1 DECEMBER: WORLD AIDS DAY MESSAGE

A World AIDS Day Message from Carolyn Woo, President & CEO of CRS

December 1 is World AIDS Day, a time when we pause to reflect on the ways in which the HIV pandemic has changed our world, when we celebrate the exciting progress made in the fight against HIV, while mourning the multitude of lives it has claimed.

Many challenges remain but this year we have good reason to be optimistic. Last week UNAIDS reported that Africa has cut AIDS-related deaths by one third. And in the last two years the number of people receiving lifesaving antiretroviral medication has increased by more than 60%, to 8 million.  However, there are still 7 million people in need of medicine who can’t get it. And in some parts of the world the epidemic is growing...

This is a key moment in the fight against HIV. With each passing day comes hope that more people will have access to lifesaving medication; that ongoing research will someday lead to a vaccine or cure; that fear, ignorance and stigma will be replaced by love and understanding.  Today, let’s challenge ourselves to think about the important role we can each play in what may be the defining challenge of our age. Someday our grandchildren may ask, “What did you do?” Let’s make sure we have a good answer for them.

Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo
President & CEO
Catholic Relief Services

A RETREAT ON THE YEAR OF FAITH ONLINE

Here is a link to a retreat that we can make during this Year of Faith. It introduces us to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. So have a go!!! and enjoy the Year ahead...

POPE JOHN XXIII SAID THIS ON 11 OCTOBER 1962

Dear friends, here is one of the most touching discourses I have heard. Uttered exactly 50 years ago in St. Peter's Square by the then pope "Good Pope John", it came after the first day of the Second Vatican Council was coming to an end. One can sense the simplicity, holiness and paternal solicitude that embodied "Good Pope John"...Thank you Holy Father for that example of what it means to be a pastor who cares for the flock especially the lost, the last and the least...

“Dear sons and daughters, 

I feel your voices! Mine is just one lone voice, but it sums up the voice of the whole world. 

And here, in fact, all the world is represented here tonight. It could even be said that even the moon hastens close tonight, that from above, it might watch this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, over its four centuries of history, has ever been able to witness. 

We ask for a great day of peace. Yes, of peace! 'Glory to God, and peace to men of goodwill.'' If I asked you, if I could ask of each one of you: where are you from? The children of Rome, especially represented here, would respond: ah, we are the closest of children, and you're our bishop. Well, then, sons and daughters of Rome, always remember that you represent 'Roma, caput mundi' ['Rome, the capital of the world'] which through the design of Providence it has been called to be across the centuries. 

My own person counts for nothing -- it's a brother who speaks to you, become a father by the will of our Lord, but all together, fatherhood and brotherhood and God's grace, give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love -- love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord's holy peace for the work of the good. And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes close to us, and set aside whatever difficulty it might bring. 

When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them: 'This is the hug and kiss of the Pope.' And when you find them with tears to dry, give them a good word. Give anyone who suffers a word of comfort. Tell them 'The Pope is with us especially in our times of sadness and bitterness.' 

And then, all together, may we always come alive -- whether to sing, to breathe, or to cry, but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us, let us continue along our path.”

--Pope John XXIII 
Discorso della Luna ("Moonlight Speech") 
Window of the Apostolic Palace 
11 October 1962

MIND THE GAP

At railway stations and airports and bus terminals one common sight is the sign: "Mind the Gap". It is a caution to the distracted and a reminder to the forgetful. Be aware that you need to ensure your safety and that you do not put your foot where you can get hurt. Today's second reading from the letter of St James and  today's Gospel about Peter recall precisely this warning. The Lord is reminding us that often we can have in our lives a gap between what we 'say' and what we 'do'. This dichotomy creates problems for us as it did for Peter who later denied Jesus despite his awareness that Jesus was the Son of God.

We need to constantly examine our lives and ensure that we are 'bridging the gap' between our words and deeds, between the faith we profess and the lives we lead.

So we have a salutary warning to "Mind the Gap" and ensure that there is a relatively seamless interface between our lived life and our professed ideals. May we constantly ensure this by growing in coherence, transparency and credibility.

THE STARFISH THROWER

Here is a wonderful picture that tells the story of the boy saving starfish - it reminds us to do our little bit no matter how small - in the words of Mother Teresa: "What you do may seem to be a drop in the ocean but remember the ocean will be richer for that one drop!!!" Read on...

Josh Groban - You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)

WHAT ONE CAN DO WITH 'I-PAD'S

Well you have got to see this to believe what can be done with I-Pads - enjoy this promotion...