Catholic Commission for Social Justice
Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis and Guyana
Following GCL’s successful Speaking Tour in 2014 to Antigua, Jamaica, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Nassau, Bahamas in October 2014, a second one is being planned to take place in November 2015.
Gospel Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'”
“…you should all agree among yourselves and be sympathetic; love the brothers and sisters, have compassion and be self-effacing. Never pay back one wrong with another, or an angry word with another one; instead, pay back with a blessing. That is what you are called to do, so that you inherit a blessing yourself” (1 Pet 3: 8-9).
The CCSJ invites the faithful to start planning activities to observe Justice, Peace and Community Week (JPCW) which will be observed from October 24–31. The theme, Building Inclusive Communities, is linked to the sentiments expressed by Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si. ‘Integral ecology’ includes building the common good, which is “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more easily and more fully” (Gaudium et Spes, #26).
Gospel Mark 9:30-37
Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
“…there is no such thing as ‘disharmony’; there is either harmony or we fall into chaos, where there is violence, argument, conflict, fear…” (Pope Francis, Vigil for Peace, September 7, 2013)
On Monday, September 21, the world will observe the International Day of Peace. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared this as “a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples”.
The theme this year is Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All which, according to the UN, aims “to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace… governments, civil society, the private sector, faith-based groups and other non-governmental organisations…The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace”.