Category: columns2021

columns2021

Are we listening to Him?

Post author By Web administrator
Post date February 28, 2021
Sticky post

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

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.

Tags Lent

columns2021

Lent: a time for renewing faith, hope and love

Post author By Web administrator
Post date February 21, 2021
Sticky post

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI

“Lent is a time for deeper dialogue with God through prayer, for renewed gratitude for God’s mercy and for increased compassion for people whose lives are under attack.” Pope Francis.

Pope Francis’ Lenten message this year, is entitled: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem” (Mt 20:18). Lent: a Time for Renewing Faith, Hope and Love. As he focuses on these three theological virtues, he invites the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God.”

Tags Lent

columns2021

Addressing the root causes of crime

Post author By Web administrator
Post date February 14, 2021
Sticky post

By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI

“They are not cockroaches. They are not monsters. They are of us. Raised for better or worse by this society which continues to enable them. Hypocrisy will not save us. We must find the courage to create change”—Verna St Rose Greaves, social worker, social activist.

Let’s join with others in praying with the family of Andrea Bharatt, who mourn the tragic loss of their loved one, and for the repose of her soul. Pray also for the multitude of other men, women and children who have lost their lives through violence over the years. There is a ground-swell of anger, fear, and frustration.

Tags crime, violence

columns2021

Fraternal solidarity with the sick

Post author By Web administrator
Post date February 7, 2021
Sticky post

By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI

The theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 29th World Day of the Sick on February 11 is: You have but one teacher and you are all brothers (Mt 23:8).
It is “drawn from the Gospel passage in which Jesus criticises the hypocrisy of those who fail to practise what they preach (cf Mt 23:1–12). When our faith is reduced to empty words, unconcerned with the lives and needs of others, the creed we profess proves inconsistent with the life we lead. The danger is real. That is why Jesus uses strong language about the peril of falling into self-idolatry…

Tags World Day of the Sick

columns2021

Building Human Fraternity

Post author By Web administrator
Post date January 31, 2021
Sticky post

By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI

“The true worth of the different countries of our world is measured by their ability to think not simply as a country but also as part of the larger human family” (Fratelli Tutti, 141).
On Thursday, February 4, the world will observe the first International Day of Human Fraternity. In December 2020, the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution based on an initiative that was introduced by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. The UN said that the proclamation of this Day is “a response to growing religious hatred amid the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Tags fraternity