by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
“May Palm Sunday be a day of decision for you, the decision to say yes to the Lord and to follow Him all the way, the decision to make His Passover, His death and resurrection, the very focus of your Christian lives… The imitation of Christ’s love extended to each other is all that He asks. May this Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord inspire us to lay our coats at the feet of one another.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 2012)
Today, Palm Sunday, as we commence our journey with our Lord during Holy Week, to His passion, death and resurrection, let us reflect on Pope Benedict’s words above. If Christ is the focus of our Christian lives, we will demonstrate this in our thoughts, words and actions. In his homily, he reminded us: “…in this Holy Week the Lord Jesus will renew the greatest gift we could possibly imagine: He will give us His life, His body and His blood, His love. But we must respond worthily to so great a gift, that is to say, with the gift of ourselves, our time, our prayer, our entering into a profound communion of love with Christ who suffered, died and rose for us.”
In a nation/world that is in pain and tearing itself apart, let us commit to give ourselves – our time, talent and treasure, to build God’s Kingdom. Jesus died so that we may have life and have it to the fullest. But we are not supposed to live our lives in ‘silos’ – concerned only with our self-aggrandizement/well-being. We have a duty to build the common good; to stand in solidarity with others, for example, with those who are experiencing injustices/oppression; to speak truth to power fearlessly; to evangelise by seeking to break down unjust structures that diminish the dignity of God’s children; to promote distributive justice so that the country’s/world’s resources will be distributed in a way that will promote equity/equality.
During Holy Week, I urge you to reflect on His Grace’s pastoral letter, Return to Hospitality. Booklet copies are available, or download from catholictt.org. Inter alia, he says: “We blame each other, the police, the home and school but we have refused, as Trinbagonians, to return to the values which sustained our forefathers and which have the potential to sustain us… I take the opportunity to speak with you about one of these values, the value of hospitality.”
During the Angelus on December 23, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI said: “Where there is hospitality, there is God.” In July 2016, Pope Francis spoke about the ‘waning art of hospitality’. He said: “…hospitality, which is one of the works of mercy, is seen truly as a human and Christian virtue, a virtue that in today’s world, runs the risk of being left aside…I ask you to learn to listen and dedicate more time to this. In the capacity to listen is the root of peace.”
In September 2016, he reminded us that “Authentic hospitality is a profound Gospel value that nurtures love.” What are we doing to nurture love and respect for ourselves, for each other and for God’s creation?
Read Romans 12:9-13. Here Paul writes to the Church in Rome stating: “Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.”
We can only make hospitality our special care if we desist from the narcissistic ‘selfies’, take the earplugs from our ears, put down the iphones/ipads, take time out from social media, and communicate with/listen to each other.
The Good Samaritan (Lk10:25-37) would never have stopped to assist the man who had been robbed and beaten by brigands if he had not recognised that this man in need was his “neighbour”. In our world in which selfishness abounds, we often walk on the other side like the priest and the Levite and fail to reach out to our neighbours e.g. the poor/socially excluded, the sick, the shut-ins, the elderly, the suicidal, youths-at-risk.
“May the Virgin Mary, Mother of listening and attentive service, teach us to be welcoming and hospitable with our brothers and sisters” (Pope Francis).
