The time specified by the Canadian Government for matching of donations for the relief effort toward the Famine relief efforts in the Horn of Africa is quickly drawing to an end. There are only two more weeks left, so this week we are adding a visual to the homily.
Read on or listen in to find out the details.
Were you paying attention to the lesson we heard today? Paul's words to the Christian community at Rome are equally addressed to us today: Owe no one anything except to love one another. In this part of the world, those of us who can count ourselves 'debt free' are truly the lucky ones. It seems that more and more people today owe money to credit card companies, to financial institutions, to other money lenders, the list can become rather daunting, and the longer the list, the more out of control the situation. This is not the kind of debt that Paul had in mind. Rather he spoke of our obligation to love one another, perhaps echoing the words spoken by Jesus himself. The currency of love never runs out, only the currency of our will to use it. Love that is freely given costs us nothing, yet it holds the potential to break down walls of division, to strengthen relationships, and to bring people together.
Love for our neighbour compels us to speak out when we recognize injustice. Even in the time of the prophet Ezekiel, some were appointed as watchmen (for the good of their brothers and sisters). We are still compelled today to be on the watch for the good of our children, and for all our brothers and sisters. Like Ezekiel, we must call to them out of love when they need a word of correction, or when there is injustice that must be corrected.
Over the past month or so, many of us have heard this call. Specifically, we have responded to a call for help from the people of East Africa. For far too long, innocent bystanders in that part of the world have fallen victim to a number of injustices, most of which have been relatively unknown to those of us who are so far away. In the past few weeks though, the world has become ever more aware of the plight of hunger and the very real possibility of starvation facing children and parents in the nations of Ethiopia, Somalia and Ethiopia. One of the images so often seen on our television screens is that of long lineups of people waiting for food and other rations. This image is all the more poignant given the fact that this weekend, there is a rib fest being celebrated in the downtown streets of Sudbury. While you and I can so easily walk out the doors of this church, and within just a few blocks find food in such abundance, millions of our brothers and sisters have had to walk for days and even weeks in hot, dry dessert-like conditions, just to reach one of a few distribution points, and even then their reward is often a simple bowl of Ugali: corn meal mixed with water and perhaps a bit of salt, barely enough to fill their stomachs, and surely not rich enough in vitamins and nutrients to provide what they truly need.
It's hard for us to understand the enormity of the situation, so in order to help you drive the image home, we will offer you a small portion of Ugali at the end of this Mass. Accept is as our gift. Accept it as a way to remind us all of the great abundance that we are so fortunate to have. Ugali is known in other cultures by other names. It's rather tasteless on its own. It is most often spiced or eaten with a stew, or with a tomato sauce, or with gravy, but none of these luxuries are available to those who must face the dessert heat and land baked so dry because of drought that even the corn that provides the Ugali can't grow.
Read on or listen in to find out the details.
Learn the lesson of love
In just a few days time, I'm sorry to say that the summer vacation will come to a screeching halt for many of our children. Classes will resume, teachers will be waiting. Even now, parents may still be scrambling to find the last minute school supplies, the outfits for their children and the snacks they'll need for lunches. Formal lessons begin on Tuesday of this coming week, but have you ever noticed that some lessons are better learned outside the classroom? The trick is to never stop learning, so I suppose that we are all students, and every experience we live has the potential to offer us a lesson or two.
Were you paying attention to the lesson we heard today? Paul's words to the Christian community at Rome are equally addressed to us today: Owe no one anything except to love one another. In this part of the world, those of us who can count ourselves 'debt free' are truly the lucky ones. It seems that more and more people today owe money to credit card companies, to financial institutions, to other money lenders, the list can become rather daunting, and the longer the list, the more out of control the situation. This is not the kind of debt that Paul had in mind. Rather he spoke of our obligation to love one another, perhaps echoing the words spoken by Jesus himself. The currency of love never runs out, only the currency of our will to use it. Love that is freely given costs us nothing, yet it holds the potential to break down walls of division, to strengthen relationships, and to bring people together.
Love for our neighbour compels us to speak out when we recognize injustice. Even in the time of the prophet Ezekiel, some were appointed as watchmen (for the good of their brothers and sisters). We are still compelled today to be on the watch for the good of our children, and for all our brothers and sisters. Like Ezekiel, we must call to them out of love when they need a word of correction, or when there is injustice that must be corrected.
Over the past month or so, many of us have heard this call. Specifically, we have responded to a call for help from the people of East Africa. For far too long, innocent bystanders in that part of the world have fallen victim to a number of injustices, most of which have been relatively unknown to those of us who are so far away. In the past few weeks though, the world has become ever more aware of the plight of hunger and the very real possibility of starvation facing children and parents in the nations of Ethiopia, Somalia and Ethiopia. One of the images so often seen on our television screens is that of long lineups of people waiting for food and other rations. This image is all the more poignant given the fact that this weekend, there is a rib fest being celebrated in the downtown streets of Sudbury. While you and I can so easily walk out the doors of this church, and within just a few blocks find food in such abundance, millions of our brothers and sisters have had to walk for days and even weeks in hot, dry dessert-like conditions, just to reach one of a few distribution points, and even then their reward is often a simple bowl of Ugali: corn meal mixed with water and perhaps a bit of salt, barely enough to fill their stomachs, and surely not rich enough in vitamins and nutrients to provide what they truly need.
In today's gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples to recognize injustice, and to call for its correction, but to temper this vigilance with mercy toward those who have offended. The hungry of our world are often innocent bystanders, caught in the midst of political systems far beyond their own control, so let us continue to respond to their need if we can, but let us also pray for those who have it in their power to change this situation. There's just over a week left before the Canadian Government's deadline for matching of contributions to the Africa Famine relief effort. We have already raised $11,675 in the past four weeks, and our friends in Edmonton have surpassed $33,000. What wonderful lessons this whole experience has taught, to children young and old. Imagine the summer adventure stories that will be told in our classrooms in the coming days!
Thank You for your assistance in this attempt to help us realize the plight of those in third world countries who are unable to make it without outside assistance. News reports of corrupt officials who go in (with militia)to the fields of the farmers and steal the harvest of their people, or raiding the cattle herds and leaving the farmers to starve, is beyond our comprehension here in the western world. Other reports of mothers forced to leave one of their children in a ditch to die alone so she can carry on with her other children in the hopes that they might make it to the distribution camps is a situation that I thank God I have not had to make. Imagine how welcome the smell of Ugali is to the refugees.
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