There used to be a billboard on Interstate 70 that said: “Don’t make me come down there!” It was signed, “God.” That just might sum up the first reading and Gospel we hear this week.

"God loves. Christ saves. He is alive". From Australia, Huw Warmenhoven reflects on "three truths" of the Christian "proclamation" explained by Pope Francis in the 4th chapter of "Christus vivit". All three, he says, lead to "a fourth truth": together with Jesus, "I am alive too".

Pencil Preaching for Tuesday, October 22, 2019

On Sunday, October 13th, the Law and Justice party won 43.59 percent of the vote in Poland’s parliamentary elections, giving it a majority of 235 seats in the Sejm, the lower chamber of Poland’s Parliament. [...]

Amid the buzz surrounding the last week of this month's summit of bishops on the Amazon, the debate surrounding a small statue has captured Rome.

The Mexican bishops' conference called for calm and reflection after well-armed members of a drug cartel descended on the city of Culiacan and forced Mexican security forces to release the son of convicted cartel kingpin Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as "El Chapo."

More than a half century after a group of bishops at the Second Vatican Council made a solemn pledge to live a simple lifestyle close to their people, a group of participants from the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon signed a new pact in the Catacombs of Domitilla.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on ads run by an atheist organization: Being an atheist does not necessarily mean being anti-Christian, but being an atheist organization, especially these days, means exactly that. It's how they survive—by bashing Christians. Their favorite target, of course, is the Catholic Church. Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is one [...]

Signs of the Times: As the synod on the Amazon region enters its final week, the bishops who gathered here to discuss the region's challenges and make recommendations to Pope Francis will begin preparing their final report.

At the conclusion of a press briefing in the Vatican on Monday, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, says the theft of indigenous statues is a contradiction to the spirit of dialogue.

Following the 14th General Congregation of the Synod for the Amazon on Monday morning, the Holy See Press Office hosts a press briefing during which four Synod participants respond to journalists’ question on a series of issues.

Bishop Derek Byrne of Primavera do Leste-Paranatinga said he also spoke in favor of ordaining married men: "The duty of the church to provide the Eucharist ... takes precedence over the law of celibacy."

The village of Bomoanga is vandalized by suspected Jihadist activists, with mission schools being targeted.

Every Christian is called to be a missionary, sharing the good news of salvation in Christ and making disciples for him, not for oneself or one's clique of like-minded believers, Pope Francis said.

Now is the time to remember "the core principles we used to know and live by and that we now seem to have forgotten," according to retired Marine Gen. James Mattis.

BEIRUT -- Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese of various religions sounded their cries in unison in streets and public squares throughout the country calling for government reforms.

Fueled by economic insecurity and deteriorating living conditions, a fifth day of protests Oct. 21 were sparked by government plans to impose new taxes.

Lebanon's Catholic patriarchs -- who have repeatedly raised their voices against political corruption, imploring the government to address the country's dire economic situation -- expressed their solidarity with the demonstrators.

Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, cut short a pastoral visit in Africa to return to Lebanon amid the unprecedented uprising.

Speaking from Laos, Nigeria, Oct. 20, Cardinal Rai said that Lebanon's government officials "know that they are the ones who brought their country to this situation and they must find successful ways to reform."

The cardinal reiterated that more than one-third of Lebanese citizens are below the poverty line, the country's unemployment rate stands at nearly 40% and that "hunger and destitution threaten many citizens."

"We pray to God, through the intercession of our mother Mary, Our Lady of Lebanon, and St. Charbel, to touch the conscience of our political officials and inspire them to find the necessary, successful and quick solutions to the economic and social crisis, which has become a crisis of hunger," which the cardinal said threatens the lives of the Lebanese as did the famine in 1914.

The crisis, "imposed from within," Cardinal Rai said, led elderly and youth alike to demonstrate their rejection of such political practices. "In so doing they (the demonstrators) have all shown that they are united from all spectrums demanding a decent living."

In an effort to quell the demonstrations, Lebanon's coalition government Oct. 21 approved a package of economic reforms that reportedly included a plan to overturn the new taxes and cut by half the salaries of top officials.

Melkite Patriarch Joseph Absi also declared his solidarity with the people "who express today their pain and bitterness and loss of confidence in those who brought them to this bitter reality."

He appealed to government officials "to respond to the demands of the Lebanese people and not drown them with promises, after reaching the brink of despair."

Patriarch Absi emphasized that "serious reform and the elimination of waste and hot spots of corruption and respect for the dignity of the citizen is urgent and necessary to restore confidence in officials and the salvation of the homeland."

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan offered his support to the protesters' demands as well. "We appeal to the consciences of officials, if there is a conscience in this world of hypocrisy, to be within the responsibility assigned to them," he said.

He urged officials to "listen to the voice of the people, and immediately undertake the necessary and fundamental reforms," including fighting corruption and holding the corrupt accountable, ending the theft of public money, stopping waste in state facilities and refraining from imposing any tax increase.

"We ask God to inspire officials to get out of this current crisis and to implement the demands of the people, to return to Lebanon its peace, security and prosperity, and to its citizens to reassure, stability and a decent life, through the intercession of our mother, the Virgin Mary of Lebanon, and all the saints and martyrs,'' he said.

In affirming their solidarity with the demonstrators, each patriarch pointedly called for maintaining peacefulness and rejected any violent means or destruction by protesters. "We are well aware of the role of the fifth column," Cardinal Rai cautioned, referring to groups foment violence.

Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Maronite Catholic, while the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament is a Shiite Muslim. About 40% of Lebanon's citizens are Christian.

The 14th General Congregation of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region took place on the morning of Monday, 21 October, in the presence of Pope Francis. One hundred eighty-four Synod Fathers were in the Hall for the session. The Synod concludes on Sunday, 27 October.

Ontario’s English Catholic teachers will be voting on a strike mandate in November as they deal with what their union calls “reckless cuts” proposed during bargaining with the province.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association has met 17 times with government representatives and has “reached a critical juncture in the bargaining process,” said OECTA president Liz Stuart.

“To continue making progress, it has become necessary to conduct a strike vote to demonstrate our association’s solidarity and resolve,” said Stuart in a statement posted on the OECTA website. “The government has not listened to our representatives at the bargaining table, so we will be asking our members to demonstrate they are united and prepared to do whatever is necessary to stand up for Ontario’s world-class publicly-funded education system.”

The provincial government under Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford has pledged to return to a balanced budget in the near future. The education sector has been targeted as one of the big-ticket ministries where savings are being sought. That has led to conflict with the province’s education sector unions, though an agreement was recently reached with school support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“Catholic teachers strongly oppose the Ford Conservative government’s regressive education agenda,” said Stuart. “The Minister (of Education) has publicly said the government is prepared to make investments in the classroom, but at the bargaining table they appear determined to pursue their reckless cuts.”

OECTA’s strike vote is expected to conclude on Nov. 13.

We are in Ordinary Time—and will be until Ash Wednesday. One of the purposes of this present liturgical season is to give us time and space to reflect on what we have just celebrated at Christmas; namely, that our God became flesh and lived among us. That is a mystery of our faith: God the Son, God from all eternity, became a human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth born of the Virgin Mary.