Cesar Fernandez-Stoll

Gospel text ( L uke 2,41-51) : Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them according to the custom for this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem and his parents did not know it. They thought He was in the company and after walking the whole day they looked for him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for him, and on the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at his understanding and his answers. His parents were very surprised when they saw him and his mother said to him, «Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for you». Then He said to them, «Why were you looking for me? Do you not know that I must be in ...

  Gospel text ( John 19,31-37) : As it was Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath, for this Sabbath was a very solemn day. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the condemned men broken, so they might take away the bodies. The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who had been crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead; so they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a lance and immediately there came out blood and water. The one who has seen here gives his witness so that you may believe: his witness is true and He knows that he speaks the truth. All this happened to fulfill the words of Scripture, ‘Not one of his bones shall be broken’. Another text says: ‘They shall look on him whom they have pierced’.

  Gospel text ( Mathew 5,20-26) : Jesus said to the crowds, «I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. »You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool” deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. »So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God. Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn ...

  Gospel text ( Mathew 5,17-19) : Jesus said to his disciples, «Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled. So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven».

The article title says: World more peaceful in 2012: Study - World - Canoe.ca Peace comes from the individual and it has to do with embracing the truth which with love, humility and forgiveness, it can guarantee to provide peace for nations and individuals. Peace is never the absence of war or conflict, but the acceptance of the truth.   Of course, peace is by every intend and purpose, equated by the media with no violence, no war, no harm, no confrontation, no controversy, and the sequence the media can build to reinforce their plea for giving some sense to political correctness is endless, still peace, needs of individual consent, through all of the above. Political correctness denies our individuality and it is not and can never be a way to achieve peace, but a denial of the freedom each and every human has coming from the Holy Spirit.

  Gospel text ( Mathew 5,13-16) : Jesus said to his disciples, «You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its strength, how can it be made salty again? It has become useless. It can only be thrown away and people will trample on it. You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and covers it; instead it is put on a lamp-stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before others, so that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven».

  What or where is the ‘problem’? Is there a problem? As we progress into the second decade of the XXI century, in a world we want to see as ‘civilized’ and ‘advanced’, we seem to be stuck in a world which history show us so many times, repeating the same misery plaguing us and even if we find the point where we feel to have overcome finally our difficulties; new ones arise bringing more misery to our existence. We’ve seen many empires, powerful kingdoms, disappear, always from within and not always to be replaced by better ones but many times worst and many times evil arrangements that pretend to appease us  because we ‘think’ our problem to be war, or that pretend to show us progress, because we think our problems is poverty. Our true misery though is to seek what appears to be good for the self, while completely ignoring the will of God, our omnipotent creator and His plan. The most problematic and damaging word is ‘I’!