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Showing posts from May, 2015

Peace in a greedy world

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              “Peace” is a big word these days, all over the world.    The word saturates media and the news, not because the world has learned to embrace the peace that the Risen Christ brings, but precisely because world powers pay mere lip service to His brand of peace.              Although presidents, prime ministers, and kings swear allegiance to the cause of peace, war persists—ironically, in the name of peace.  Peace pacts and treaties continue to be signed, yet the arms industry keeps on churning out war weaponry, efficient killing machines that get more and more sophisticated with each new invention.  “ Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed”—these are sensible words from Dwight Eisenhower.  At best war brings a false peace; at worst, it makes murderers of men.  Either way, it is the deception that wins in war,

Gratitude: just good manners?

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For The CBCP Monitor, by Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS  O ne unforgettable discovery I made while living among the Muslims for a whole year in Egypt is their concept of gratitude.  It’s all enveloped in the phrase “ Alhamdulillah ” which means “Thanks be to God” or “Praise be to Allah.”  Our Egyptian friends (and even their small children) would utter it especially when thanking God for their blessings, but—as I observed—it wouldn’t be limited to blessings alone.  A cat scratches your leg when you step on its tail— Alhamdulillah!  You burn a dish you’re cooking— Alhamdulillah!   You hit your thumb while hammering in a nail on the wall— Alhamdulillah! Why for goodness sake thank God for that which in another land or another culture would be called tough luck, clumsiness, or stupidity?  Simple—our highly educated friends would explain: “ Alhamdulillah because it could have been worse”. The startled cat could have bitten you, gashed a vein, given you rabies. Be thankfu