Malachi 3:19-20a; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21:5-19

As Christians, we believe the Messiah has already come; that the greatest questions have been answered; that the Savior of the world is only one, Jesus the Lord! The Kingdom of God is among us! So why do I continue looking for another Savior or placing too much hope in another?

We work so hard constantly seeking to build secure areas, safety nets, and comfort zones. We want things done the right way; that is, my way. We look for safety in family, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends. But the Lord tells us today, do not look there. It is not them. Do not follow them. The Lord loves to foil our plans, cross our boundaries, break down our walls and rattle our cage! And we resist!!! But what he is actually doing is breaking open our tomb and coming to our rescue. He alone is our one true brother, companion and friend. He alone is my Lord and Savior.

Luke 18:1-8

Jesus wants his disciples to be in continual dialogue with his most dear Father, just as He was.  And Jesus exhorts his disciples to intensify this dialogue during times of stress, just as He did.  The dialogue is, of course, prayer.

In today's Gospel Jesus chooses the rather strange parable of the corrupt judge to illustrate his point of praying always, especially in need. The judge ultimately grants the widow's petition not because the petition was just but because he does not want to be disturbed: "While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me."

Luke 17:26-37

In Our Days

These things we love:  leaves in color, the night sky, ideas that prove true.  Some days it is enough just to be here.  Roll down the hill one more time.  No one will know.  First take off your glasses.  Leaves stuck everywhere.  Cry out.  Even here we find God.  When being here is enough.  When we are not wrestling with death, not asking why, not needing more.  But more is holy too.

How does God speak in our days?  Days of hard work and troubled sleep.  Is it enough?  Will I make it?  Got to push harder.  Walk faster.  The aloneness takes over and others pass like shadows over the water.  A leaf blows to my lips and I spit it out.

 October 2019

Rome

▪ The Synod of Bishops on the Amazon took place in the New Synod Hall at Vatican from 6-27 October. Together with the Pope there were 185 Synod Fathers, most of them from the Pan–Amazonian Region and a great number of experts and listeners, including many indigenous people   participating in this great event of the Church, reflecting on the theme:  Amazonia: new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology. In his homily at the opening Mass of the Synod the Holy Father reminded those present that Jesus did not come to bring a gentle evening breeze, but to light a fire on the earth. He prayed that the Spirit of Jesus may give all the Synod Fathers daring prudence and inspire all to renew the paths of the church in Amazonia, so that the fire of mission will continue to burn. It is the fire of love that illumines warms and gives life, not a fire that blazes up and devours. In his final message capping off a Vatican summit meant to extend the Church’s pastoral ministry in the Amazon region, Pope Francis warned against building walls and ignoring the traditions of those often on the margins of society.

Wisdom 7:22b–8:1; Luke 17:20-25

The scripture speaks of wisdom.  Christians are told to be wise.  The reading from the book of Wisdom personifies wisdom as feminine, the crafter of all; wisdom is “an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty.”  Wisdom is “the image of God’s goodness.”  And the scribe wrote: “God loves nothing so much as the man/woman who lives with wisdom.”

Christians are told to be wise.  The gospel has Jesus telling his followers not to go off and run in pursuit of an elusive kingdom of God or a fraudulent Son of Man.  Rather, with reflection and wisdom, you will find both and realize that “the kingdom of God is among us.”  We long for action, but the wise person knows, as Jesus knows, that the typical human state is not activity but watchfulness—“watch and pray” Jesus tells his followers.

Sr. Izabela Świerad, General Superior, and the members of the Financial Commission, Sr. Anna Małdrzykowska, Commission Chair, Sr. Stella Holisz, Ms. Jennifer Trotter, Mr. Christian Frücht and Sr. Mary Grace Barile, met in Rome from November 4 -7, at the Generalate. Ms. Trotter and Mr. Frücht, a newly appointed lay member to the commission, are the financial advisors from the English and German provinces respectively.

A combined program was organized by the Sub-commission for Reunification of the two Pallottine Sisters` Congregation at St. Vincent Pallotti Convent of the Pallottine Sisters (CSAC), in Kamptee, Maharashtra on October 26, 2019.

Inspired by the Extraordinary Mission Month of October, the Mission Commission gathered for the second time this year in our Generalate from October 23-26, 2019. The Members of the Commission: Sr. Marta Litawa - General Mission Procurator, Sr. Ingrid Schuler (Germany), Sr. Mary McNulty (England), Sr. Bożena Olszewska (Rome, Procura General) together with the General Council discussed topics on mission formation, methods of cooperation with the Provincial Mission Procurators, guidelines for the responsibilities of the General Mission Procurator and the way of preparing mission projects. The Sisters also addressed the topic of the Synod for the Amazon and the challenges we as a Mission Congregation are facing today. On October 24, the members of the Commission participated in a Mass for our deceased missionaries. They were also present at the solemn celebration of the 16th anniversary of the approval of the UAC General Statutes, which took place on October 26 at the church of Santo Spirito dei Napoletani.