3rd Sunday of Easter (B): 15 April 2018
Reading
Acts of the Apostles 3:13-15, 17-19
Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9
1 John 2:1-5a
Luke 24:35-48
Biblical Reflection
It is not easy to believe in the Risen Christ. Ultimately, the truth of his Resurrection is grasped and accepted only through faith.
Jesus himself awakens faith in us, and some of its fruits are peace, joy, and love: “But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.” Faith helps us taste and experience peace and joy in our lives.
Luke is trying to say something like this in today Gospel as he describes the disciples meeting with the Risen Lord. They all have different stories to tell; some recognized him while sharing a meal with him in Emmaus. Peter had seen him. Most had no experience; they do not know what to make of it all.
Jesus appears: “Peace be with you!” To awaken faith in the Risen Jesus we must be able to sense his presence with us today, in our family, our parish, our small Christian community, in our Church, and in our country. The Risen Lord is with us at all times and in these difficult times for the Church and our country we are challenged to believe that he is with us.
The presence of Jesus does not transform or change the disciples automatically. Some become afraid and think it is ‘a ghost.’ Then we hear Jesus say: “Touch me and see” and he shows them his hands and his feet. The disciples are full of doubt: they just cannot believe. Are they like us, or are we like them?
It is the same for us today. Faith is not automatic – it begins to grow slowly in our hearts and sometimes in weak and fragile ways. It grows in the midst of doubts and questions; we are invited to accept that our questions can help us grow in faith in Jesus.
Jesus is always with us, opening our minds and hearts to understand and accept Him. He wants us to become witnesses – “You are witnesses of these things” – men and women and youths, who speak and act from experience and who truly preach ‘in his name.’
Faith is a process; it may take a lifetime and it is truly built when we trust in Jesus and in his love. Let us make more and more room for him in our hearts, our Christian communities, and our Church. As John says today again in the second reading: “Whoever claims to abide/ live in him ought to live just as he lived”.
Link with the Magisterium of the Church
When God reveals himself to us, he requires from us an obedience of faith. By faith, we freely commit our entire self, our will, and our intellect to God, who has revealed himself. In order for this to happen we need the help of the Holy Spirit to orient our heart to God. – Cf. Dei Verbum, No. 5
“Faith also means believing in God, believing that he truly loves us, that he is alive, that he is mysteriously capable of intervening, that he does not abandon us and that he brings good out of evil by his power and his infinite creativity.” – Evangelii Gaudium, No. 278
However, it is not enough for us to have faith. A true person of faith is called to share and inspire faith in the society. So how can we propagate and deepen faith today in a world where too many people are becoming cold to the presence and peace of The Risen Lord; in a world where the urge to selfishness, corruption, tribalism, impunity, nepotism, and a lack of interest in the common good has become so strong? The Council Fathers of Vatican II encourage us to begin from the family.
“This mission – to be the first and vital cell of society – the family has received from God. It will fulfil this mission if it appears as the domestic sanctuary of the Church by reason of the mutual affection of its members and the prayer that they offer to God in common, if the whole family makes itself a part of the liturgical worship of the Church, and if it provides active hospitality and promotes justice and other good works for the service of all.” – Apostolicam Actuositatem, No. 11
African Wisdom
If you pick up one end of the stick you also pick up the other – Ethiopia
When the roots of a tree begin to decay, it spreads death to the branches. – Nigeria
Questions for reflection in SCCs
What can our SCC do to be a source of encouragement and a good example to families on the values of praying together?
How can we nourish and grow our faith in the Risen Christ?
Do my family, my SCC, and I promote true faith and love in our country and our world?
These reflections were prepared at the Theology House of the St. Patrick Missionary Society, the Kiltegan Fathers, in Karen. They have been edited by a team of RSCK-JPIC, The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Religious Superiors’ Conference of Kenya. [email protected]
2nd Sunday of Easter (B): 08 April 2018
Reading
Acts of the Apostles 4:32-35
Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
1 John 5:1-6
John 20:19-31
Biblical Reflection
Several themes can be drawn from the readings of today, including testimony and witness, faith, peace, and forgiveness. What connects all of these, however, is the theme of resurrection. To experience the resurrection means to have a profound experience of the truth that Jesus, after he was crucified, passed from death to life. Jesus is alive not only to the disciples to whom he appeared in the gospel of today, but also to each of us in the here and now.
The challenge of Thomas is the same for us today. It is to experience Jesus as alive and present in our midst, in the lives we are living. The resurrection of Jesus is like that “Eureka!” moment when everything finally falls into place. It is the moment – like an abrupt spark – when we are convinced, in often inexplicable ways, of God’s presence with us. It is like a light of God which floods the centre of our being. We just feel God’s presence in us, even though we lack the right words to explain this experience.
It is in this experience that the words of Jesus to the disciples become words addressed to us: “Peace be with you.” The experience of encountering the Risen Christ always calls us to change, to growth, to conversion, and to commitment.
This commitment is very well expressed in the company of believers in the day’s first reading. The believers were of “one heart and soul.” Belief in the resurrection of Christ led the believers to practical action. Their action is primarily that of fraternal charity.
You and I are also called to put our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ into action. The way we extend helping hands to our needy brothers and sisters will go a long way to prove that we have experienced the risen Christ. An experience of the resurrection of Christ begins with us but leads out towards others.
Link with the Magisterium of the Church
Faith in the Resurrection is central to the Good News of our faith: “The Resurrection was first of all the confirmation of all that Christ had ‘done and taught.’ It was the divine seal stamped on his words and life.”[1]
The Resurrection is the anchor that holds Christianity together: “…The Church knows with all the certainty of faith that the Redemption that took place through the Cross has definitively restored his dignity to man and given back meaning to his life in the world, a meaning that was lost to a considerable extent because of sin. And for that reason, the Redemption was accomplished in the paschal mystery, leading through the Cross and death to Resurrection.”[2]
By this redemption we have been made new.
But believing in the resurrection commits us to some responsibilities. The full picture of our redemption encompasses both the profound awareness of the gift that Christ’s paschal event has granted us and an awareness of the responsibilities that now fall to us. One such responsibility is to live a truly reconciled life; to live as a people reconciled both to God and with one another: “Reconciliation of all with God through Christ must become the reconciliation of all among themselves” (op. cit., 1989). Finally in the words of Pope John Paul II, “The whole life of a Christian must be paschal! I invite you all to bring to your families, your work, your daily concerns, your schools, your professions, your free time and also your suffering, the serenity and peace, the joy and trust that come from the certainty of Christ’s resurrection!” (Ibid.).
African Wisdom
As many are willing to say wisely: I am Christian first, then a Kenyan, and then a member of a certain tribe.
Peace is costly, but it is worth the expense. – Kenyan proverb
Ashes fly back into the face of the one who throws them. –African Proverb
Questions for reflection in SCCs
How can we be instruments of peace, reconciliation, and healing in our own families, SCCs, churches, and the society at large?
In what practical ways can I bring my faith in the resurrection to my family, work, or school each day?
Can I mention specific moments when I am truly able to say that I have experienced the risen Jesus in my heart and in my life?
These reflections were prepared at the Theology House of the St. Patrick Missionary Society, the Kiltegan Fathers, in Karen. They have been edited by a team of RSCK-JPIC, The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Religious Superiors’ Conference of Kenya. [email protected]
[1] Pope John Paul II. General Audience, Wednesday 8 March 1989 - in Italian & Spanishhttp://www.totus2us.com/teaching/jpii-catechesis-on-jesus-christ/the-resurrection-is-the-high-point-of-revelation/
[2] Pope John Paul II. Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 10.2.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_04031979_redemptor-hominis.html
5th Sunday of Lent (B): 18 March 2018
Reconciliation for Peaceful Coexistence and National Integration Justice for All
Source: 2018 Lenten Booklet of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB)
In our Lenten Campaign weekly topics, we shall seek to bring about reconciliation, peaceful co-existence and national integration by truthfully reflecting on the pertinent issues that affect our communities and the country at large.
Child Protection is our topic in the fifth week. A society is judged by how it treats the most vulnerable among its rank and file. As the Catholic Church, we have an obligation to ensure that the fundamental rights of children are respected. Delinquency has been blamed on how children are brought up and exposed to unethical and criminal activities. We must seek ways of addressing child abuse in our society.
See: Story
In Baraka village, there lived a widower with a daughter who survived after the mother died giving birth to her. His relatives were kind and supported him to raise the girl. With God’s grace, the girl finished her primary school education at the age of 12. She performed well and earned admission to a good secondary school.
Her sickly and unemployed father could not raise fees for her secondary school education. An uncle offered to educate the girl. He took her to his home and enrolled her in a day school, some 20 km away. She had to walk for many hours to and from school. The long walking distance forced her to wake up early to ensure that she arrived in time for her classes.
Besides the long walks to and from school, the girl was expected to do house chores every day before she went to bed. She had to fetch water, wash dishes, cook, clean the house, wash clothes, and name them. She had no time for her homework or rest. These heavy responsibilities affected her health adversely.
As she struggled in these harsh conditions, her uncle’s wife enrolled for studies in the neighbouring city. The girl, now in form two, was left with the uncle who was a trader in the village. He turned against the poor girl and started molesting her sexually.
The girl’s father trusted his brother. He called him often to inquire on her wellbeing and the brother kept assuring him that the girl was doing well but never allowed the girl to talk to her father.
One day, a child rights officer visited Baraka village to sensitise the community on children’s rights. The villagers, included the widower, were made aware of forms of child abuse, even by relatives. The awareness evoked emotions and concerns on his daughter’s welfare since it was more than a year since he last saw the girl. He shared his fears with the officer, who encouraged him to make a surprise visit to find out how his daughter was doing.
Arriving in his brother’s home, he was disheartened by his daughter’s skinny appearance. The girl, on seeing her father, broke down in tears. The father consoled and calmed her down.
The girl narrated her sad story. The man was saddened and angry with his brother. He was overcome by emotion and drew the neighbours’ attention. On hearing his story, the neighbours arrested the girl’s uncle and handed him over to the police, who charged him in a court of law. He was jailed for life. The girl was taken to a rehabilitation centre and later she got sponsorship for her education. She worked hard and became a medical doctor.
Judge: Situation analysis
In our society today, most children risk being abused or suffer from worse forms of violence. Child abuse can be defined as the physical maltreatment or sexual molestation of a child. In Kenya, child abuse is prevalent. However, most cases go unreported because many perpetrators are family members or individuals who are known to the child.
Most children under the care of guardians suffer quietly in fear of being disowned or kicked out. As in the story above, some cases of child abuse are even widely tolerated in society, like having minors who are domestic workers in homesteads sometimes for monetary gain, including school fees, which is in actual sense, child labour.
In Kenya, more than 33,929 cases of child abuse have been reported in the past 10 years. Out of this number, 13,878 were children abandoned and neglected, 528 were victims of child trafficking, abduction and kidnapping and 3,123 of child labour. Another 1,025 cases were of emotional abuse, 7,317 of physical abuse and 7,832 of sexual abuse. However, this is not a true picture of what children go through. In remote areas where abuse is more rampant, cases are only exposed when there is a major incident. Some cultural practices tolerate some cases of child abuse. [1]
The Constitution outlaws all cultural practices that are inconsistent with the law. The Penal Code outlines criminal offenses and prescribes penalties. Some of the punishable offenses include:
Sexual abuse: Offenses outlined in the Penal Code include rape, defilement, indecent assault, incest and unnatural offenses.
Physical abuse: Offenses include common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
Other outlawed practices that endanger the lives of children include concealment of birth, killing of the unborn and procuring of abortion among others.
Other laws that have provisions for child protection include: the Children’s Act; the Sexual Offenses Act; the Trafficking Act; the Basic Education Act of 2013; and Teachers Service Commission code of conduct.
For us to protect children, we need to treat them with respect and be mindful of their boundaries. We should never commit or condone corporal punishment. It is the responsibility of everyone to challenge and report potentially abusive behaviour. As the Church, we are called upon to help children to grow and develop. We should as parents help our children to be able develop self esteem and know forms of child abuse and violation. We should provide an environment that can help them report cases of abuse and violation.
Readings:
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33
Spiritual reflection:
“If a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it bears much fruit.”
The human being fulfils his goal and grows to maturity only when he is capable of love, when, that is, he gives his life for others. What for the world is defeat and shame, for him is victory and glory.
God knows our uncertainties and fears. The covenant we are living today and the Spirit of Jesus Christ provide us with strength to give our lives as he gave his. This means we must stand up for the most vulnerable in the society and protect them from any abuses. The guardian angels of children are watching over them and those who violate their rights await great punishment. God has made a new covenant. We ask him to create in us a new heart and a new spirit so that we can learn how to obey his commandments and become the source of eternal salvation to children.
Act: Reflection questions
How do we interact with our children to better understand their well being?
What is the role of the Church and me as an individual in promoting child protection?
What is the policy of the Church on child protection?
What are the different forms of child abuse within our communities?
What are the signs that a child has been/is being abused?
Examination of conscience:
Have I been involved in child abuse?
Have I used the culture to justify child abuse?
Have I protected those vulnerable in the society?