Friday, June 11, 2021

Colleagues List, June 13th, 2021

Vol XVI. No. 43

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                              http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca 

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE 
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE 

Wayne A. Holst, Editor 
My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.net 

This email is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list. 
 If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns, 
 write to me personally at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

My Special Item this week is a new book on dementia in our communities and what we can do about it. The book is provided by author and colleague Michael Swan and Novalis Catholic Publishing of Toronto. Michael and I go back a long time and I am happy to introduce his latest book to you.

I hope you will find other good things here as well.

Wayne

PLEASE NOTE - If a link below, seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Book Notice -

HERE WITH US
A Parish Guide to
Serving People with Dementia

by Michael Swan
Novalis Publishing, Toronto
96 pp. Paper. May, 2021. $13.95 CAD
ISBN # 978-2-89688-9-770-5

Publisher's Promo:

Some of the most forgotten members of society are those who struggle to remember, speak, and understand. And yet people with dementia and their caregivers make up a substantial segment of many parishes around the world. How are parish communities called, as Christ’s disciples, to help them? Here, Michael Swan looks past cultural assumptions and provides the latest information about this life-limiting illness to help parishes respond with effective programs and care. 

A lot of useful information is contained here, for yourself and your congregation.

--

Author's Words:

The statistics speak for themselves. Every year, another 76,000 Canadians are diagnosed with some form of dementia. In 2020, there were over half a million Canadians with dementia. By 2030 there will be close to one million. More than 7 percent of Canadians will at some point live with dementia. In the year 2036, 3 percent of all Canadians alive will have some form of dementia, to some degree...

We live longer, but we don't necessarily live better. One quarter of Canadians will be older than 65 by 2036. Over 50,000 Canadians with dementia right now are living in hospitals. This is not ideal.

In 2020, two-thirds of nursing home residents had a diagnosis of dementia and nursing home staff are ill-equipped to care for them.

(few, if any Catholic seminary facilities in North America offer dementia seminars for religious in training. We tend to focus on the young, not the elderly, and people seem uncomfortable in the presence of those with dementia.)

We need to learn how to behave when we are among dementia patients.

It's important to seek out those with dementia and talk to them, because they find it harder to initiate conversations than they once did...

We in local parishes must not sit this out. "It comes down to that whole essence of the mission of the church." We tend to forget the mental health part of our healing ministries. Is healing really someone else's business if we seek to be followers of Christ the healer?...

There is a difference between healing and curing. Curing is just about the mechanics and biochemistry of our bodies. Healing brings our very selves into alignment with creation around us and our creator. For a Christian, healing does not so much bind our wounds as bind us closer to God, making us whole. That is what Jesus did and still does...

Some churches and denominations have begun co-operating with the Alzheimer Society of Canada. A lot more needs to happen in this regard...

If you or your congregation feels it needs help, you're right. The task is immense. The good news is that there is help out there. It is hoped that this book will help your local community figure out what it needs and where it might find that help.

- copied and interpreted from the first chapter "Confronting Reality"

--

Author's Bio:

Michael Swan is associate editor of The Catholic Register, English-speaking Canada's national Catholic newspaper. He is also the author of Written on My Heart: Classic Prayers in the Modern World (Novalis, 2019) and Out of the Cold: A History of Caring (Catholic Register Books, 2015).

--

My Thoughts:

I'm sure that, for most of us reading this, dementia exists among us. This book is a handy resource for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Here are some additional suggestions offered: 

This book provides an overview of what science tells us about dementia. It gives us simple, hands-on ideas and strategies for acknowledging and welcoming people who live with dementia, and an understanding of the key role that volunteers play in caring for people with dementia.

This volume can help you get your building dementia-ready and suggests ways your congregation can reach out to the wider community for support.

A key point that underlies everything contained here is that people with dementia are human beings. The rest of us - who may not yet be dementia-victims - need to treat victims as we would like to be treated.

Thanks to Michael Swan and Novalis Canadian Catholic publishers for offering this book for consideration.

--

Buy the book from Novalis, Toronto

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Jim Taylor
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
May 30th, 2021

"When Worldwide Becomes Personal"

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio,  TX

Personal Web Site
June 7th, 2021

"More Than a House or a Place"

*****

NET NOTES

POPE FRANCIS TO MEET THIS YEAR WITH
CANADIAN INDIGENOUS DELEGATION
Meeting in Planning Stage for Some Time
but Developments have Made it Urgent

Catholic Register, Toronto
June 11th, 2021


--

NEWS I WOULD RATHER NOT KNOW
I Don't Want to Hear It, But I Must

Christian Week,
May 31st, 2021


--

UCC CONDEMNS ATTACK 
ON MUSLIM FAMILY
"Horrific and Hate-filled"
  in London, ON.

United Church of Canada
June 9th, 2021


--

LOSS AND CONTINUATION
Lessons from the Maya 
about End-of-Life Matters

Sightings,
June 10th, 2021


--

VATICAN GETS MIXED REVIEWS FOR
FIGHTING FINANCIAL CORRUPTION
Much More Must Be Done

Religion News Service,
June 9th, 2021


--

CATHOLIC ARE ASKING FOR BREAD
AS MANY BISHOPS OFFER STONES
Offering Communion to Politicians Debate

Religion News Service,
June 10th, 2021


--

KENYAN WOMAN MARRIED THE 
HOLY SPIRIT IN ANGLICAN CEREMONY
But the Church Does Not Approve

Religion News Service,
June 4th, 2021


--

MORE THAN HALF OF ASIANS IN CANADA
HAVE EXPERIENCED DISCRIMINATION 
DURING THE PAST YEAR

Most Targeted are the Young and Poor

CBC.ca
June 8th, 2021



*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

Shape our spirits by Christ's transforming power, that as one people we may live out your compassion and justice, whole and sound in the realm of your peace.


- Revised Common Lectionary

--

If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.

- Thomas Merton

--

For it is evident that God will in truth be all in all when there shall be no evil in existence, when every created being is at harmony with itself and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; when every creature shall have been made one body. 

- St. Gregory of Nyssa


*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Mother Teresa

Do not look for Jesus away from yourselves. He is not out there; he is in you. Keep your lamp burning, and you will recognize him.

(end)

*****






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Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Colleagues List, June 6th, 2021

Vol XVI. No. 42

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                              http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca 

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE 
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE 

Wayne A. Holst, Editor 
My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.net 

This email is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list. 
 If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns, 
 write to me personally at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

Although a bit late, this issue of Colleagues List for June 6th offers some interesting material which I hope you enjoy.

In some ways, we look to the past. In others, the future.

Blessings to you.

Wayne

PLEASE NOTE - If a link, below seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Please read my May column appearing now in the Anglican Journal -


It is a response to an article by Canon Neil Elliot that appeared in AJ during May entitled:

"Our Response ... gives me huge hope"


Thanks to all colleagues submitting articles this week, including Susan Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

She appears on the AJ opinion pages re Anglican/Lutheran relations for the first time.

Enjoy the rest of this letter as well.

Wayne

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Susan Johnson,
Winnipeg, MB

Anglican Journal
June 1st, 2021

"Like Trees Planted by Streams of Water"

--

Elfrieda Schroeder,
Winnipeg, MB.

In Transit,
May 29th, 2021

"Happy Birthday to Mom and Me"

--

Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.

Sermons and Blog,
My 31st, 2021

"Spirit-Led"

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan,  BC.

Personal Web Log
May 30th, 2021

"When World-Wide Becomes Personal"

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
May 31st, 2021

"Losing the Song in the Singer"

*****

NET NOTES

THINK AGAIN -
WHY RELIGION IS GOOD FOR US
Christian Week, Winnipeg, MB

Carey Nieuwhof Blog
May 29th, 2021


--

KAMLOOPS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL -
A TIME FOR MOURNING AND SUPPORT
Official UCC Statement on the Tragedy

United Church of Canada
May 31st, 2021


--

IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR A JUST
PEACE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE?
It Seems Far Off, But the Only Way

Christian Century,
June 1st, 2021


--

IN GERMANY SSM FOR CATHOLIC COUPLES
EXACERBATES TENSION WITH VATICAN
Much Catholic Sentiment Supports This

Religion News Service
June 1st, 2021


--

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS SUFFER
HISTORIC ONE-YEAR DECLINE
400,000 Loss in 2020

The Christian Post
May 24th, 2021


Two Million SBC Loss Since 2006
Religion News Service,
May 21st, 2021


--

NORTH AMERICAN CHRISTIANS MUST
HUMBLY LOOK TO THE GLOBAL CHURCH
Seeking Solutions to Member Decline

Religion News Service,
June 3rd, 2021


--

CATHOLIC FEARS INCREASE OVER GROWING
CHINESE CFACKDOWN OF CHRISTIANS
Recent Clergy Arrests Cause Worry

Catholic Register, Toronto
June 1st, 2021


--

WHEATON COLLEGE CHANGES WORDING 
ON PLAQUE FOR FAMOUS MISSIONARY
Jim Elliot No Longer Saving "Savages"

The Christian Post,
May 24th, 2021


--

YOUNG, DIVERSE AMERICAN EVANGELICALS
DON'T SUPPORT ISRAEL LIKE THEIR PARENTS
This is a Marked Shift from Previous Years

Religion News Service,
May 26th, 2021


*****

BAD DAY IN CANADIAN HISTORY

May 23rd, 1633

French Protestant Huguenot People
Banned from Immigration to Quebec


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhoff online:

Avoid dividing the world into “us” and “them.” If you do, you will harden your heart. There are not two worlds, one in God’s hands and the other one not. There are not two species of people either, one totally under God’s rule and the other completely outside of it.

- Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt

--

Every moment of our human life is a moment of crisis; for at every moment we are called upon to make an all-important decision – to choose between the way that leads to death and spiritual darkness, and the way that leads towards light and life; between interests exclusively temporal, and the eternal order; between our personal will, and the will of God.

- Aldous Huxley

--

Jesus had a way of talking soft and outside of a few bankers and higher-ups among the con men of Jerusalem everybody liked to have this Jesus around because he never made any fake passes and everything he said went and he helped the sick and gave the people hope.

- Carl Sandburg

--

Some people, in order to find God, will read a book. But there is a great book, the book of created nature. Look carefully at it top and bottom, observe it, read it. God did not make letters of ink for you to recognize him in; he set before your eyes all these things he has made. Why look for a louder voice?

- Augustine of Hippo

--

Where the Spirit of God is, there is divine desire not simply for God but for one another and not simply for one another but for those to whom we are sent by the Spirit, to those already being drawn into communion with God and sensing the desire of God for the expansion of their lives into the lives of others.

- Willie James Jennings

--

Fling wide your doors; give your wealth free passage everywhere! As a great river flows by a thousand channels through fertile country, so let your wealth run through many conduits to the homes of the poor. Wells that are drawn from flow the better; left unused, they go foul.… Money kept standing idle is worthless; but moving and changing hands it benefits the community and brings increase.

- Basil of Caesarea

--

Your holiness makes you as conspicuous as the sun in the sky. You cannot hide your Christian character. Love cannot be hidden any more than can light. Least of all, it cannot be hidden when it shines forth in action. When you exercise yourself in a labor of love, in any kind of good work, you are observed. We may as well try to hide a city as to hide a Christian. It is the purpose of God that every Christian should be in open view. We are to give light to all that are in the house.

- John Wesley

--

How often we children have been unwilling: unwilling to listen to each other, unwilling to hear words we do not expect. But on that first Pentecost the Holy Spirit truly called the people together in understanding and forgiveness and utter, wondrous joy. The early Christians, then, were known by how they loved one another. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could say that of us again? Not an exclusive love, shutting out the rest of the world, but love so powerful, so brilliant, so aflame that it lights the entire planet – nay, the entire universe!

- Madeleine L’Engle

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Edith Stein

To suffer and to be happy although suffering, to have one’s feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough paths of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father’s right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly to sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels – this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth.

(end)

*****



*****

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Monday, May 24, 2021

Colleagues List, May 23rd, 2021

  Vol XVI. No. 41

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                                http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca 

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE 
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE 

Wayne A. Holst, Editor 
My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.net 

This email is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list. 
 If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns, 
 write to me personally at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

This weekend in Canada is associated with what we have traditionally called "Victoria Day Holiday". I have some problems with the term "Victoria Day" so please read what I have to say, below.

Enjoy the other material I have accumulated to share with you. I'm just a few days late with this issue of Colleagues List, but not much.

Wayne

PLEASE NOTE - If a link, below seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

A FEW THOUGHTS ON VICTORIA DAY
Canada's Colonial History and Future

This weekend, our first "summer" holiday break, a neighbour of ours is proudly displaying a large Union Jack in his front yard.

I look at this with very mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I was raised in a Canada that showed strong attachment to its colonial heritage. Even though I have Ulster and Germanic background, we were encouraged to honour and respect our rich imperial British tradition. On the whole, we did so.

On the other hand, I have grown to suspect our colonial  history, and have started to recognize the unjust abuses associated with it. Indeed, my people were white and European, but we were not English. That put me in a different category from my British-heritage Canadian friends.

I thought more about this recently when it was reported that Oxford University was not about to shed its attachment to Cecil Rhodes and his South African colonial behaviour. Several years ago, we noted while in South Africa, that a Rhodes monument was removed from a prominent location of his historical association with that country. A dramatic change of government there, during the last generation or so, seems to have had a major influence in this demotion. Great Britain, however, seems not to be parting easily with its colonial past.

What about Canada and its current connections to its colonial past?

I can accept the Union Jack on our historic sites and in our museums, but prominently on the front yard of a home in my current Calgary suburb?

Some would argue that the British Empire negotiated treaties with the First Nations People of our land, and that this was a good thing. But I would counter that those treaties were, in the main, not honoured. Only now, after many years, is Canada beginning to realize what has not been done. We are only starting to require that justice be served.

I don't intend to get into an argument with my neighbour over the kind of flag that should be flown this weekend. But perhaps we could start by considering our choice of the term "Victoria Day".

Can we not find a new term that respects both our positive heritage as offspring of empire in Canada, while at the same time recognizing our need to be open to a new future nation that integrates Indigenous and other Canadians from all parts of the world?

Recently, I had the opportunity to discuss issues like this with a thoughtful  group of Christians from Toronto Chinese Baptist Church. I was honoured by this evidence of a new Canada that connects Asian and Canadian culture. The twenty or so folk that I was relating to demonstrated a love for both their heritage overseas and their deep commitment to Canada.

This example could find parallels in many other aspects of our nation on this (Canadian) holiday weekend.

My experience teaches me that Canada is maturing as a nation, but we still have some distance to go.

What do you think? - 

Wayne

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.

Sermons and Blog,
May 14th, 2021

"Grounded"

--

Doug Koop,
Winnipeg, MB

Winnipeg Free Press,
May 13th, 2021

"Spiritual Care Providers 
  Slog Through Pandemic"


--

Philip Yancey,
Colorado

Philipyancey.com
May, 2021

"The World Outside My Window"

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site
May 17th, 2021

"Rich Kids Growing Up Without Money -
  or Understanding"

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
May 16th, 2021

"A Eulogy for Wild Yellow Flowers"

*****

NET NOTES

A WOMAN IN A MAN'S WORLD
Discovering What Bias is Like

Christian Week, Winnipeg
May 14th, 2021


-

LDS GROWTH IS FLAT RIGHT NOW
Why So Many New Mormon Temples?

Religion News Service,
May 20th, 2021


--

RADICAL JEWISH THINKER HAS DIED
God is Dead Theologian Passed Away

Religion News Service,
May 19th, 2021


--

JANE GOODALL WINS 2021 TEMPLETON PRIZE
Only the Fourth Woman to Win the Award

Religion News Service,
My 20th, 2021


--

ALIEN LIFE LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKELY
Catholics Appear Ready to Accept This

Religion News Service,
May 18th, 2021


--

THE DECLINE OF CHRISTIANITY IN PAKISTAN
Church Leaders Worry About Fleeing Faithful

UCA News,
May 21st, 2021


--

BANNING CONVERSION THERAPY IS ONE THING
But What Happens Next?

Broadview,
June 21st, 2021


--

NEW DOCUMENTARY EXAMINES 
BILLY GRAHAM'S LIFE AND LEGACY
An Attempt at Objective Assessment

Religion News Service
May 14th, 2021


--

MORE THAN 120 PRIESTS DIE IN INDIA
IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS DUE TO COVID
These are Catholic Numbers Only

The Christian Post
May 18th, 2021


--

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MAY REMOVE
"HUSBAND" AND "WIFE" FROM CEREMONY
Conservatives Bemoan Loss of Tradition

The Christian Post,
May 19th, 2021


*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:

You don’t have to believe a revelation to understand that something inside it was real.

- Jia Tolentin

--

If democracy means freedom why aren’t our people free? If democracy means justice why don’t we have justice? If democracy means equality then why don’t we have equality?

- Malcolm X

--

There once was a time when Thoreau wrote, “I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.” By the power vested in everything living, let us keep to that faith. I’m a scientist who thinks it wise to enter the doors of creation not with a lion tamer’s whip and chair, but with the reverence humankind has traditionally summoned for entering places of worship: a temple, a mosque, or a cathedral. A sacred grove, as ancient as time.

- Barbara Kingsolver

--

Sorry about making a living, or not making a living, is a snare. In actuality, it is the snare. No external power, no actual circumstance, can trap a person. If we choose to be our own providence, then we will go quite ingenuously into our own trap, the wealthy as well as the poor. If we want to entrench ourselves in our own plot of ground that is not under God’s care, then we are living, though we do not acknowledge it, in a prison.

- Soren Kierkegaard

--

Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. If you want to be great, wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s your new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it, by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Mitri Raheb

Empires create their own theologies to justify their occupation.

*****

(end)



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Friday, May 14, 2021

Colleagues List, May 16th, 2021

 Vol XVI. No. 40

Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                                  http://colleagueslist.blogspot/.ca http://colleagueslistii.blogspot.com

GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE 
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE 

Wayne A. Holst, Editor 
My E-Mail Address: waholst@telus.net 

This email is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list. 
 If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns, 
 write to me personally at - waholst@telus.net 

*****

Dear Friends:

Welcome to my mid-May, 2021 issue of Colleagues List.

I hope you enjoy the selections I have made for you this time.

Wayne

PLEASE NOTE - If a link, below seems to be dead, cut and paste it into the address bar at the top of your web page and it should work.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

A NOTE ON SEASONAL TRANSITION

Today, for the first time, the Washington Post declares "it is reasonable to discuss the end of the pandemic." That, indeed, is hopeful news.

We in Canada, however, are more hesitant about it. We still see challenges and our governments are not yet telling us when we can function without facemasks.

As much as I anticipate progress on the Coved-19 front, and believe that we in Canada are making progress,  I naturally think our country should be cautious. We know enough about this virus to recognize that it can seem to be in decline one week, and then - there it is again in a slightly different form!

Patience, and progressive anticipation, is the Canadian way!

One area that is definitely moving ahead for us is the natural cycle. We can feel it as we walk in warm spring sunshine and listen to birds singing and watch flowers blooming. We in "foothills country" might still expect the odd skiff of snow during the night, but the feel of the season is definitely one of serious transition toward summer. Thank God for that!

To those of you reading this from other parts of the world, I hope you will allow me this moment of celebration. We do have long winters, and the additional burden of the virus this time has made life more difficult.

The blessing of holding to a cyclical understanding of life comes to mind. No matter how difficult the circumstance, we are invited to anticipate a change for the better.

*****

COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS

John Griffith,
Calgary, AB

What Was I Thinking? (blog)
May 11th, 2021

"Living With a Story"

--

Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC

Personal Web Log
May 10th, 2021

"Because That's What Mothers Do"

--

Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX

Personal Web Site,
May 10th, 2021

"A Saint for Our Time"

*****

NET NOTES

SPRING BLOSSOMS ON FULL DISPLAY
Across Canada there is Much Beauty

CBC.ca
May 9th, 2021


--

"GODSPELL" CELEBRATES FIFTIETH
 Much-Feted Musical Half a Century Old

Religion News Service,
May 10th, 2021


--

MODERN-DAY HEALERS
SEEK ANCESTRAL MEANING
A Search for Traditional Wisdom

Religion News Service,
May 13th, 2021


--

GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH
ELECTS YOUNGEST PRESIDENT
She Considers It an Honour

Lutheran World Federation,
May 14th, 2021


--

FOR SOME PASTORS, A TIME TO QUIT
Coved-19 Has Taken the Joy From Ministry

Religion News Service
May 7th, 2021


--

CALGARY PASTOR JAILED
FOR HOLDING CHURCH SERVICE
Claims Canada Like Hong Kong

Christian Post,
May 13th, 2021


--

AS WORLD OPENS POST-PANDEMIC
HOW WILL WE FIND A WAY OUT OF IT?
In Teresa of Avila I Found a New Path

The Christian Century,
May 5th, 2021


--

ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN DISPUTE -
A LAND AND A RELIGIOUS ISSUE
Ethnicity and Faith Each Play a Part

Religion News Service,
May 12th, 2021


--

DON'T SHOOT AT JERUSALEM'S PALESTINANS
Talk To Them

Religion News Service
May 11th, 2021


--

THE SYSTEM FAILED OUR SENIORS
People in LTC Facilities Neglected

Catholic Register, Toronto
May 5th, 2021



*****

WISDOM OF THE WEEK

Provided by Sojourners and the Bruderhoff online:

I’d like to point out to people the divine in a musical language that transcends words. I want to speak to their souls.

- John Coltrane

--

I do not believe in holiness without prayer, even though that prayer need not be lengthy or involve intense emotions.

- Pope Francis

--

There is no divine grace in the Old Testament (or in the New Testament) that is bestowed on oppressors at the expense of the suffering of the poor.

- James H. Cone

--

The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song, and [we] cannot live without a song.

- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

--

The act of creation is not done alone. Two parents must participate to create a child. An artist must collaborate, as well. She must be a co-creator with God, using the gifts he has given her and the resources of creation. And if that artist is a parent, her creation should be supported by a wider community.

- Haley Stewart

--

God cannot fill what is full. He can fill only emptiness – deep poverty – and your “yes” [to Jesus] is the beginning of being or becoming empty. It is not how much we really “have” to give – but how empty we are – so that we can receive fully in our life and let him live his life in us. In you today – he wants to relive his complete submission to his father – allow him to do so. Take away your eyes from yourself and rejoice that you have nothing.

- Mother Teresa

--

Many believe that they need company at any cost, and certainly if a thing is desired at any cost, it will be obtained at all costs. We need to remember and to teach our children that solitude can be a much-to-be-desired condition. Not only is it acceptable to be alone, at times it is positively to be wished for. It is in the interludes between being in company that we talk to ourselves. In the silence we listen to ourselves. Then we ask questions of ourselves. We describe ourselves, and in the quietude we may even hear the voice of God.

- Maya Angelou

*****

CLOSING THOUGHT - Walter Brueggemann

The formation of an alternative community with an alternative consciousness is so that the dominant community may be criticized and finally dismantled. But more than dismantling, the purpose of the alternative community is to enable a new human beginning to be made.

- John Coltrane
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Colleagues List, July 24th, 2022

  Vol. XVIII. No. 1 Archive - Dec 2009 - Oct 2019                                            http://colleagueslist.blogspot / .ca           ...

  • Colleagues List, May 24th, 2020
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