Today is the First Sunday of Advent; the beginning of a new liturgical year.
In the Angelus on this day in 2013, Pope Francis reminded us that “this day has a special charm; it makes us experience deeply the meaning of history. We rediscover the beauty of all being on a journey: the Church, with her vocation and mission, and all humanity, peoples, civilisations, cultures, all on a journey across the paths of time. But where are we journeying? Is there a common goal? And what is this goal?”
“Jesus”, he says, “is both guide and goal of our pilgrimage, of the pilgrimage of the entire People of God; and in his light the other peoples may also walk toward the Kingdom of justice, toward the Kingdom of peace…What a beautiful day it shall be, when weapons are dismantled in order to be transformed into tools for work! What a beautiful day that shall be! And this is possible! Let us bet on hope, on the hope for peace, and it will be possible!…The season of Advent, which we begin again today, restores this horizon of hope, a hope which does not disappoint for it is founded on God’s Word. A hope which does not disappoint, simply because the Lord never disappoints! He is faithful! He does not disappoint!”
During this Advent season, a time of “active waiting and watchfulness”, let us pray and work for peace in our troubled world.
Jesus gave us the gift of peace when he said to His disciples at the Last Supper: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” But we have a responsibility to work to accomplish peace – peace in our hearts, in our homes, with our neighbours, and with the world. None of this will be realised unless we have peace in our relationship with God; when we are in right relationship with Him.
The world is in a sorry state. There is so much conflict, strife, and hatred; so many wars and refugees fleeing for their lives; so many people being persecuted because of their religious beliefs.
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As we wait and watch during this Advent season, let us strive to restore the horizon of hope by reconciling with God, neighbour, creation and self. Reconciliation involves working for justice. Blessed Pope Paul VI rightly said: “If you want peace, work for justice.”
This involves working to develop and implement policies and programmes that will help us to turn the tide.
If we are to create harmonious/peaceful communities that embrace Jesus’ gift of peace, we must heed the words of criminologist Renee Cummings who said after two-year-old Kimora Roopnarine was beaten to death last year, allegedly by someone who should have been protecting her: “Families are in trouble. We are seeing family violence, domestic violence and interpersonal violence, but what we are not seeing are the therapeutic interventions, the relevant social programming and the support groups that can assist families who are in deep trouble.
“Our men are crying out for help and, as a society we are not listening. We need programmes for men that assist them in understanding and managing their anger and with strategies for self-regulation so they can become more aware of the physical cues and emotional responses to stress and frustration. Men need to know they can access help… We need to re-examine our approach to youth and family justice. We need to know that families need wrap-around services and not just one day of counselling after a tragedy…”
“Violent behaviour is provoked by a complex interaction of physiological, psychological and environmental factors and we need to design interventions that treat with each factor” said Cummings. “It is also time for a national behaviour change campaign that explores violence in its myriad expressions and the many proclivities to violence.”
Read more of her suggestions at: www.trinidadexpress.com/news/The-children-we-lost-238391021.html .
On Tuesday December 1, the world will observe World AIDS Day. Let us remember in prayer those who have lost their lives to this epidemic. Solidarity calls us to address stigma and discrimination of persons who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Let us see Jesus in their faces and reach out in love and compassion to assist them in our communities. As St Pope John Paul II said: “The battle against AIDS is everyone’s battle.”
