07.24.06 Tuesdays Reflection

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="13eb8750.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="117" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>"We, who have received the love of Christ through the Spirit must not contain it..."</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U>Tuesdays Reflection</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Statement"><U>Mission Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision Statement"><U>Vision Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ways You Can Help Us"><U>Ways You Can Help Us</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About VMM"><U>All About VMM</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Qualifications"><U>Application Qualifications</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Discernment Process"><U>Discernment Process</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="application.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Form"><U>Application Form</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bridges Newsletter"><U>Bridges Newsletter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letters from the Missions"><U>Letters from the Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adobe Printing Instructions"><U>Adobe Printing Instructions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=36-3153581" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networ"><U><IMG SRC="1887e300.gif" border=0 width="126" height="48" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <form method="get" action="http://search.atomz.com/search/"> <input size=15 name="sp-q"><br> <input type=submit value="Search"> <input type=hidden name="sp-a" value="sp10020180"> <input type=hidden name="sp-f" value="iso-8859-1"> </form></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM-USA)</B></I></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>        </B></FONT><B>    07.24.06 </B><A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U><B>Tuesdays Reflection</B></U></A></div> <div> "Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian </div> <div> or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, </div> <div> show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing </div> <div> of rite and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the </div> <div> efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose that, </div> <div> in addition, they radiate in an altogether simple and unaffected way </div> <div> their faith in values that go far beyond current values, and their </div> <div> hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to </div> <div> imagine. Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up </div> <div> irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live: </div> <div> Why are they like this? Why do they live like this? What or who </div> <div> inspires them? Why are they in our midst? Such a witness is already a </div> <div> silent proclamation of the Good News, and a very powerful and </div> <div> effective one. Here we have an initial act of evangelization." </div> <div> Evangelization in the Modern World - Para - 21, quoted by Edwina </div> <div> Gateley in Spirit and Lifestyle.</div> <bR> <div> Edwina founded the VMM as a response to Vatican II's call for the </div> <div> laity to assume a full and active involvement in the Church's life </div> <div> and mission. Pope Paul VI wrote the encyclical over a decade later. </div> <div> The same Spirit breathes through this letter but I detect a cooling </div> <div> of the initial fire that was meant to unleash a new Pentecost. The </div> <div> next paragraph reads: "Nevertheless, [beware of "nevertheless"], this </div> <div> always remains insufficient, because even the finest witness will </div> <div> prove ineffective in the long run, if it is not explained, </div> <div> justified." Today is so much "witnessing" that is neither "simple" </div> <div> and "unaffected." So much "witnessing" that in not inclusive, that </div> <div> already knows all the answers, that doesn't bother to listen. The lay </div> <div> people - and priests - are increasingly prepared for "ministry" where </div> <div> they have to toe the official line, be subordinates in the Church's </div> <div> official work.</div> <bR> <div> There is no much "witnessing" on the part of the Church hierarchy on </div> <div> issues that impact our planet. The Pope accepts the gift of a fully </div> <div> loaded SUV. Editors of Catholic newspaper publish the photo. It's </div> <div> considered "news." I have read many articles written by high-placed </div> <div> laity asking for an immediate cessation of bombing in the middle </div> <div> East. Nothing from the bishops. Hundreds of laity marched for peace </div> <div> last Saturday. In Edmonton, no one from the official Church. They are </div> <div> too busy in the liturgy wars, whether the laity should respond to </div> <div> "The Lord be with you" with the post Vatican II "and also with you" </div> <div> or with a literal translation of the original Latin of pre-Vatican II </div> <div> "And with your spirit."</div> <bR> <div> The same Spirit that called us to new life is at work today. Edwina </div> <div> writes in Spiritual Questions for the Twenty-First Century: "If God </div> <div> is indeed at the core of the human condition - inseparable from </div> <div> humanity - then we must all have divine potential. We must be God- </div> <div> bearers - called to incarnation, called to compassion. I believe that </div> <div> our fundamental spiritual nature ultimately impels us to connection. </div> <div> It is the only way to say no to hunger, to rape, to murder, to </div> <div> disease, to violence of all kinds. It is only when we sink into the </div> <div> divine within that we ourselves become conscious of being a little </div> <div> bit of God. When that consciousness happens, we must truly begin to </div> <div> love one another. We must long for peace as we touch into our own </div> <div> deep inner peace (God). Ultimately, we recognize that we are one </div> <div> another and intricately connected. It is then that we ourselves will </div> <div> become the ones who will save the world - a scary thought, but one </div> <div> that can only remind us of the words of Jesus: "Greater things than </div> <div> these you will do."</div> <bR> <div> Cecily</div> <div> --></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>