The King's Corner

I've been focused on heaven and hell lately, so the following caught my attention. (begin) In this homily, Father Richard Rohr considers the parable of the wedding feast and points out how few of us seem even to desire to attend God’s banquet. (Matthew 22:1–10). God has always had a very hard time giving away God: No one wants seems to want this gift. We’d rather have religion, and laws, and commandments, and obligations, and duties. I’m sure many of us attend church out of duty, but gathering with the Body of Christ is supposed to be a wedding feast. Do you know how many times in the four Gospels eternal life is described as a banquet, a feast, a party, a wedding, the marriage feast of the Lamb? There are fifteen different, direct allusions to eternal life being a great, big party.  Do you know how many parables there are about eternal life being a courtroom or a judgment scene? One. Matthew 25. And that’s good. We need Matthew 25 because it makes it very clear that the ultimate i

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.  In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region. (Luke 4:31-37)

I provide a Richard Rohr contribution that strikes home for all of us in these very divided times created by politics and religion.  Jesus’ parable of the weeds and wheat offers insight into becoming compassionate, “both-and” people instead of “either-or” people.  (Matthew 13:24–30). This Gospel is not only extremely insightful, it’s also very realistic and compassionate. With injustices and crises in every part of the world, many of us are asking ultimate questions about good and evil. “Where do the weeds come from? Where does evil originate? Why do people do such harmful things?” I ask this about a dozen times every day. This world doesn’t make sense. How can people be so malicious, so unkind, so uncaring? It’s like we don’t know how to care anymore, as though we don’t know how to access our own hearts, our own souls, and our own spirits. 

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.  Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner,

“Behind flag controversy at Worcester school, a debate about Catholic identity” is a Boston Globe Friday article by columnist Alexander Thompson.  It read: “Behind penalty over flags, school stays its course – Nativity, in Worcester, says symbols of inclusion are a key part of Catholicism, even though the bishop [Robert J. McManus] disagrees.” Many of us may remember that in June Bishop McManus of the Diocese of Worcester stripped the all-boys middle school of its right to call itself Catholic over its refusal to take down the flags, which McManus said promoted political messages contrary to Catholic teaching. He also barred the school from celebrating Mass and the sacraments.  The school flew, and continues to do so, Pride and Black Lives Matter flags.   I consider this bishop’s action to be a perfect example of “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.”  For most Catholics and non-Catholics alike this decision with its resulting conflict and division will continue to blacken the

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’  While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen

Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” (Matth

The angel spoke to me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal. It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.  There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:9-14) Revelation also continues with the following (25-27): “…During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who

Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:23-26) It’s easier to strain gnats than swallow camels, assuming we ever could.  We walk around with our mouths open, so the gnats fly in. That’s part of our problem.  We tend to talk too much rather than think before we speak.   We also tend to think more about our appearances rather than the condition of our hearts that may be full of plunder (anger and hatred) and self-indulgence (prideful behavior). We need to be a clean

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.' Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.'  You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dw

 

Homily for 5:30 Mass Today we hear about a gate and a door.  First, what is the narrow gate we must attempt to go through but struggle to enter? Furthermore, what is the difference between a narrow gate and a wide gate.   A wide gate is what a flood of scrambling lemmings runs through, and then over a cliff to their individual destruction. There’s jostling and bumping of bodies. There is no independent thought or critical thinking. Every individual does the same thing, perhaps at the command of some blind leader to criticize and condemn the other person or group with a different point of view or belief.  An observer would not be able to tell one lemming from another. They are just an unruly crowd of squeaking animals pushing and shoving. Social media is sort of like that. It’s a very wide gate with anyone being able to pass through often being unidentifiable, anonymous, and cowardly.

I've always been fascinated by "The Sign of Jonah" and its biblical meaning.  Father Richard Rohr has helped me better understand its meaning.  He recently posted the following describing the pattern of transformation Jesus offers through “the sign of Jonah,” which is the mystery of death and resurrection.  He wrote: (begin) Jesus’ primary metaphor for the mystery of transformation is the sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:39, 16:4; Luke 11:29). Jesus tells the growing crowds, “It is an evil and adulterous generation that wants a sign” (Luke 11:29), and then says the only sign he will give is the sign of Jonah. As a Jew, Jesus knew well the graphic story of Jonah the prophet who ran from God and was used by God almost in spite of himself. Jonah was swallowed by a whale and taken where he would rather not go. This was Jesus’ metaphor for death and rebirth. Rather than look for impressive apparitions or miracles, Jesus said we must go inside the whale’s belly for a while. Then and o

  C.S. Lewis wrote a book called The Great Divorce .  Here is a summary that reviews Lewis' fantasy with his interpretation of heaven, and hell.  There's no mention of dogs. (begin) The narrator inexplicably finds himself in a grim and joyless city, the "grey town", where it rains continuously, even indoors, which is either Hell or Purgatory depending on whether or not one stays there. He eventually finds a bus-stop for those who desire an excursion to some other place (the destination later turns out to be the foothills of Heaven). He waits in line for the bus and listens to the arguments between his fellow passengers. As they await the bus's arrival, many of them quit the line in disgust before the bus pulls up. When it arrives, the driver is an angel who shields his face from the passengers. Once the few remaining passengers have boarded, the bus flies upward, off the pavement into the grey, rainy sky. The ascending bus breaks out of the rain clouds into a clea

Thus says the LORD: I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus, the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you. For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:23-28) How many of us need new hearts because the one we have has grown cold and stony?  How many of us have become spiritless and shot down? Life can do that t

The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep? You have fed off their milk, worn their wool, and slaughtered the fatlings, but the sheep you have not pastured. You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd and became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; my sheep were scattered over the whole earth, with no one to look after them or to search for them.  Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have been given over to pillage, and because my sheep have become food

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, a

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm and has scattered

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Luke 12:49-53) Sound familiar?  How many families are very divided by politics and anger caused by political discourse often centering around religious and morality issues?  Religion and politics are not separate capsules with one not affecting the other.  Jesus understood that linkage.  Despite wishing that separation, many people cannot help being draw

August 14, 2022, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time A Month Of Mary; August 15th to September 15th: We begin 30 days in the Liturgical Year which are “bookended” by feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We begin with the feast of Mary’s assumption into heaven on August 15th –, followed by that of her Queenship on August 22nd. Then as we move toward the conclusion of the 30 days we celebrate the Nativity of Mary on September 8th and end with her memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15th. So even more appropriate than May, which when observed as a Marian month often puts the honor we would wish to give to Mary in competition with the attention that is due to the Resurrection of Christ in the 50 day Season of Easter, let us be especially mindful of Mary as we observe these feasts that begin in mid-August and conclude in mid-September.

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After he placed his hands on them, he went away. (Matthew 19:13-15) Who are the children?  They are the poor.  Jesus gave the poor priority.  The Kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor.  Perhaps this is why Jesus told the young man to give away all his possessions and then follow him. Moreover, when we behave like children; that is, uncorrupted by the events of our adult lives colored by prejudice, envy, hate, and anger, the Kingdom of heaven belongs to us. We adults should let the child within us be set free.  He/she is still there hidden under layers of hardened skin.   To help us in this task, we should hang around children and be influenced by their innocence.  Speaking as a grandfather of five, I often feel the influence of their innocence and ca

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”   They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” His disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is gra

 

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient wit

Father Richard Rohr recently provided meditations on our “fall from innocence” as a necessary part of the process of transformation.  Here is one entitled “Leaving the Garden.” (begin) The word “innocent” from its Latin root means “not wounded.” That’s how we all start life. We’re all innocent. It doesn’t have anything to do with morally right or wrong. It has to do with not yet being wounded. We start unwounded. We start innocent, but the killing of our holy innocence (as in Herod’s command to kill the Holy Innocents [Matthew 2:16–18]) is an archetypal image of what eventually happens to all of us. Probably it has to happen for us to grow up. We have to leave the garden. This movement of leaving and returning, forward and back, is the process of transformation. It’s the way we increase the spaciousness of freedom in our lives, so that we have the capacity for true relatedness. Jesus tells three parables about losing and finding: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (Luke 15

The Lord GOD said to me: As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you: be not rebellious like this house of rebellion, but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you. It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me, in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me. It was covered with writing front and back and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe! He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.  Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. (Ezekiel 2:8-3:4)

  It has been said that fishermen tend to exaggerate the size of their catches.  Perhaps we all tend to exaggerate to inflate our egos or simply to make an important point, such as bible stories and Jesus' parables we should not take literally.   When we do consider them to have actually happened, we are amateurs not capable of separating fact from fiction. The bible has many stories that are true in a different sense.  Something does not have to be factual to be true.  The biblical writers knew this.  Many of us today do not.  "She is a rose among thorns" obviously doesn't mean she is an actual rose.  We get the idea. We don't need to make bible stories more believable.  We just need to understand what they are and what Jesus was trying to make clear to his followers.   We all can find ourselves in the belly of a giant fish (or whale) when we feel trapped in sorrow, for example.  God is always present to compel that fish to spit us out and help us see the light.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival., I say to you, he will gird himself, have the servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Luke 12:35-40) It's always sensible to be prepared for any eventuality, such as a break-in or the master’s arrival. Preparation is the moral of the story of the ant and grasshopper.

  August 7, 2022, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time The Feast of the Assumption: On Monday, August 15th, the Church celebrates Mary’s assumption, body, and soul, into heaven after “falling asleep” and so traditionally this feast has also been known as The Dormition of Mary. Not insignificantly It is the patronal feast of the Diocese of Fall River and thus the title of our Cathedral Church. It is a feast on which all the faithful of the Diocese are especially encouraged to pray for the local church of which we are all a part, in particular, our bishop, clergy, religious, and all our fellow believers. We especially ask the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary that we might be a church that is dedicated to bearing witness to Christ by living his gospel so that we will continue to be both active and effective in doing so. Certainly, the Diocese of Fall River faces some challenges as it seeks to fulfill its mission in this time and place and so needs our prayerful support

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Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration when we read: Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did

See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed. The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob, the pride of Israel, Though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined the tendrils.  Woe to the bloody city, all lies, full of plunder, whose looting never stops! The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels; horses a-gallop, chariots bounding, Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear, the many slain, the heaping corpses, the endless bodies to stumble upon! I will cast filth upon you, disgrace you and put you to shame; Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying, “Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her? Where can one find any to console her?” (Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7) I’ve never read from the book of Nahum.  Here’s a description of the book as detailed in the Bible: (begin) “Shortly before the fall of

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so, I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jer

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. (Matthew 15:21-28)

What’s in a word?  A lot!  For example, in the words of William Barclay, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus is the word of God come into this world.  A word is a means of communication.  If we say Jesus is the word of God, we are saying Jesus is God’s means of communication.  In Jesus, God speaks; Jesus is God’s liaison with us, God’s means of communicating with us."   Again, according to Barclay, "However, a word is more than that.  We should think before we speak.  A word, therefore, is an expression of thought.  If we say Jesus is the word of God, we say that Jesus is the expression of the thought of God.  If we want to see what God is thinking, we look at Jesus Christ.  If we want to see how the mind of God works, we look at Jesus Christ.  If we want to get an insight into what we might call the dynamic personality of God, we look at Jesus Christ.  If we say Jesus is the word of God, we are saying that Jesus is God’s means of communication, and that Je

I provide the full text of Pope Francis’ apology to Indigenous Peoples in Canada.  It's an example of one who is a true follower of Jesus Christ. (begin) On July 25, Pope Francis apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in the abuse and forced assimilation of Indigenous Peoples at the site of a former residential school in in Maskwacis, Alberta. Madam Governor General, Mr. Prime Minister, Dear Indigenous Peoples of Maskwacis and of this land of Canada, Dear brothers and sisters! I have been waiting to come here and be with you! Here, from this place associated with painful memories, I would like to begin what I consider a penitential pilgrimage. I have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow, to implore God’s forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you.