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Disillusionment is one of the many reasons people have for
turning away from God. At first, we think that if only we remain
faithful to God by going to Mass, saying our prayers, doing
charitable work, God will make our business prosper, or bless us
with a happy family, or good health. But sometimes, even though
we keep our end of the bargain, our business fails, or our family
breaks up, or a loved one dies. Why? We begin to suspect that the
Lord is either terribly cruel or impotent. In any case, God is
unworthy of our trust. Heart- broken, we turn away from God all
the while suppressing the nagging suspicion that we cannot do
without the Lord. And yet, the scriptures are filled with passages extolling the power and love of God. "The word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty"... "The Lord rescues the just in all their distress"... Can we still believe these words in the midst of our disillusionment? Yes we can! The first disciples were also heart- broken when Jesus, whom they had hoped would liberate Israel from the Romans, died an ignominious death on the Cross. And yet in their pain, they experienced Christ in a new and deeper way. Have you turned away from God in disillusionment? If so, let this Lent be a time to turn back. For the Lord is close to the broken-hearted; and those whose spirit is crushed He will save. Lord, I place all my trust in You. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
| INTENTION : |
That, with the committed help of all believers, the
scourge of poverty may come to an end, eliminating the
intolerable social and economic inequality in the world
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One might also say that poverty is the negation of economic and
social rights and that the poor who suffer from absolute poverty
are denied the most fundamental right which is the right to life.
The international community too is becoming progressively more
aware of the gravity of the problem and has declared solemnly to
fight and reduce extreme poverty by 2015. Besides, how can we not
realise the situation growing worse in spite of the increase in
available resources. The problem of unequal distribution of resources in its correct setting is an ethical one, since it is a problem of justice: the poor are in the first place victims of injustice. In the era of globalisation we can no longer tolerate a world in which the very rich live side by side with the poor, the property less who lack even the essentials with people who shamelessly waste what others desterately need. One of the more evident worrying consequences of this phenomenon is in fact the progressive increase instead of the decrease of inequalities, in both poor countries and rich countries, and between the North and South. Let us pray that the scourge of poverty may come to an end | |
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