Daily Archives: January 26, 2018
SILENCE, ADORATION, PRAYER – A Lesson from Children
Aldo Maria Valli
Today my wife told me a beautiful experience with her children of the second year of catechism.
There are 13 boys, 9 years old. The topic addressed is “The call.” First in the Old Testament, then in the New Testament. After deepening their knowledge of the story of Abraham, it is Moses’ turn: his origin, life, the problems of stuttering, the episode of the killing of a guardian who beated a Jewish slave. And then Moses called by God, who manifests Himself as a fire in the burning bush.
BITE-SIZE PHILOSOPHY (49) – What factors can limit freedom?
Rev José Mario O Mandía
Freedom is “rooted in reason and will” (CCC 1731). In man (unlike in angels), these two powers do not act alone — they are affected by other factors. Let us talk about these factors.
Ignorance or error. Ignorance is not the same as error. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge, it is the lack of information. Error, on the other hand, is faulty judgment. Ignorance is, for instance, when I don’t know if something is red or blue; error is when I wrongly or mistakenly judge something to be blue when it is, in reality, red. Both ignorance and error are defects of the intellect. Defects in the intellect cause defects in freedom. I’m sure we all remember decisions we have made out of ignorance or error, and regret having made them.
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEART! – 28 January 2018 – 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Deuteronomy 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, Mark 1:21-28
May Tam
www.FLL.cc
Perhaps it would not be too wrong to say that one of the things that undergoes depletion over the ages is the submission to “authority.” Challenge to the origin of established authority always creates tension among people in different classes. Today, needless to say, under the shield of human rights and freedom (which are very often being misused), this challenge continues its way to parents at home, to teachers in the classrooms, to the Catholic Church in her teachings and ultimately, to the Christian faith in God.
DIASPORA – The Macanese community in Hong Kong
Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
The Portuguese community of Hong Kong was of extreme importance for the economic and cultural life of the former British colony. Over the decades their best offspring have been leaving for far distances and the community is now much reduced and aging. In addition to the prestigious Club Lusitano, the Club de Recreio (now with the majority of Chinese partners), the Escola (School) Camões, some small restaurants, some technicians and a few Portuguese products sold there, not much more exists. Even the Consulate of Portugal was closed and the approximately thirty thousand Portuguese registered there, many of whom are of ethnic Chinese, had to start dealing with the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau.
THE BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP
Fausto Gomez OP
Who does not love the lyrics and the song by Paul Simon Bridge over Troubled Water as sung marvelously by him and Art Garfunkel? The title comes from a Baptist Church hymn. I love these lines: Oh if you need a friend, I’m sailing just behind, like a bridge over troubled water…”
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION (9) – Everything Goes Wrong (Judges 1-8, 13-21), but there’s a glimmer of hope (Ruth 1-4)
Joni Cheng
Judges marked the period of religious, social and political chaos where “there was no king in Israel; every man did what was the right in his own eyes” (Jud 17:6 & 21:25), whereas Ruth served as an oasis of relief between Judges and Samuel.
APOLOGIA (11) – Why Did God not make the world more perfect?
Anastasios
Objection 1: It is evident that in the world there is so much suffering and injustice that the same world cannot be the creation of a perfect God.
Objection 2: If He is really God, why He did not make the world more perfect like He pretends to be?
Objection 3: Why did God leave human beings at the misery of their nature?
MARIAN APPARITIONS (52) – Madrid, Spain
For a long time part of Madrid was nothing but a field of matreeds (tules) particularly in the district of Atocha. Here is a shrine to Our Lady of Atocha, a Spanish contraction for “Theotokos”, meaning “Mother of God,” or a simplification of “Antiocha” which in the 12th century under this title was already ancient and beloved. Today, the statue stands in a business center, a dark little Madonna with an enigmatic smile on her face. Nobody knows where she came from, but everyone from gold-braided officer to the ragged street urchins pay her the most polite respect and give her most unqualified love.
