Instruments of Peace

Christ expects us to be “instruments of peace”

Do You Know Where You Are Going?

Here is a prayer to accompany you on the journey.

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

LINK

Fr Noel Connelly of the Columbans wrote this:

Recently I was struck by the statement in Acts 15:28 “We and the Holy Spirit have agreed …”
I admired the audacity and the confidence of the statement. It came at the conclusion of the first Council of the Church, the Council of Jerusalem. The Apostles and elders were trying to decide how Jewish the new Greek Christians had to become. It was a very difficult question. Their whole understanding of God and what he wanted was at stake.

Another example was the conversion of Cornelius [Acts 10].
This story is misnamed because it is really Peter who is being converted. Cornelius was a just man and faith in Jesus came naturally to him. It was Peter who had to argue with his conscience and his God as to how this could be. Going to Cornelius’ house was against everything Peter had been taught was precious to God. But he also knew that the Holy Spirit was telling him that this was what God wanted. Eventually he baptised Cornelius, but when he returned to Jerusalem he was given a terrible time by the Jewish Christians. The Council of Jerusalem was largely provoked by incidents like this and by Paul’s outreach to the Gentiles.

We often claim that we are living at a point of history where old approved solutions do not seem to work anymore. It is true. We are living at a time when the old certainties have been eroded and the new solutions are not yet convincing enough. Many find they cannot rely on past certainties and have to struggle to find out what God is asking of them today.

I find consolation in the Acts of the Apostles. It is a book of searching. The early Christians could not rely on the past and they didn’t have clear instructions from Jesus. They didn’t even have the Gospels which were yet to be written. They had to read the signs of the times and trust in the Spirit. We too have to trust in the Spirit, stay with the questions, pray, and use our imaginations and intellects to find the way. Maybe then we will also be able to say with peace and confidence, "We and the Holy Spirit have agreed…. "

Fr Noel Connolly

LINK

Australia Day

We celebrate Australia Day on January 26, because it was on that day that Governor Phillip raised the British flag at Sydney Cove in 1788; the day that the colony of New South Wales was proclaimed.
Understandably, many Aboriginal people don’t see 26 January as a cause for celebration. In fact it is referred to as ‘Invasion Day.’
The various colonies were united into one nation, Australia, on Federation Day – January 1, 1901
What date could we have instead to celebrate our Australian identity, our nationhood
Perhaps we should wait a bit longer and shift Australia Day to the day when Australia becomes a republic.
What do you think?

Second Vatican Council announced 50 years ago

Pope John XXIII announced the Second Vatican Council on Sunday 25 January 1959.
Silence greeted his announcement: a frozen silence some thought, an ‘impressive and devout silence’ others later wrote.
Archbishop Giovanni Montini was shocked. ‘This holy old boy doesn’t seem to realise what a hornet’s nest he’s stirring up," he told a friend.

The Vatican II Council eventually opened in 1962 and ended in 1965. Pope John XXIII died in 1963 when the Council had barely begun. Archbishop Montini became Pope Paul VI and accepted the responsibility to complete the Council’s program and implement its resolutions.

We welcome your thoughts and memories about the Council. Here are some focussing questions.
1. What do you remember about the Vatican II Council and its conclusions?
2. Do you think that the Council’s decisions helped you in your faith journey?
3. How well has the Church adopted and developed the recommendations of the Council?

Gaza Again

Two articles about the Israel v Palestine question caught my attention today.
Both are published by Eureka Street Online magazine. Eureka Street is an Australian Jesuit publication.

“Thoughts from a Gaza voyeur”
Quote:
“The whole Islamic world is in uproar, and the focus there is much less on the immediate issue of the Hamas missiles, and the grossly disproportionate Israeli response, than on the longer term strangulation of any economic, cultural and social life in Gaza by the land and sea siege.”
Read the article here.

“Gaza conversations”

Quote:
“In recent days events in the Gaza Strip have demonstrated that power finds it easier to use force than to begin or maintain conversation. Hamas' mission is to engineer situations which will bolster its support in the Gaza Strip and perhaps also on the West Bank. And Israel's assault confirms the conviction amongst Palestinians (many of whom have already suffered from the blockade of Gaza) that Israel is their bane.”
Read the article here.

The Big Issue

The Big Issue is an independent national magazine that publishes quality articles and images on a range of subjects including arts and entertainment, current affairs, street culture and lifestyle.
Our aim is to help people help themselves. The Big Issue provides a way for people who have experienced homelessness and long-term unemployment to participate in society as independently as possible.
As a not-for-profit organisation we’re working towards becoming self-sufficient by increasing sales and advertising revenue.

I really enjoy reading this magazine. There are street vendors in the city. There is a website as well.

'ADELAIDE VOICES'

‘ADELAIDE VOICES’ is an independent, social justice newspaper published every two months.
Subscription:- $ 10.00 per year
Contact Editor: Adelaide Voices Inc, PO Box 6042, Halifax Street SA 5000, AUSTRALIA.

The ‘ADELAIDE VOICES’ presents opinions on community issues that are frequently ignored by the mainstream media.

The current edition contains two articles that especially have drawn my attention.
The first is an edited copy of a speech made by Prof. Fiona Stanley AC at the Adelaide Town Hall on 6/11/2008 about the need to acknowledge Aboriginal people as equal partners in addressing their problems and future.

The second is a speech by Julian Burnside QC at the University of SA on 13/11/2008 about the question of an Australian Federal Bill of Rights. In light of the events that have occurred in Australia during the last decade or so this issue is being looked at with a new perspective.

Both of these issues are about responsible Australian citizenship and very much worth reading and discussing.

The Gaza War

There are more and more reports coming from the Middle East that criticise the Israeli campaign. The Red Cross and the United Nations agency that runs schools in Gaza are two recent examples.
A British journalist with significant knowledge of Middle East politics etc. is Robert Fisk.
Here are links to two recent articles by him.
Link 1
Link 2

World Day of Prayer for Peace

Every year, January 1 is designated as the World Day of Peace, and the Pope issues a special statement. The title of Pope Benedict’s message for January 1, 2009 is Fighting Povery to Build Peace.

The Pope asks for:

• an “ethical approach to economics on the part of those active in the international market,


• an ethical approach to politics on the part of those in public office, and


• an ethical approach to participation capable of harnessing the contributions of civil society at local and international levels.”