Pastoral Theme 2003
The theme for 2003 is "a people from every nation". This is one of a series on "the great signs of Lourdes".
People come from all over the world to Lourdes, people from all over the world are part of the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ, and cannot be dissociated from the Eucharistic Body. It therefore follows that a pilgrimage to Lourdes should be centred on the Eucharist.
"I saw a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues."
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all."
"There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave or free person, there can be neither male or female – for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
"As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains, and after it had been brought together became one, so may thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth unto thy kingdom".
These three excerpts from Scripture and extract from a 2nd century Eucharistic Prayer, are taken from the Lourdes website.
We are asked to reflect on the diversity of people in the world and the universality of the Church. Included in the diversity of people are geographical and social differences. We may find unity in shared experiences in Lourdes, such as silent prayer in the Grotto. We should each examine our conscience to see what within our hearts stands in the way of unity and reconciliation. Particular tools in this are the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Stations of the Cross. In our search for unity we are invited to attend the International Mass whilst we are in Lourdes.
The Lourdes website gives us two other texts to reflect on:
In your hands Lord Jesus
Jesus, see the people of the green forests, people with ebony hands.
In your hands, the manioc and the millet will give them the hunger to be one family.
Jesus, see the people of the blue ocean, a scattered people.
In your hands the shared fish will be a communion of the far-flung islands.
Jesus, see the people with the same colour as their golden temples.
In your hands, the rice will become food for the life of the many.
Jesus, see the people with the brown hands and the ears of corn.
In your hands they will become food respected by the poor.
Jesus, see the people on the great plains of wheat and their rich harvests.
In your hand the consecrated bread will be changed into bread shared with strangers.
So, the peoples of Africa and Oceania, of Asia, Europe and the Americas,
will be flesh from your flesh and blood from your blood!
Jacques Lancelot
French Bishops’ Committee for Latin America
Love your enemies
If we want peace on earth and goodwill between all people, then we must first preoccupy ourselves with affirming the sacred nature of all of human life. Each person is someone special, because each is a child of God. As long as peoples and nations do not understand each other we will always have wars. We will have to be reminded that even if political and ideological differences keep us apart we will have to assemble, one day, around a table in brotherhood. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. In Christ, there is neither man nor woman. In Christ there is no longer communist or capitalist. In Christ there is neither slave nor free. We all belong to Christ. We are convinced of the reality of the human person, we will not exploit people, we will not destroy them with heavy oppressive loads, and we will kill nobody.
In the New Testament we find the Greek word, "agape" to describe love. It is an unselfish love that does not require a response. Theologians used to say that it is the love of God in the human heart. When we succeed in loving in this way we love all people, not because we want to give them our sympathy, not because we appreciate their way of life, we love them because God loves them. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "love your enemies".
Martin Luther King
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