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May the choir of angels lead you into paradise, and may the martyrs come to welcome you, to bring you hope into the holy city, so you may dwell in new Jerusalem. May holy angels be there at your welcoming, with all the saints who go before you there, that you may know the peace and joy of paradise; that you may enter into everlasting rest.
Reverend Monsignor Jeremiah O’Sullivan
June 13, 1925-January 5, 2021
(Celtic Song of Farewell)
Sitting in front, at the right.
It was difficult for young Michael to understand.
From the age of 3, young Michael had been best friends with another boy. Young Michael was black, and his friend was white, but it didn't matter to either of them. They enjoyed each other's company, and they loved playing together, that's all that mattered. They were the best of friends.
But, at the age of 6, as they started school, Michael's friend started acting differently toward him. He finally confided to Michael that his father told him he could no longer play with him.
Michael thought he did something wrong, something his friends' parents disapproved of. His parents finally had to explain to him, it was nothing he did, it was because Michael's skin was a different color.
Michael could still not understand, why the color of his skin mattered, and why people would hate him because of it.
His father would later take him to a shoe store to get new shoes. As he and his father sat down, a store clerk told them they had to move to the back of the store. Michael's father explained the seats were fine, but the clerk insisted that they move. Perhaps the store didn't want their white customers to feel uncomfortable; regardless, Michael and his father were forced to go to the back of the store if they wanted service.
Michael's father became upset, and they left the store. As they walked away, Michael's father muttered, "I don't care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it."
Little by little Michael began to understand. He began to understand why a white woman would slap him on his head, why he had to sit in the back of the bus. He experienced segregation firsthand, he experienced racism, he witnessed hatred. He saw a black man being beaten by the Ku Klux Klan, he walked past spots where he was told men of his color were lynched.
His father would take Michael and the rest of the family to a trip overseas. His father learned about a monk, who was known as a reformer and a leader, who would change the world fighting for justice and equality.
So inspired by this monk, Michael's father would change his name and that of Michael's name, reflecting the monk's name. The monk's name was Martin Luther.
Michael would be known as Martin Luther King, Jr., he was born on this day, January 15, 1929.
He would later "speak valiantly against the lynching, bombing and shooting of black people who merely wanted what white people took for granted: a cup of coffee at any lunch counter, a room at any hotel they could afford, a drink at any water fountain they passed, a seat on a bus wherever they pleased and a desk in the nearest schoolhouse," according to the New York Times.
He said, “Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.’”
[Photo, from the New York Times]
Heavenly Father, I wish to add my voice to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world, from every people, from the heart of each person, from the one great family which is humanity: the cry for peace! It is a cry which declares with force: we want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace, and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict, that peace break out!
There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by the persistent ugliness and brutality of racism and violence and the overwhelming impacts of the pandemic both in lives lost and the strain on families, health care professionals and frontline workers. I am anguished by the dramatic divisions and developments which are looming on our nations horizon.
I pray God’s great gift of peace upon our beloved nation and upon each situation of conflict and violence around the world.
And I ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to injustice with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!
Prayer text adapted from the Pope’s plea for fasting and prayer for peace.
Saturday, Jan 16, 2021
OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Be present to the Presence
The great paradox of God’s kingdom is often expressed in the teachings of Jesus: The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the last are first, the dead live. The first and most profound paradox is that the Virgin conceives. Our Blessed Mother experienced the coming Kingdom in her own body. She shares that experience with us in our communion with the Lord. We carry the Real Presence of the Savior in our own bodies. The ongoing paradox is that the Lord calls us, who are sinners, to be the vessels of his presence in the world. Express that presence today by lifting up the lowly.
TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 2:13-17. “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
#takefiveforfaith
201. Indeed, the media’s noisy potpourri of facts and opinions is often an obstacle to dialogue, since it lets everyone cling stubbornly to his or her own ideas, interests and choices, with the excuse that everyone else is wrong. It becomes easier to discredit and insult opponents from the outset than to open a respectful dialogue aimed at achieving agreement on a deeper level. Worse, this kind of language, usually drawn from media coverage of political campaigns, has become so widespread as to be part of daily conversation. Discussion is often manipulated by powerful special interests that seek to tilt public opinion unfairly in their favour. This kind of manipulation can be exercised not only by governments, but also in economics, politics, communications, religion and in other spheres. Attempts can be made to justify or excuse it when it tends to serve one’s own economic or ideological interests, but sooner or later it turns against those very interests.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
Reading I
Hebrews 4:12-16
The word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit,
joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
#dailyingodsword
Prayer For Unity and Healing
Lord our God, we come to you this day with broken hearts and broken spirits.
We are in need of your healing.
A healing that recognizes our own sinfulness.
A healing that proceeds from inexhaustible love.
A healing that summons us to recognize everyone in our society as brother and sister
A healing that leads us from division to unity, from animosity to love.
The motto of our nation is "from many, one".
Let this motto be our pathway forward as a nation in these coming days, so that the spirit of Washington, Lincoln and King might reanimate our nation with the greatness of which we are capable.
And let us entrust these petitions to our God in union with the Blessed Mother, the ultimate example of discipleship rooted in love:
Hail Mary ...
Msgr. Jeremiah O'Sullivan Funeral Mass
“Well done, good and faithful servant”
Beautiful service on a beautiful day for such a beautiful man. God Bless You, Monsignor O’Sullivan. ♥️🙏🏻
Beautiful service welcomed by God with open arms 🙏 ..
❤️🍀🙏
SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR A NEW CULTURE
199. Some people attempt to flee from reality, taking refuge in their own little world; others react to it with destructive violence. Yet “between selfish indifference and violent protest there is always another possible option: that of dialogue. Dialogue between generations; dialogue among our people, for we are that people; readiness to give and receive, while remaining open to the truth. A country flourishes when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic culture, technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture”.[196]
200. Dialogue is often confused with something quite different: the feverish exchange of opinions on social networks, frequently based on media information that is not always reliable. These exchanges are merely parallel monologues. They may attract some attention by their sharp and aggressive tone. But monologues engage no one, and their content is frequently self-serving and contradictory.
Excerpt: FRATELLI TUTTI
Pope Francis Encyclical
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
*Part of a sequential daily series to read and reflect on this new encyclical.
📷Notre Dame University
Prayer/Walk for Unity
