Catholic Commission for Social Justice
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
“Palm Sunday tells us that … it is the cross that is the true tree of life.” —Pope Emeritus Benedict
Today, Sunday, March 28, as we begin our observance of Holy Week, we remember the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His Passion and Resurrection.
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
Toay, March 21, the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The theme this year is Youth standing up against racism
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
Last August, as Vatican News reported, “Pope Francis said that prayers and little gestures silently sow the seed of God’s love in the field of the world, making all things new. These gestures are capable of making the world more beautiful, of illuminating it with a ray of God’s love.”
I thought of these words of wisdom as I watched on TV the funeral in Bedford, UK, of Captain Sir Tom Moore (in photo) who died of coronavirus on February 2 at the age of 100 years.
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
“Open your heart to Jesus’ mercy! Say: ‘Jesus… Come, cleanse. Cleanse with Your mercy, with Your tender words, cleanse with Your caresses’. If we open our heart to Jesus’ mercy, in order to cleanse our heart, our soul, Jesus will trust Himself to us.” (Pope Francis).
I remember as a child during a catechism lesson in Chaguanas in preparation for First Communion, how terrified I was when the catechist read from John 2:13–25, the cleansing of the Temple.
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
“… the first duty of the Christian is to listen to the Word of God, to listen to Jesus, because he speaks to us and he saves us by his word. And by this word he makes our faith even stronger and more robust. Listen to Jesus!” (Pope Francis)
Reading today’s gospel for the second Sunday of Lent, Mark 9:2–10, on the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, I reflected on God’s divine revelation of His Son, Jesus, to Peter, James, and John when He said: “This is my beloved Son, the Beloved, listen to him.”
Are we listening to what our Lord is telling us? It’s only if we have an encounter with Christ that we will open our hearts to really listen to what He is saying to us.