Pondering on Beliefs

This erratic blog! 

Ah well, instead of putting it off (as usual) or doing multiple posts on Twitter, here’s today’s pondering:



TFTD, NB Christians

“To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude).

.. It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).”  (Re http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a7.htm)

Put another way, 

To live “well” is to hold high a system of beliefs that values each human, the good in each of us and in the world we live in. This Love, this *Charity* is what enables us to uphold our beliefs, our values, by 

- *moderating* our perceived/inflicted needs/appetites;
- standing up for the *justice* in those values and moral truths; and

- taking care to *discern* so that our path and values are not subverted or misrepresented.

MUCH to relate to 21stC Earth. 

But seems we’re missing it. 

What is it about #moderation #justice and #discernment?

There are writings on the wall: #climatechange #POTUS #Brexit #migrants and the myriad of effects and consequences of each of those, to start with. 

For further thought:

(From Pope Francis’ prayer at the Way of the Cross in Rome on Good Friday)

Lord Jesus, help us to see in your Cross all the crosses of the world:

The cross of those who hunger for bread and for love;

The cross of those who are alone or abandoned even by their own children and family members;

The cross of those who thirst for justice and peace;

The cross of those who do not have the comfort of the faith;

The cross of the elderly who are bowed down under the weight of years and loneliness;

The cross of migrants who find doors closed because of fear, and hearts sealed by political calculations; 

The cross of the little ones, wounded in their innocence and purity;

The cross of humanity that wanders in the darkness of uncertainty and in the darkness of the culture of the fleeting moment;

The cross of families broken by betrayal, by the seductions of the evil one or by murderous lightness and by selfishness;

The cross of consecrated persons who tirelessly seek to bring your light into the world and feel rejected, mocked and humiliated;

The cross of consecrated persons who, along the way, have forgotten their first love;

The cross of your children who, believing in you and trying to live according to your word, find themselves marginalized and discarded even by their families and their peers;

The cross of our weaknesses, our hypocrisies, our betrayals, our sins and our many broken promises;

The cross of your Church which, faithful to your Gospel, struggles to carry your love even among the baptized themselves;

The cross of the Church, your bride, who feels continually attacked from within and from without;

The cross of our common home that withers seriously before our selfish eyes that are blinded by greed and power.

Lord Jesus, rekindle in us the hope of the resurrection and of your definitive victory against all evil and all death. Amen!