Friday, June 29, 2012

Moonlite Talk

Dear sons and daughters,

I feel your voices! Mine is just one lone voice, but it sums up the voice of the whole world.

And here, in fact, all the world is represented here tonight. It could even be said that even the moon hastens close tonight, that from above, it might watch this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, over its four centuries of history, has ever been able to witness.

We ask for a great day of peace. Yes, of peace! 'Glory to God, and peace to men of goodwill.'' If I asked you, if I could ask of each one of you: where are you from? The children of Rome, especially represented here, would respond: ah, we are the closest of children, and you're our bishop. Well, then, sons and daughters of Rome, always remember that you represent 'Roma, caput mundi' ['Rome, the capital of the world'] which through the design of Providence it has been called to be across the centuries.

My own person counts for nothing -- it's a brother who speaks to you, become a father by the will of our Lord, but all together, fatherhood and brotherhood and God's grace, give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love, love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord's holy peace for the work of the good. And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes close to us, and set aside whatever difficulty it might bring.

When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them: 'This is the hug and kiss of the Pope.' And when you find them with tears to dry, give them a good word. Give anyone who suffers a word of comfort. Tell them 'The Pope is with us especially in our times of sadness and bitterness.' And then, all together, may we always come alive -- whether to sing, to breathe, or to cry, but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us, let us continue along our path.
Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII - Reflection

Prayer in Honor of Those Whom Jesus Loved

Jesus who loved the Samaritan woman,
outcast proclaimer of your name,
let us love and support all those
who proclaim your name
to the gay and lesbian community.
Jesus who loved the lepers whom others called unclean,
let us see the glory of creation
everywhere, in everyone.
Jesus who loved the one condemned with him
and promised him heaven by virtue of his faith,
give us the faith to broaden our vision
of the reign of God.
Jesus who loved the hemorrhaging woman,
long ignored and thought to be intrinsically disordered,
give us hearts large enough to embrace
those whom the world calls bent.
Jesus who loved the tax collector the community feared,
enable us to put down our fear of those
who are different from ourselves.
Jesus who loved the Roman soldier,
foreigner and oppressor,
help us to love those who make exiles
of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.
Jesus who loves us in all our humanness, all our glories,
enable us to love those
whose glories we have failed to see.
You who called women disciples in a male world,
who confronted leaders of the synagogue
with their sins of injustice,
who sent out your disciples to the whole world,
give us the courage to stand with
our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters,
their families and those who minister to them.
Give us the grace
to confront their rejection,
to ease their loneliness,
to calm their fears and
to belie their sense of abandonment.
Give us all the grace to own our sexual identity,
whatever its orientation,
as another manifestation of your goodness.
Give us the vision to recognize and reject
the homophobia around us and in our own hearts, as well.
May we and the church of Jesus
open our hearts and homes and sanctuaries
to the gay and lesbian community,
to the glory of God they bring in new voice,
with different face.
Let us bless the God of differences.
Amen.
by Sister Joan Chittister, OSB

Peace

"Peace is the fruit of justice & love."
Pope Paul VI