Choosing God's Way

In today's first reading, Acts 28: 16-20, 30-31, St. Paul appeals to the leaders of the Jews in Rome, where he was sent as a prisoner.  He says to the leaders: " My brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or our ancestral customs, I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem."  Paul then explains that they found no reason to put him to death and that  is why  he asked to see them. However, the leaders of the Jews in Rome did not free Paul!  He remained a prisoner "for two full years" and  "received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about Jesus Christ,"

What would you or  I do if, like Paul, our request was denied?  Would we continue the mission Jesus asked of us, namely to live the Gospel, build God's Kingdom and teach about Jesus by words or actions? Or would we pout, hold a grudge and do nothing out of anger? Would we let our egos edge God out?

Massacre in Newtown: what do we need to learn?

Our hearts reach out in sympathy with those families who lost loved ones in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn on Friday, Dec. 14. This scene of horror resonates with the scenes of horror we have witnessed throughout the world in recent years, but especially here in the United States where shootings have occurred in other schools, in a theater, a place of worship, a public rally, and a mental health facility for returning veterans of wars.  We have and are, in many ways, teaching our young people that it is okay to voice one’s anger by using violence. We do it via government policies that authorize war against other nations. We do it through the media that uses violent movies and video games to entertain thousands of people. We do it in our abortion clinics where it is okay to slaughter infants in the womb every second of a given day.  We do it in our streets where drug dealers kill each other and where domestic violence spills out into the public arena. We do it in the privacy of our homes where parents war against one another and against family members.  We did it to the Son of  Man who came to teach us how to live in harmony and respect for one another, especially the poor and outcasts of our society, who taught us the art of forgiveness and invited us to be compassionate toward one another as His Father is compassionate towards us. We killed Him, the Son of God, who was obedient to His Father to the point of death to undo the disobedience of humankind.

Every day,  we have the choice of choosing behaviors in imitation of Christ, that is, love and respect for ourselves and one another, including love and respect for our children, behaviors by which we grow in humility by asking forgiveness when we wrong ourselves or another person, behaviors by which we choose obedience to our Creator.  Or we have the choice of choosing behaviors that are making us slaves to our anger, behaviors by which we choose to exert our power and dominance over one another, creating an environment of hatred and resentment, anger and distrust.  Am I aware of which path I am following: is it a path that leads to freedom from my impulsiveness, a path which does not feed my anger but nurtures love and forgiveness, discipline and unselfishness? Or is it a path which leads to me to sink into a rut of selfishness, anger, and revenge, as did Adam Lanza?

Pray God that we learn what we need to learn by reflecting on the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School!