Come before the Lord, singing with joy.
50. On today’s 🚵♀️ pilgrimage the question for contemplation is, “Can I seek the truth in dialogue, in relaxed conversation or in passionate debate”???
CHAPTER ONE
DARK CLOUDS OVER A CLOSED WORLD
THE ILLUSION OF COMMUNICATION
Information without wisdom
…i often do not answer the call for perseverance; which entails moments of silence and suffering, and can patiently embrace the broader experience of individuals and peoples instead of wanting, “to throw out of the family of faith people with whom (i) have disagreements”…
A young woman reads during Pope Francis’ celebration of Mass on the feast of Christ the King in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 22, 2020. A Vatican official told Catholic News Service that Pope Francis’ decision to change the date of the diocesan celebration of World Youth Day was made to address the pastoral needs of local churches. (CNS photo/Stefano Dal Pozzolo, pool)
…i get to thinking that the flood of information at my fingertips makes for greater wisdom than, “the mystery of Jesus Christ”…
…to me wisdom is born of quick searches on the internet, or a mass of unverified data; even if it, “is an inaccurate portrayal of Catholic moral teaching”…
…i’m looking for an easy way to mature in the encounter with truth as i search for “comfort in the face of desperation and abandonment being experienced due to the pandemic and other difficulties”…
…my conversations revolve only around the latest data; they become merely horizontal and cumulative as i, “fail to keep (my) attention focused, to penetrate to the heart of matters, and to recognize what is essential to give meaning to (my life)”…
…freedom thus becomes an illusion that i am peddled, easily confused with the ability to navigate the internet; thus distracting me from the reality that “people need hope, encouragement, and presence”…
This is a very serious and real question.
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, A Reflection on Christian Life, August 28, 2019
“I knew your father. You are nothing like your father!”
Bishop Patrick J. Zurek
Among the many things that I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving Day is this declaration that His Excellency made to me during the only sit-down conversation I ever had with him. It has led me to create this blog in which I have a way to develop a virtue that Dad personified; the ability to combine being clever with innocence!
The Lord therefore counselled the disciples to be not simply clever or innocent; rather he joined the two qualities so that they become a genuine virtue.
A homily by St John Chrysostom
On this Thanksgiving Day bicycle pilgrimage, as we bless the God of all, who is good to all, and to whom we give thanks always (for this is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus); I pray that, like the foreigner, who returned to give thanks to God, I become a Catholic who understands that the process of building fraternity, be it local or universal, can only be undertaken by spirits that are free and open to authentic encounters by being an “uplifting presence”!!!
Hymn of the Day
Scriptures for Thanksgiving Day
And now, bless the God of all,…
SIR 50:22
R. (see 1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
The LORD is good to all
145:9
I give thanks to my God always …
1 Cor 1:3
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
1 Thes 5:18
“Has none but this foreigner returned…“
Lk 17:18
Catholic Bicycle 