A Thought for the Week
August 30, 2010
Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [September 5, 2010]
As often as read or hear of an account in these recent days of young Moslem men or women who strap about their body a deadly explosive device and decide to kill themselves along with many other innocent people, I say to myself, “what drives young men and women to do such a dastardly act? What is the so-called “sacred” vision that gives them the reason to walk into their own death? Truly, not many American young people can bring themselves to such an end. Is there something in the Arab psyche that impels them to kill others who have no evident quarrel with them, nor any animosity? Surely, there must be some so-called dedication that drives them to interpret the Koran in such a violent manner. Is it their religious devotion that drives them or is it some political or cultural motivation? I am at a loss to say. Indeed, I believe most Americans cannot understand the motivation behind such violent actions.
Unbelievable as it may sound, there seems to be some deep-set religious intent involved. The Moslem people are deeply religious; indeed, I would say that they are, as a whole, more religiously dedicated to their faith than many Christians. Think, for instance, of the arduous yearly trek across the desert to Mecca or some other sacred Moslem shrine. How many Christians are willing to fall on their knees 5 times each day and pray to their God as Moslems do? Not many, I suspect. Indeed, in this regard, Moslem people seem more dedicated religiously than Christians.
Continue reading "Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [September 5, 2010]"
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 01:10 PM.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time [August 29, 2010]
Taking the Heat
Most folks on Chicago’s South Side remember vividly the events that occurred at the Church of St. Sabina this past summer. Father Michael Pfleger, pastor there for the past 30 years, incurred the anger of some Chicago Catholics and the concern of the Archbishop for remarks he made at a neighboring non-Catholic church regarding the character of Hillary Clinton and her run for the presidency. Indeed, the situation became so heated that Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, decided to ask Father Pfleger to take two weeks off to rest and reflect.
Several points must be noted here, however. First, Michael Pfleger is a Caucasian, although people say he thinks and preaches like an African American preacher.
Continue reading "Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time [August 29, 2010]"
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 12:03 PM.
August 16, 2010
Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time [August 22, 2010]
Somewhere in my personal “archives” I have a well-weathered photo of my grade school class dating back to the early thirties. Counting all eight grades, there were probably 20 youngsters. The boys were all dressed in farm overalls, the girls in cotton dresses. Some of us were wearing shoes, others were barefoot. (This alone tells me that the photo was shot in early summer)
At any rate, my hunch is that all of us were probably cousins. Most likely most of us were also Catholic, although I know for certain that there was at least one Lutheran family living in our area.
What I find humorous today is that we all looked so much alike, Caucasian, light skinned and light hair. All of this tells you that in those days we were a very ethically hetrogeneous group of young folks: Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, a scattering of Russians and East Europeans.
Continue reading "Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time [August 22, 2010]"
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 01:16 PM.
August 10, 2010
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [August 15, 2010]
My friends, today we have a summer break in the usual Sunday readings from Luke the Evangelist who is describing Jesus’ “on the road” instructions for the disciples. We celebrate the Assumption (the homecoming) of the Blessed Virgin.
Every Catholic and most Christians will insist that, next to Jesus, Mary is deservedly the most important and, indeed, the best-known person in the Christian scriptures.
Historically, we know very little of Mary’s life other than what has been handed on to us from the gospel tradition, particularly from Luke the Evangelist. From that source, for instance, we know that she was a young Palestinian girl, spouse of Joseph of Nazareth; we know that she brought forth into our world, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God. Like any mother, we know that she and Joseph were particularly cautious regarding their Son’s safety. Remember the temple scene when Jesus as only twelve years old? Or the scene later in his life when rowdy crowds threatened him?
Continue reading "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [August 15, 2010]"
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 03:28 PM.
August 02, 2010
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [August 8, 2010]
Some while ago, my friends, I happened to be reading a feature article in the New York Times on Multi-tasking, the ability some people have to do several tasks at once. The reference here was to technology experts who can manage 2, 3 or more computers or other complicated machines at once. The author pointed out, however, that “multi-taskers” also have difficulty concentrating on specific individual responsibilities in their daily life. Their minds seem to be self-trained to concentrate on lots of things but not on the one important thing.
Actually, I have the same problem in a less professional issue, namely cooking. Occasionally in the past I have invited several people in for dinner and I usually made a point of having my main dishes prepared before the invited guests were expected. However, it often happened that one or two people would show up early, and here I was trying to entertain, serve snacks, drinks and try to make sure that all the parts of the meal were ready at the same time. Inevitably, the mashed potatoes or the asparagus got cold as I tried to divide my attention between the living room and the kitchen.
Continue reading "Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [August 8, 2010]"
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 11:34 AM.
