How Deep Are the Roots of Your Joy?

Posted: 01 Jun 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Tobit 2:9-14 / Mk 12:13-17

The search for happiness is a lifelong quest with outcomes as numerous and varied as the people in the world. Some folks are content with the simplest of lives, while others are congenitally dissatisfied no matter what their circumstance. Some people find the true source of happiness early in their lives, while others still have no clue as they lie on their deathbeds. For some, the quest begins well and then falters in the face of adversity.

This seems to have been the case with Tobit in today’s Old Testament reading. Tobit was a good man, faithful to God and to those around him. Through no fault of his own he was tragically stricken blind, and with the passage of time his powerlessness embittered him and made him suspicious, even of his long-suffering wife. Her response cut him to the quick. “Your true character is finally showing itself,” she said with a vengeance and she was right, at least in part.

Before hastening to lend our assent to her judgement of Tobit, we might do well to ponder our own conduct in adversity. Do we stand firm and confident, or does our “Christian joy” fizzle and reveal its shallow roots by succumbing to self-pity and bitterness?

The happiness we seek, the joy God wants us to have, has roots planted deep in our belief in the resurrection. How deep are your roots? Are you ready for the still unseen challenges that will surely come your way? Now is the time to find out, before they arrive!

Sri Lanka Bishop: My Diocese Is Destroyed

Reports 18 Parishes Are "Totally Kaput"

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, JUNE 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Bishop of Jaffna is reporting that his diocese is torn apart and many parishes are destroyed after the recent fighting between government forces and the rebel Tamil Tigers.

Aid to the Church in Need reported today the words of Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna, in northern Sri Lanka, who wrote a letter describing the situation of his people.

The prelate stated that his priests stayed with the people "to the last," till the fighting ended on May 19th, and one of them, Father Mariampillai Sarathjeevan, died of exhaustion while ministering to the refugees.

The bishop, who went undercover to deliver aid to the people trapped in the "safe zone," said that 20,000 people died and 40,000 were injured as the conflict moved into that "small space of land."

He stated that the casualties are due to the heavy artillery and shell fire that was used by both sides of the battle, and he criticized Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse for launching the final attack that "brought so much suffering."

Bishop Savundaranayagam recalled a letter he wrote to the president in March to call for an end to the bombing.

Human shields

He also appealed to Tamil Tiger leaders to allow the trapped civilians to be given safe passage out of the battle zone. However, he reported, "The hardest part was that the [Tamil] Tigers used the people -- civilians -- as shields."

"I pleaded with them to allow the civilians to go to any place of safety in the government side but they did not listen to it," the prelate said.

Now, he said, there are more than 200,000 refugees.

The bishop stated that 18 parishes in the heart of the conflict zone are now "totally kaput."

"I saw parishes falling one after the other," he added. "I have no access to those places now -- no people, no parishes, no priests, no churches."

The prelate continued: "Some of my priests were staying till the last with the people and were rescued by the army. They are still in the refugee camps."

He explained that the priests are working to assist the refugees in Vavuniya, organizing Mass in the camps, visiting families and providing food supplies.

The bishop admitted that he is "sad and grieved," but that they will be "OK."

Benedict XVI Warns Against Spiritual Pollutants

Encourages Breathing "Healthy Air" of the Holy Spirit

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming the importance of cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit by waiting in prayer and spiritual openness, putting aside preoccupation with doing many activities.

The Pope said this today in a homily during the Pentecost Mass that he presided over in St. Peter's Basilica.

"If we do not want Pentecost to be reduced to a mere ritual or to a suggestive commemoration," he said, in order that it can become a "real event of salvation," we must "predispose ourselves to God's gift in religious openness" through a "humble and silent listening to God's Word."

Perhaps there is need, the Pontiff suggested, "for the Church to be less preoccupied with activities and more dedicated to prayer."

"Mary Most Holy, the Mother of the Church and Bride of the Holy Spirit, teaches us this," he said.

The Holy Father noted that this year's solemnity coincides with the feast of the Visitation, which celebrates the "little Pentecost" that brought forth "joy and praise from the hearts of Elizabeth and Mary -- the one barren and the other a virgin -- who both became mothers by an extraordinary divine intervention."

Mission accomplished

Benedict XVI stated, "Among all the solemnities, Pentecost is distinguished by its importance, because in it that which Jesus himself proclaimed as being the purpose of his whole earthly mission is accomplished."

Explaining the importance of this celebration, the Pope noted that "what air is for biological life, the Holy Spirit is for the spiritual life."

He continued, "As there is air pollution, that poisons the environment and living things, there is also pollution of the heart and the spirit that mortifies and poisons spiritual existence."

The Holy Father encouraged his listeners to not be complacent "about that which corrupts the spirit."

He pointed out some "pollutants" that circulate in society, such as images "that make pleasure a spectacle" or "violence that degrades men and women."

"It is said that this is freedom," Benedict XVI noted, "but it is just a failure to recognize all that which pollutes, poisons the soul, above all of the new generations, and ends up limiting freedom itself."

He added, "The metaphor of the impetuous wind of Pentecost makes one think of how precious it is to breathe clean air, be it physical air without lungs, or spiritual air -- the healthy air of the spirit that is love -- with our heart."

Today, the Pope asserted, "human beings seem to claim themselves as gods and want to transform the world excluding, putting aside or simply rejecting the Creator of the universe."

"Man no longer wants to be the image of God," he said, "but the image of himself; he declares himself autonomous, free, adult."

"Obviously that reveals an inauthentic relationship with God, the consequence of a false image that has been constructed of him," the Pontiff affirmed.

Speaking of the story of the first Pentecost, in which the Apostles were given the courage to preach the Gospel, the Holy Father noted that "the Holy Spirit overcomes fear."

After Pentecost, the Apostles "had no fear, because they felt that they were in stronger hands," he said.

Benedict XVI continued: "Where the Spirit of God enters, he chases out fear; he makes us know and feel that we are in the hands of an Omnipotence of love: whatever happens, his infinite love will not abandon us.

"The witness of the martyrs, the courage of the confessors, the intrepid élan of missionaries, the frankness of preachers, the example of all the saints -- some who were even adolescents and children -- demonstrate this.

"It is also demonstrated by the very existence of the Church, which, despite the limits and faults of men, continues to sail across the ocean of history, driven by the breath of God and animated by his purifying fire."

Be Faithful As He Is Faithful
Posted: 31 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT
Tobit 1:3; 2:1-8 / Mk 12:1-12
One of the most important instincts that our Creator built into every one of us is the instinct for self-preservation. And serving that instinct is a complex alarm system whereby pain causes us to flee danger. Our hands might easily have got cooked a dozen times long before we reached adulthood if there were no pain attached to holding them in a fire. And we might easily have poisoned ourselves many times over if certain substances didn’t taste so bad and cause us to vomit.

Pain avoidance is a major factor in keeping us alive and healthy, whatever our age. And yet, sometimes it can work against us. Flight from pain, discomfort, inconvenience or danger can subvert and undercut what is best and most noble about us, and can deter us from the great deeds to which we are called.

In today’s Old Testament reading, we have the witness of Tobit, a man of noble heart, who refused to be deterred by danger as he strove to walk in the Lord’s ways. His friends ridiculed him. "Will you never learn?" they asked as he once again risked trouble in order to give some poor soul a decent burial. His answer, spoken in deeds, was that cowardice was a lesson he’d never learn!

It is a fact of life that none of us can escape those kinds of challenges, though they are unlikely to be so dramatic. If we are to live up to God’s dreams for us, if we are to be faithful to God’s gifts to us, there will always be a price to be paid. Don’t be afraid of it, and don’t turn away. The good Lord who asks this of you will always give you what you need. He is faithful. May we be faithful too.

Today's Inspirational Quote:
"Respect your efforts, respect yourself.
Self-respect leads to self-discipline.
When you have both firmly under your belt,that's real power."
-- Clint Eastwood