A Christian Perspective on Social Issues

By GHK Lall

Hopelessness is a crime. Hopeless is more than a crime, it is a sin. Hopelessness is more than a crime and a sin combined. Hopelessness is a great evil, the mother of them all. This is what many in our society struggle with in this Season of Lent, all year long. As Catholics journey in these early days of Lent, hopelessness exists in broad pockets, and it is what must be fought against, for we believe in higher, greater things.

Hopelessness by itself is a bad state for anyone to coexist with on a continuing basis; a chronic condition that does not ease up, go away. Whatever the underlying factor-poverty, illness, relationship, work-a state of hopelessness is a way of that is gnawing of the spirit, and grinding down of will and life itself; and with little on which to fall back to cushion from the assaults on the emotions, mood, and psyche. If we are not careful, then the hopelessness can creep into our lives. That is bad enough, and usually is triggered by circumstances over which there is no control. But there is another kind of hopelessness which I place before my fellow Guyanese today, and the source of which can itself be a horror of the unimaginable kind.

As seen by me, there is also that hopelessness that is induced and compelled. Hopelessness induced to reduce to the point of helplessness. Take away support systems. Remove surrounding layers of tradition and reliance. Isolate and segregate. Take aim and then slice away, one little or large sliver at a time. Whether vision or program, there is this relentlessness and remorselessness that becomes obvious in the power of ongoing, self-serving practices. More and more spaces and places and faces are targeted and felled. A juggernaut of a machine is unleashed, and it is broad as it is big, few are spared, fewer left untouched to this point. This is what is being stood up against in Nicaragua, other parts of the world.

In Guyana, the savaging irony is that there are those Guyanese who speak with a straight face of what is about togetherness. Artful construction or conviction? How can this be when there are so many have nots, and the resulting hopelessness? Where is the condition that gives us some muscle? Whenever anyone speaks of oneness, then a long journey is undertaken, a great, big obligation is owned, and nothing but the most powerful of commitments is going to see it through to the end.

Every effort is expended, all goodwill spent, all capital invested to reach for, to encircle those neither wholly nor partially receptive to one of anything. The heavy output of energy, the thankless toiling, must be to gather the outliers and stragglers, to influence and sway the resistant, to persuade the indifferent, the disbelieving. As Catholics, this must be second nature. This is how oneness is achieved in my humble perspective. The assertions, attributes, and exercises must all contribute to give hope to the hopeless.

I contend that we are the worst of cancers to ourselves, when any tiny opportunity, any small promise, that is present is not explored. I insist that rather than a raise a hand in anger and frustration to beat into submission, or to teach a lesson by reducing to the despair of hopelessness, there are the roads identified earlier that must be traveled. If we are genuinely about togetherness, then there can be no limit to our patience, no curb on our imagination, no objection to trying different things, ways that have never been contemplated before. This has to be our calling, Lent or no Lent, in what we foster in our sanctuary, in our community and country. patient hands, sincere words, inspiring deeds. We have it in ourselves from our belief system to care for those who do not have, the lesser and lower in our midst. This is what Jesus exemplified, the penance of which Lent is about. We have so much richness, yet there is so much hopelessness. There is mourning over the poverty of spirit that is observed, touched, in our society It is what just should not be Perhaps in an earlier time, but not at this time of great abundance.

I am familiar with Christians and Catholics and citizens who are wounded and limping in the spirit, despite the brave face they put on, the tight, pained smiles that they try. We must look not to man for succor, but to the heavens, call out to the mountains, for there is our deliverance from the hopelessness that invades consciousness and circumstances. The prayers of Lent, as we await the coming of our Lord. This must be the substance of the hope that we should have. When we look to man, expect the good of men, too often disappointments follow. God does not disappoint. Into his hands, we must commend our spirit, our hope, our visions for ourselves. In God we trust and the hope nurtured must be our Lenten prayer and mantra. Amen.

Trinidad has had such an Act since 2000 and the rest followed a few years later. Guyana still relies on cash-based accounting, best suited to a cake-shop and hopelessly inadequate for any public accounts, much less those of an oil producing nation. A modern accruels-based system has been resisted for years. Our ramshackle accounting system, for example, cannot alert Guyana to dangerous financial risks such as not monitoring over-runs on the budget or borrowing too much money. When a parallel situation developed in Ghana, shortly after it became an oil producer, recourse to an IMF for bail-out was required. Agencies such as the World Bank, IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank know exactly what is going on, but with Guyana on the spectrum of oilproducing nations, they choose to be more deferential than demanding. Political will for financial reform is feeble, as evidenced by the following gaps. The National Audit Office has never carried out any forensic audit required for legal prosecution of officials who may be suspected of financial fraud; the current Auditor-General was only appointed the year he was to retire and, therefore, can be dismissed at any time and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee’s last Report was for 2010-2012.

Moreover, modernizing public accounts in Guyana cannot get the attention it deserves since the Annual Report of the Auditor-General restricts itself to the exact format required by the Audit Act which predates such things as electronic transactions.

This combination of inaction on implementing accountability reforms together with dismantling those already in place provides a consistent and serious incompatibility with the democratic culture required of EITI member countries. Should further sanctions be triggered for violations to the EITI Standard, the Government of Guyana will not need to seek ‘villains’ to blame: it is will have achieved this all by itself.

March Monthly Intention: For Victims of Abuse

We pray for those who have suffered harm from members of the Church; may they find within the Church herself a concrete response to their painandsuffering ❖

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.

First Reading Genesis 12:1-4

The call of the people of God.

The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.

‘I will bless those who bless you: I will curse those who slight you. All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you.’

So Abram went as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 32:4-5, 18-20, 22 l. The word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted.

Response: May your love be upon us, O Lord, as weplaceallourhopein you.

The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love. Response

2. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine. Response

3. Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield, May your love be upon us, 0 Lord, as we place all our hope in you. Response

Second Reading

God calls and enlightens us.

2 Timothy 1:8-10

With me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace.

This grace had already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus.

He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.

GOSPEL: Matthew 17:1-9

His face shone like the sun.

Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus.

‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.’ When they heard this the disciples fell on their faces overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘do not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus. As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order. “Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” ❖

Our readings for this second Sunday of Lent offer us Christian stewards motivation to continue on our 40-day journey towards deeper holiness.

The first reading from the book of Genesis describes God’s call to Abram

(who would later be called Abraham). God instructs Abram to leave his home and set out to a land that God had chosen for him. Abram’s response is an ancient example of a good stewardship. Instead of clinging to his comfortable home and way of life, he recognizes that all he has is gift from God, puts his trust in God and obeys. And God rewards him saying, “I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

To “be a blessing” is the true aim of a stewardship way of life. It is also an excellent way to live out the season of

Lent. The sacrifices we take on, the spiritual disciplines we practice, the extra acts of service we perform during this season all give glory to God and transform our lives into a blessing for others.

Lest we grow weary on this path, our Gospel passage today, from Matthew, offers us a powerful image of the great God we serve. It is the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, when our Lord reveals Himself in His true glory and the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” The apostles who witnessed this were awestruck. But our loving Saviour reassured them saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” As we continue on our Lenten journey, let us take these two verses, “Listen to him,” “Rise, and do not be afraid” to heart. Let us rely on God’s strength to aid us in our spiritual disciplines as we move through Lent. We will arrive at Easter with deeper holiness, as a blessing to God and others and as better stewards of all God’s gifts to us ❖ [www.catholicsteward.com/blog/