends,
AMDG
As ever our heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support. Last year thanks to your Legacies Donations and Mass offerings We were able to: Bring hope to many thousands who live in destitution. Provide sustenance and the means of survival to over 40,000 priests Support the formation of over 15,000 consecrated religious and Distribute more than 2 million catechetical books and May the Good Lord continue to bless you and your family, past and present, now and always. In Christ,
J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Irl)
Watch 10 year old Iraqi refugee be a Missionary of Joy www.acnireland.org
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Stand firm in the faith, be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13) ‘WHAT IS REALLY NEEDED IS CONVERSION OF THE HEART..’ President of ACN
‘The Resurrection of Jesus is not the happy ending to a nice story, it is not the “happy end” of a film; rather, it is God the Father’s intervention there where human hope is shattered.’ Armenian crucifix,Teheran. Some Armenians fled here to escape the Turkish genocide 100 years ago.
General audience, 16 April 2014
Aid to the Church in Need
151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9.
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