mankind

REFLECTION ON THE DAILY GOSPEL 28 DECEMBER 2012

/ Michael J. Cunningham / Leave a comment

 

slaughter of the innocents

It is hard to not to reflect on the massacre of the innocents without thinking of those children and their protective teachers in Newtown CT. The mourning of a lost child is something to have experience of to truly understand. How can we outlive our children? We lost our first-born son shortly after he was born, and it was too much to endure.
The human emotions of loss, grief, misunderstanding, even anger all come rushing back after 30 years.
Jesus was saved from this massacre only to give Himself as the sacrificial lamb for all mankind. We can rest in peace in the knowledge that all children called are innocents that will be by His side forever, looking down and looking after us till we see them again in heaven.

REFLECTION ON THE DAILY GOSPEL 26 NOVEMBER 2012

/ Michael J. Cunningham / Leave a comment

Gospel Lk 21:1-4

The leaders of the Jewish faith of the time expected the poorest members of society to give up their inheritance to them. While Jesus applauds the widow for her generosity, he also makes the analogy of “giving everything up”, something that he would do Himself on the cross for mankind.

We can only imagine generosity … selfless generosity such as that of the widow. Leaving her plight only to God’s will. A faith that will be hard for us to emulate in both bad and good financial times.
At the weekend, I stopped to get gas at a local station in NH, having recently had the good fortune to afford a newer car. A disheveled man drove in next to me in a car that was rusty and more than 30 years old. It reminded me of my previous car and wondered how others viewed me when they saw me in that car. A car I was pleased to have at the time, as it was our only form of transportation. No matter how hard it is, we need to work on being humble not judgmental when we encounter the poor. The selflessness of many who are poor and still give should inspire us all to better things.

REFLECTION ON THE DAILY GOSPEL 24 NOVEMBER 2012

/ Michael J. Cunningham / Leave a comment

Gospel Lk 20:27-40

This passage is difficult to understand on first reading. Here Jesus is answering the Sadducees questions on the topic of resurrection, which some believe in but many do not. Jesus responds as only God could know how. He describes the world out of this world, and that our lives here are a prelude to a heavenly time if they worship God while they are here. He guides them skillfully through how it will be. They will become “like angels”, and will be the ones who will rise. Notice how Jesus refers them to the God of the Old Testament and how he made himself available to the prophets; proving again his willingness as God to move together amongst mankind.

For us today, we have the ultimate act of Forgiveness for our sins in His death and resurrection, so we no longer have to debate whether resurrection is possible or not. All things are possible with God.
This path of a beautiful life, of which we are offered glimpses of His love daily. Regarding the afterlife, a friend recently sent me this note in response to a nice card that I sent him for Thanksgiving.

“The scenes are always heartwarming – God’s Eden and paradise – maybe someday – God willing.”

We live in hope that one day we will awaken in his kingdom and be united in his love and friendship.