Saturday, 15 October 2016

Still in 2015!


2015-01-20    I have not written for a long time… I need to say first that sadly, my friend Carol Watkinson who did the beautiful collection of slides for my Talk on ‘Pathways for Peace…’  passed away in October last year. She had cancer. I never heard her complain.  Peace to your soul, dear Friend! I do miss you. Thank you for what you did and for what you tried to do.  

                                                        .....................xxx.....................

 

2015 - I received an unsettling email some days ago, about some Arabs sewing, in cold blood, the eye and mouth of a girl who proclaimed to be a Christian! That is what I read. Is it true?!... It had a shocking photo of her… and ‘the media chose to ignore …’, it says.

   It is up to us to believe it or not, to think about it or to just move on. I chose to stop and share some thoughts - especially after the 'Paris tragedy'.

    What hurts me is to see how these fanatics are apparently 'winning' and making waves, of terror if nothing else, whilst as a friend of mine was saying, 'followers of Christ choose to remain in silence not to upset family or friends and just let them be, or watch TV.... possibly even porno... to pass time'.

Do we, Christians, not believe that there is power in 'prayer' , in going to church, to Mass, if a Catholic, and receiving the Body of Christ present in the Eucharist? Do we try to find out what is happening at Medjugorje where Mary appears constantly with the same message as at Fatima in Portugal:

‘Pray, Pray! For Peace in the world! For the salvation of Souls! Bless those that hurt you! Pray!’ ?

Apparently each year more and more youngsters are going to Medjugorje to pray!

But we prefer, some of us, to shout NO to RELIGION!

   It is too scary! Don't teach it to children! Give them freedom of Choice! Freedom of... Speech!

I honestly feel sorry for them, for us, for the consequences of this way of thinking.

   Religion is, unfortunately,  often USED for political ends, that is true! But for me what it means comes from the Latin word 'religare', meaning to 'reconnect'. Reconnect what? The Created and the Creator! Humanity and God! But that is our choice...yes. So, ARE CHILDREN SUPPOSED TO GROW and NOT BE TAUGHT about GOD,  and then  WHEN ADULTS, DECIDE? IS THAT GOING TO WORK? Did it work for the American psychologist who started the new 'youth education revolution'? His son committed suicide at about 30 years of age... How WILL WE JUSTIFY the Morals we might want to teach them? Why are we so scared to hurt their sensitivity and impose our rules, at least whilst they live with us, their parents ? Do we want to 'make friends' or be 'parents'?

   IS IT NOT FROM THE CRADDLE THAT A CHILD NEEDS TO BE NURTURED AND OR DISCIPLINED TO LEARN TO CURB SELFISHNESS AND OPEN THE HEART TO GOODNESS? TO JESUS, THE SON OF GOD - who died for us on a Cross? Our God is a loving God that allows freedom of choice! It is up to us to choose, yes! And to choose whether to place in our children's hearts the knowledge of the 'Way' - to Freedom, to Love, to Peace'! Jesus' Way!

   Please do read Peter Hitchens's 'The Rage against God'. I mentioned him last year in a talk. In his opinion, 'without God, morals will have no leg to stand on'. This journalist, a Christian converted to communism who lived in Russia and Somalia, shocked with all that he saw there and years later in England, he converted back to being a Christian. The link to the talk, if you are interested, is: http://youtu.be/CUJwPA77c1I

   May God bless us all! Let us pray for the confused, the wrong doers, the proud, the scared! For us , for our families. Let us pray for enlightnement and perseverance, for forgiveness and for loving kindness.   For Peace in the world!  

   Bless you for reading this. Thank you.

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