A Christian Perspective on Social Issues

tholicism, the rank and file were decimated to the point that whole communities stopped going out to public worship. These are not from newspaper accounts, but this eyewitness of a toll that was vast and bitter.

By GHK Lall

any times in recent years I have grappled with the issue, the question, the anguish regarding why the Church struggles to the extent that it does. At first, I thought it was Guyana mainly, given the envies, rivalries, jealousies; and from which flow almost reflexively the selfishness, the selfpromotion, self-aggrandizement that fuel much bickering and squabbling. I was wrong, for what is visible and familiar in Guyana tracks to other places with many perverse branches, and reaches, believe it or not, all the way to Rome.

The Mother Church is wounded and hurting; her deep bruises and dripping scars are not from the outside, but from the improprieties and imprudence within our hearts, our visions, and our calculations. Men at work, and the kind of work, sometimes, tears the body of Jesus into strips that must pain the Risen Savior even more. I can attest firsthand to some wrongs, for my spouse from another time, and her hundreds of colleagues, were put out of work. The liability protections were exhausted from paying for predatory behavior. Facilities had to be closed, like hospitals and schools, and of the latter I am familiar having had to deal with the children when I could spare the time. In Boston, a bastion of Ca-

MMen who should have been taught the error of their ways, called to book for their serial wrongdoings, were allowed to go elsewhere and continue their wretched practices, with many damaged, many losing faith, distancing from the Church. Surely, there had to be a broad and deep awareness of what was rampant in many places. Surely, the Holy See in Rome would be firm enough, faithful to the teachings of Jesus and scripture, and take the necessary corrective actions. The Congregations of this and that, the powerful Cardinals in charge of doctrine, teaching, and so much more, would be brave enough, spiritual enough to do what was right. They did not for the most part; and what they did was so little, as to be negligible. The Church hurt, the flock flinched first, then fled for succor wherever it could be found. The thinking was that this can’t be happening, except that it was, and in no small measure.

Worse still, there is this litany that encircles such harrowing developments as laundering, coverup, a man hanging himself in the United Kingdom, dirty money accepted from crime syndicates, subsidizing a movement, maybe more than one, in Eastern bloc countries, then under the dreadful communist yoke, and as has surfaced recently, a kidnapping and disappearance of decades, with names pinpointed deep inside the Vatican.

Is this what Christ came for, died for, left for us? Is this what my faith, my energies, my devotions (and that of countless others far better and much more faithful than myself) have come to, this agonizing terminal of selfsearching, of limping, and of longing for some righteous light? I doubt that much light, any kind of heavenly light, could pierce through when one Pope, now departed, was undermining the groundbreaking work of another Vicar of Christ. It could not happen, not while he was given the consideration and courtesy of hospitality and proximity to the seat of power, but returned the favors with thoughtlessness, due to ideology, tradition, and what can only be categorized as lack of compassion, as Jesus himself had taught and lived.

When this has taken root in the hierarchy and leadership of the Church, then what could be expected at the lower levels, the dioceses and parishes scattered across the globe, where the devoted toil and worship. And where they also engage in constant quarreling and backstabbing and undermining of others, and at every level. It is an alarming picture, a landscape that is dismal and grim, and one from which inspirational fellowship is a deep void, a Holy Grail sought after, but which has proven to be largely elusive.

I have questioned the blanket of darkness, under which the shabby and rancid ways of the world flourish, both inside the Church, and in our hearts. How easily and uncaringly we ignore that scriptural counsel about being in the world, but not of the world. It is not that we don’t know of this in Guyana; it is where, as I see it, that we just don’t care, since all that matters is that we must have our selfserving ways.

When this is so, I wonder where is the way of Jesus? What happened to those loud oaths about making him and our lives a testimony to what he sacrificed for, what he left for us to fulfill? Oftentimes, I cringe at where we are, and how dogged we have become in continuing along the same troubled paths. The Church is in a rough place and era. I pray, I plead, Oh Lord God, for this time to pass, and for the Holy Spirit to come and flow freely in the Church and upon each one of us. Wash away these iniquities. Restore us to your grace.

Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests.

Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments. Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.

Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.

Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen

Carmelite Sisters are available for counselling on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00am to 12 noon and 1:00pm to 2:00 pm, at theCathedral Presbytery.

They are also available by appointment. Persons are encouraged to avail themselves of these services. Kindly contact the Cathedral parish office on tel. no. 226-4631fordetails.

February Monthly Intention: For Parishes

We pray that parishes, placing communion at the centre, may increasingly become communities of faith, fraternity and welcome towards those most in need

First Reading Ecclesiasticus 15:15-20

He never commanded anyone to be godless If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power. He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him. For vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing. His eyes are on those who fear him, he notes every action of man. He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 118

Response: They are happy who follow God’s law!

1. They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law!

They are happy those who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts. Response

2. You have laid down your precepts to be obeyed with care. May my footsteps be firm to obey your statutes. Response

3. Bless your servant and I shall live and obey your word. Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your law. Response

4. Teach me the demands of your statutes and I will keep them to the end. Train me to observe your law, to keep it with my heart. Response

SecondReading

1Corinthians 2:6-10

God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began.

We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. lt is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.

Today’s readings challenge us to reflect on the true state of our hearts as it relates to stewardship. Do we think of stewardship as something we

You have learnt how it was said to your ancestors; but I say this to you.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

‘For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

take care of once a year, simply a matter of ticking off boxes on a commitment card or do we choose to embrace it as a spirituality and way of life that allows us to grow in conformity to Christ every day?

Our first reading, from the book of Ecclesiasticus , teaches that our good God has given us freedom to make this choice “Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.” The concept of stewardship helps us to

‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny. You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.

‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

‘Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’❖ live out the fundamental choice to put God first. Stewardship is meant to be embraced as a way of life - a life that involves a continuous conversion of heart.

In our Gospel passage, from Matthew, Jesus illustrates the difference between an external observance of the law and a true conversion of heart, saying, “You have heard that it was said… you shall not kill… But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”

Our Lord is asking us not only for exterior acts, but for a true change of heart. In stewardship terms, that means seeing everything as a gift from Him, to be used for His glory and the good of others.

In the week ahead, let us examine the state of our hearts to ask ourselves if we have chosen to allow stewardship to become a way of life for us. Only then we will experience its true depth and heart-changing possibilities. The choice is ours.❖ [www.catholicsteward.com/blog/