Peace & Justice

This is the blog of the Commission on Peace and Justice for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Building Peace with Justice

Building Peace with Justice is a brief, weekly bulletin reflection written by members of a Diocese of Rochester Public Policy sub-committee that links the Sunday readings to Catholic social teaching. Many parishes publish them as space allows.

For Sunday Bulletins on September 2
Often powerful political and business leaders gather over meals to make decisions. Often the results of such meetings benefit the powerful at the expense of those whose voice is absent from such meetings - those who are poor and powerless.

In today's Gospel Jesus is invited to a home of a Pharisee for a meal. The Pharisee probably wanted to use the opportunity to persuade Jesus to us his influence in a way that supported the status-quo. However, Jesus uses the analogy of being invited to a wedding feast to remind the Pharisees that it is those who are poor and powerless that the powerful are called to serve.

Reflection: Do the decisions/choices we make benefit us at the expense of someone else's well being?

For Sunday Bulletins on September 9
Jesus certainly gets our attention in today’s Gospel: How can a God of love require that we hate those who are most dear to us? Jesus often challenged his followers with these hard sayings, urging them to shake off old ways of thinking so they could begin to envision a Kingdom where all are our brothers and sisters.

CNN recently ran a three-part series called "God's Warriors" that examined fundamentalism and militarism within Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Many people share this view that religion is to blame for much of the violence in today’s world. In his 1988 World Day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul II reminded us that “Differences of religion must not be a cause of conflict; the shared quest for peace on the part of all believers is a vital source of unity among peoples.”

Reflection: Does your faith set you apart from others or is it a source of unity that binds you with all who share our earth?