Why We Love Them

On October 1st, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Jesuit Fr. James Martin wrote a little article on her life here... The reader may wish to read here more on her life, her "Story of a Soul" that touched so many hearts, made her the greatest saint in modern times, and the most recent Doctor of the Church declared by Pope Saint John Paul II. 
On October 4th, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The reader may wish to read my post about this humanist great saint here. On October 4th 2019, this TV Mass was celebrated with a veneration of the popular saint here and could be accessed across Canada as well as other countries.
Above all, the link below shows recent excavations in the areas that Christ walked in and places of his crucifixion and his Resurrection. Watched by over 2.6 million viewers since 2017, it comes straight from Jerusalem where scholars from the renowned École biblique de Jérusalem commented on them: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5p6061M34  

The Kingdom of God and the Cross

For readers who wish to read my post on my cross, see it here... However, suffering is more than only physical. It is everywhere. And it can be caused by different reasons including malnutrition, psychological depression, excessive desire to possess the fortunes of others, and abandonment of spiritual nourishment. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of talents given to followers in order to invest them for the master who, upon coming back, will reward his servants accordingly.  (Matthew 25:14-30).

I am in admiration of His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins for his homily, prayers, and offering of the Sacrificial Body and Blood of Christ the Lamb of God in the TV Mass published on Wednesday September 25, 2019 (here). I am not surprised that he has shown humility in service, knowledge in Biblical scholarship, encouraged help and prayer for the sick, the lonely, and prayed for God's mercy upon the faithful departed to God as well as helping persecuted Christians.  As the Eucharist was given to the faithful present, the following prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary was recited:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.  Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 
I also admire the Jesuit priest Fr. Henk van Meijel, S.J. not only for offering the Body and Blood of Christ, but also for asking his audience to support Christian missionaries in the world in the TV Mass published on Thursday September 26, 2019 (here).

Much enlightenment was given in answering the question "Can Africa or countries in Africa be lifted out of poverty?" when Fr. Charles Chindufia, S.J.. head of the Justice and Ecology Office for the Jesuit Conference of Africa, was interviewed by Deacon Pedro Guevara-Mann of the Canadian  Salt+Light in April 2019 (here). It shows how Western economic powers and banks pressure small countries of Africa to yield to their demands in employing African nationals - Commenting on the reading from the Book of Amos here, the concern was also raised by the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad in his homily on Sunday September 22 (here in French titled Réinventer Karl Marx ...). 

To me, the most eloquent example of the Cross that leads to the Resurrection and the Kingdom of God is the life of Jesus Christ - Readers may wish to watch this documentary published in 2017 on YouTube and already watched by over 2.6 million persons - It comes straight from Jerusalem (here Titled: Flight Of Faith: The Jesus Story (Biblical Documentary) | Timeline).

My Cross

As I am almost 66 years old, I feel the need to be close to God. It is the same need that old people, who were raised in the Church, express in their more frequent attachment to daily prayers (see it here), access to on-line websites about saints of the day (see it here), and closer attendance of the Mass (for the past few days, I attended on-line daily Mass widely available in Canada at https://dailytvmass.com/) as well as physically attending Mass in church on Sundays where I receive the Holy Eucharist in the state of grace as advised by my spiritual director in Toronto...
I do the above because I feel the need for God. But over the past couple of years, one member of the extended family passed away due to cancer and another member passed away due to heart failure. One of my close friends also passed away due to cancer. In spite of advances in medicine and technology, tragedies continue to surround people notably the poor.  Aging also causes much of health problems and depression. In our secular societies, younger generations are not inclined to think of spiritual needs. Money dominates most of the interests and drives consumer-based economies.
For the past 40 years, I worked with computers. Today, the Internet is the major source of my readings and writings. Due to my breathing difficulty I continuously need the oxygen tank whether at home our outside home. As I get less mobile, I hardly leave home except for Mass and the occasional outing. The fact that in my nose, there is a tube for breathing, makes me feel uncomfortable. To avoid being stuck with serious matters, I seldom check the political "games" and spend much time on good comedy shows available on the Internet.

My personal health problems are explained in my post titled "Sing to the Lord" and written in May 2018 here. My readers may want to compare it with a lecture I gave in July 2008 titled "A Living Miracle" here.

The first thing that comes to my mind everyday is suffering. As I get older, I have come to believe that God blessed us with so much not only because of my suffering but notably because others suffered too with me including my mother of blessed memory, my mother-in-law of blessed memory, and particularly my wife who often "put up" with me as well as my brothers and sisters-in-law, with their assistance (both spiritual and when I needed them), and indeed many people whom I have known. They are sanctified through Christ those who accept suffering and endure to the end. Here is a post titled "Human Angels" and written in October 2018 here that signifies the above.    

In 2008, I wrote a post on the "Mystery of Suffering" here. In it, the following points are made:
1. Christian witness draws on Biblical and tradition experience, particularly the life of Christ, to affirm the ultimate victory of God’s love in spite of evil. 
2. God never causes evil, but only permits it, whether it comes in the form of natural disasters or through the actions of people who wish to inflict harm on others. God has built laws into nature and freedom into people, and God respects that freedom. 
3. How do we share in the redemptive suffering of Christ? St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is the Church.”

In closing, I suggest that my readers focus on the suffering of others and share their own with them in the hope that all may be saved through Christ our Lord.

Our Cross

On Saturday September 14, 2019, I attended with my wife the Divine Liturgy in which the Greek Melkite Catholic community in Toronto celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Assisted by Fr. Michel Chalhoub, Fr Ibrahim El-Haddad, BSO was the main celebrant. In his homily he spoke of the history of the Feast. He explained the story of the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine to Christianity. Fr. William Saunders wrote an article published in Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC) here where he explaiued how St. Helen, mother of Constantine found the true cross on which Christ was crucified. The reader may wish to read my post of the same feast on September 14, 2018 here.  The Gospel's reading reminded me by a lecture given in September 2008 by Fr. Georges Farah on the dialogue of Pilate with Jesus before his crucifixion. The comment by Fr. Farah applies to us today. The reader may wish to read the lecture here. The illumination of fire is a tradition which to-date is followed by the faithful in Lebanon. The reason of illuminating mountains with fire on this day is precisely that fire used to be the fastest way of communication between different locations and mountains in the empire. Horses, which were then the fastest method of communication, would take weeks or months to transport messages. Christian leaders understood the message since they had agreed on it generation after generation. 
On Sunday September 15, 2019, the 10 a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary Roman Catholic parish was celebrated by the community with Fr. Daniel Callam, CSB. Commenting on the Biblical reading in Exodus (here), Fr. Callam observed how God seemed to change his mind and stop his punishment of the Israelites at the request of his servant Moses. In a metaphoric language, God shows his love of weak humans. In the same way the Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin uttered by Jesus express God's search for the lost ones (here).
On the Parable of the Prodigal Son (here), the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad gave a daring homily in French  (here titled Je suis unique et irremplaçable ...). According to Fr. Boulad, what Christ is, by nature, the Son of God, I am also son of God by his grace in the faith that he helps me become his adopted child and so is everyone. God runs after everyone and embraces him/her while the person is coming back home but is still in mud...
In May 2018, I wrote a post on the Parable of the Prodigal Son based on the interpretation of Fr. Georges Farah (here).
The above interpretations are great to learn and apply Christian teachings in our lives. However, in life, there is more to work with. There is so much misery that we need to observe technological and scientific advances in order to apply remedies where possible. One such resource is found here on Magis Center founded by Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.  Among the technological innovations that could help terminally-ill cancer patients is the one by Mary Lou Jepsen. To quote the Senior Writer on Magis Center,  "former MIT professor, Mary Lou Jepsen, is set to transform imaging technologies, making them both safer and less expensive. How? By using infrared light and components cheap enough that they are used in science fair projects. In her Ted talk presentation, Jepsen demonstrates the use of red light to see through a piece of chicken with a fake tumor embedded in it. The tumor is clearly visible. Demonstrating that a second piece of chicken blocks the view of the tumor, she explains that the scattering of light is an obstacle that needs to be overcome for the technique to work well."

More online resources are available. You may wish to sign up (and/or get your children and friends to sign up) for free on-line courses at https://www.coursera.org
When you access the website, a box is displayed for input: What do you want to learn? 

To choose free courses, select:
Full Course, No Certificate. 

Each course is given by a professor in one of the major universities (mainly American) or institutions of the world.

Courses are available in many fields of technology, medicine, engineering, mathematics, economics, modern physics, cosmology, quantum physics, political sciences, humanities, genetics, cognitive sciences, psychology, game theory, philosophy...  

Such courses help students and teachers in the fields of their interests.

Additionally, you may wish to: 

1. Donate what you can (on-line) for persecuted Christians in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia...

2. Listen on the Internet (YouTube) to some great stories of saints and theological insights by Bishop Robert Barron and others. You can also check out many saints in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" and on http://catholicsaints.info

3. There is much online information in Biblical scholarship that you can find here:

- Fr. Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D. Biblical Studies here: http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/index.html

- St. Paul Center: https://stpaulcenter.com

4. Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. and his associates on many topics of concern to Christians today:

https://www.magiscenter.com/

5. Pope Benedict XVI (one of the most profound contemporary Christian scholars) here: http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/

6. St. Thomas Aquinas: http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/

7. Ignatius Insight: http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/index.asp

8. Zenit: https://zenit.org/

9. Evangile Au Quotidien (Today's Gospel and Saints in many languages including English, French, and Arabic...) https://evangelizo.org/evangelizo.php

10. Television catholique (KTO) - France: http://www.ktotv.com/

11. P. Henri Boulad, S.J. (French): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZ0TcjA7jCdRe5VS6dWjdQ

12. Today's Questions (English): http://todayquestions.blogspot.com/

13. Jean Vanier - L'Arche (English/French): https://www.larche.org/welcome

14. Vatican (The Apostolic See - in many languages): http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/it.html

15. Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

Let us pray to the Lord that he may heal humanity wounded by spiritual and physical illnesses since these are our crosses!

Heralding joy to the whole universe

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." (John 1:14)
"Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name" (Matthew 6:9-13)

Sunday September 8 was the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God celebrated with much veneration in the Eastern Byzantine parishes. In the Troparion of the feast, the choir sang in the Divine Liturgy: "Your nativity, O Mother of God, heralded joy to the whole universe, for from you rose the Sun of Justice, Christ our God. Taking away the curse, he imparted blessings. And by abolishing death, he gave us everlasting life." The choir also chanted the hymn "Mothers cannot be virgins, nor virgins mothers and yet in you, O Theotokos, both virginity and motherhood were planned and fulfilled. Wherefore all the peoples of the earth unceasingly extol you. Amen." My twin brother, together with my second brother and his wife attended the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at St. Simeon Melkite Catholic parish in Windsor headed by Fr. Gerard Abi Saab where "The inexhaustible Chalice Icon" has continuously exuded oil since August 6, 2019. The church has since been visited by many of the faithful from different cities in Ontario, Canada. In his homily in the 11 am Sunday Divine Liturgy, Fr. Gerard Abi Saab commented on the Gospel's reading "God so loved the world that he gave His only-begotten Son, that those who believe in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” (John 3:16). The young charismatic pastor indicated that we often forget our commitment to Christ and spend much of our time busy with much worldly concerns; yet we want to be in heaven as soon as our spirits leave this world. The feast became widely celebrated in both East and West after the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD officially proclaimed the Virgin Mary mother of Jesus "Theotokos" i.e. Mother of God (for more on the feast, see The Catholic Encyclopedia here). At Holy Rosary Roman Catholic parish in Toronto, the priest celebrating the 10 a.m. Mass prayed with the faithful "Hail Mary Full of Grace..." before giving the blessing at the end of the Mass. In his homily, Msgr. Robert Nusca, a well-known Biblical scholar, commented on the "wisdom" of the world compared to the wisdom proposed by Christ and followed by the saints according to Jesus words "anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Biblical scholars agree that the author of the Book of Wisdom presents his version of Solomon’s prayer (1 Kgs 3:6–9; 2 Chr 1:8–10). The author identifies Wisdom with the word of God just as he again identifies Wisdom with the spirit of God in v. 17. All three are alternate ways of expressing God’s activity in relationship with the world and its inhabitants. Although the expressions draw on the language of Plato concerning the human condition, the conclusion is very biblical: God remains a mystery (Jb 38–39; Eccl 8:17; Is 40:12–14; Rom 11:33–34). The plight of humankind is clearly one of ignorance, unless the “holy spirit” is sent from God (Cf. USCCB Biblical Commentary on "Wisdom" here).

On the same Sunday, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad commented on the theme of "wisdom" (in French "La philosophie, chemin de sagesse ..." here). Fr. Boulad first asked the question "Does the Holy Spirit breathe outside of the Church?" to which the answer is "Yes". However, what makes this answer reasonable? Fr. Boulad responds that about 100 years before Christ, the "Book of Wisdom" was written by an author that follows Solomon's prayer and is inspired by the Greek philosophy of Plato. In fact, Plato's philosophy was the tool used by Christian apologists, scholars, and philosophers for many centuries after the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus Christ. The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the Greek roots philo- meaning "love" and sophia, or "wisdom." ... In other words, they want to know the meaning of life. Human wisdom is sometimes considered wisdom opposed to the Divine...But a profound look shows that the Divine is the crowning of the human wisdom that searches for the truth. St. Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Romans "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:22-25). If we open up to the reality of the one God, we will experience and taste the Lord -  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8). In receiving the Eucharist, the faithful, in the state of grace, tastes the Lord Jesus Christ and eats him; for "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." (John 6:54-56).
You may wish to share a few developments that may help us open our eyes to the wisdom of God; for God works through everyone and everything according to his providential care...
First, In a series of mind-bending demos, inventor Mary Lou Jepsen shows how we can use red light to see and potentially stimulate what's inside our bodies and brains. Taking us to the edge of optical physics, Jepsen unveils new technologies that utilize light and sound to track tumors, measure neural activity and could possibly replace the MRI machine with a cheaper, more efficient and wearable system (Watch it here in this fascinating TED Talk in April 2018)...This is certainly a source of hope for patients with cancer and other types of tumor...
Second, you may wish to share this report here titled "Can computers have a soul ?" about artificial intelligence from Magis Center founded by the Jesuit scholar Fr. Robert Spitzer. This year, in the same vein,  Quanta Magazine published a report here titled "Curious About Consciousness? Ask the Self-Aware Machines".
Third, NASA scientists continue their research for future landing by humans on Mars - See this report "NASA Tests Space Concrete for Future Mars Habitats" here published by Extreme Tech...
And in early September Quanta Magazine published a report titled "Are We All Wrong About Black Holes?" (see it here).
Indeed, in conceiving the Word of God in her womb, the Virgin Mary heralded joy to the whole universe...
And finally, Bishop Robert Barron asked today "Have you read this literary masterpiece?". It is a book titled "Life of Christ" by Venerable Fulton Sheen  - A PDF formatted file of this great book can be found here:https://www.sacredheartshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-of-Christ-Fulton-J.-Sheen.pdf
In the introduction to the book, these words are found
"Widely proclaimed a classic work of Christian faith, Life of Christ has been hailed as the most eloquent of Fulton J. Sheen's many books. The fruit of many years of reflection, prayer, and research, it is a dramatic and moving recounting of the birth, life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ, and a passionate portrait of the God-Man, the teacher, the healer, and, most of all, the Savior, whose promise has sustained humanity for two millenia.
With his customary insight and reverence, Sheen interprets the Scripture and describes Christ not only in historical perspective but also in exciting and contemporary terms -- seeing in Christ's life both modern parallels and timeless lessons. His thoughtful, probing analysis provides new insight into well-known Gospel events.
An appealing blend of philosophy, history, and biblical exegesis, from the best-known and most-loved American Catholic leader of the twentieth century, Life of Christ has long been a source of inspiration and guidance. For those seeking to better understand the message of Jesus Christ, this vivid retelling of the greatest story ever lived is a must-read."