"STAY WITH US, LORD" (Luke 24:29)

In his encyclical letter, Laudato Si , mi Signore (Praise be to you, my Lord), Pope Francis engages all people of good will in a bid to beckon them to cast a faithful look on our poor and exacerbating world which has for sometime been under human seige for which the aesthetic imperative and harmony of nature has been tampered with. While not delineating the human factors which have led to an abrupt wreckage of nature, Pope Francis notes particularly the shift in “blame to population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some (and this constitutes) a way of refusing to face the issues” (n. 50) Demurring on population growth as the sole index for measuring global environmental and climatic problems has for a long time been the refuge of people who disdain facts. Conceiving joy in the stead of rising climatic slavery nominates man, the carer of the world, as a charlatan who poses as a malicious trickster and robs both nature and fellow men of enj...

By Edmund Elorm Ackuaku  Change is one thing which is perceived as being permanent while that which experiences the change remains what it is. Up until now humanity has never lived in an atmosphere like this. A result of man's activities has changed economic, political, religious, Heath, Social and Environmental outlook of the world.  With observations made, we are crossing into an unknown territory, one of slavery as a result of our activities which threaten the survival of every species. The environmental and biological world are connected. The beauty and harmony of the world is being distorted and less effort is made toward reviving it.  Our ecosystem has no borders so much so that every engagement get to affect all that exists. Without realising it, we have upset the Earth's balance. Things seem to be working against the order and harmony that ought to exist. We have shaped the earth in our image.  Sooner than later, we will have not only pol...

1st Reading         Daniel 3:14-20.24-25.28 Psalm                   Daniel 3: 29-30. 31. 33. 32-34 (R. 29b) Gospel                   John 8:31-42 By: Edmund Elorm Ackuaku Truth furthers faithfulness Freedom consists in faithfulness to what we believe for what we believe, we trust, cannot fail us because it is truth in spite of relativity. This kind of faithfulness enters into a kind of discipleship which tends to show forth the Glory of God. This idea, I believe, runs through the readings of today as we focus on fidelity (1st Reading) and Truth (Gospel). We read the popular story in the book of Daniel about the deliverance of the three Jews-Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego- who refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. Note that we are reading about Jews in exile in Babylon who are experiencing religious oppression together with those in the p...

1st Reading            Numbers 21:4-9 Psalm                      101:2-3,16-21 (R. 1) Gospel                     John 8:21-30 By: Edmund Elorm Ackuaku Patience  The readings of today speak directly to us about two kinds of virtues we ought to cultivate as people who are journeying like Israelites through the Desert of Lent. In fact, we are reading from Numbers and John. These are significant to our understanding of our time today.  The first reading speaks about an event which occurred in the desert. We read about the Israelites speaking against God and Moses. They were portraying impatience. God sent seraphs to deal with them for which some had to die. We see Moses as an intercessor who pleads again on behalf of the people and God responded as usual to save the situation. The response was the construction of a bronze serpen...

1st Reading       Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 Psalm                  Psalm 22:1-6 (R. 4abc) Gospel                John 8:1-11     By: Edmund Elorm Ackuaku                     Just wait We enter the fifth week of Lent with the focus on the triumph of good over evil. This is recounted in the readings of today. The theme of trust and hope solely in God amidst injustice spans through the readings of today. The two readings concern cases dealing with Adultery; one was a forgery and the other true. The figures involved were females and it was a Juridical setting taking Jewish laws as the rod of measurement. The two readings culminate in a sort of granting mercy and vindication of the victims through God's intervention.  The first reading narrates false allegations levelled against Susanna by two Elders wh...

1st Reading               Wisdom 2:1,12-22 Psalm                         33:16,18,19-21,23 (R. 19a) Gospel                         John 7:1-2,10,25-30 By: Edmund Elorm Ackuaku         A warped theology leads to a warped morality The expectation of a Messiah is of much interest to the Jews as they await the revelation of one who will redeem them politically and religiously from foreign oppression, especially from the Roman government. The Messiahship of Jesus remains debatable to them in the sense that they were expecting a Saviour who would agree with them in all things. They were disappointed in all respects. Jesus, who is proclaiming to be the Messiah by way of the signs he performed, seem to be a man who is just against the social, political, religious and economic situatio...

1st Reading                  Exodus 32:7-14 Psalm                            105:19-23 (R. 4a) Gospel                           John 5:31-47 By: Edmund Elorm Ackuaku Mercy and Authority God's plan to redeem the Israelites and settle them on a land flowing with milk and honey (cf. Ex. 3:17) portrays his love for them and establishes his relationship with Israel as spousal wherefore the unfaithfulness of Israel is pictured as adulterous (cf. Ez. 16:32). Acts of 'adultery' are sins against the Love of God for his people, Israel.  The first reading narrates yet another adulterous act of the Israelites in which in the absence of Moses, their leader, they thought of molding a god so that they can attribute their escape from Egypt to that golden calf. The people living in the Middl...