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8 New Year’s Resolutions Inspired by Pope Francis
If you cannot believe it is about to be 2022 you are not alone. But ready or not, the new year is here and with it our annual opportunity to take stock and set goals, with a little help from Pope Francis.
Since the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Francis has had two refrains: We are all “in the same boat,” and “our post-pandemic world will necessarily be different from what it was before the pandemic.” With that in mind, we mined the pope’s homilies and speeches from the past year for advice for building stronger relationships—with God, with our neighbors and with the earth.
1. Volunteer for a local charity or non-profit.
In 2022, maybe you would like to give back in a meaningful way by volunteering at an organization that does good work in your community. But where do you start? And how do you choose where to give your time?
Pope Francis has some ideas, taking a page from someone who knows a thing or two about selflessness: St. Joseph. In the first of a series of catecheses on St. Joseph, Pope Francis said, “Today, Joseph teaches us this: ‘Do not look so much at the things that the world praises, look into the corners, look in the shadows, look at the peripheries, at what the world does not want.’ He reminds each of us to consider important what others discard.”
Let us ask ourselves: Who is forgotten or ignored? What resources do I have to share that might help someone else? How can I reorient my thinking so I am more concerned with what matters to God than what matters to earthly society? With these questions guiding our discernment, maybe we can make time in our busy and chaotic lives this year not simply to volunteer but to become what Pope Francis calls St. Joseph: masters of the essential.
2. Stop judging others.
Judging and gossiping about those around us is, as Pope Francis said in his audience on Nov. 3, so easy to do that we often fall into it without thinking.
The pope offered a challenging alternative, to instead “take a look at yourself.” With this shift in perspective, Pope Francis suggests we might discover something important: “It is good to ask ourselves what drives us to correct a brother or a sister, and if we are not in some way co-responsible for their mistake.” Instead of nitpicking our neighbors, we can be honest with ourselves about our own shortcomings, making space for compassion instead of criticism
3. Take Scripture to heart.
Becoming more familiar with the Bible in the new year is a great goal, but be careful: Without the right approach, you might find yourself annoying Pope Francis. In his audience on Jan. 27, the pope admitted, “It irritates me a little when I hear Christians who recite verses from the Bible like parrots.”
Of course, the pope was not discouraging Catholics from reading and knowing the Bible. Quite the opposite! Pope Francis was expressing frustration with an approach to Scripture that focuses simply on rote memorization rather than on personal encounter. His words reminded us that sacred Scripture is alive, that it speaks to us on an individual basis. Even though biblical stories are thousands of years old, we can recognize ourselves intimately in the characters and scenarios.
So please, read and study the Bible this year. But know what Pope Francis says you’re signing up for: “The Word of God, infused with the Holy Spirit, when it is received with an open heart, does not leave things as they were before: never.”
4. Take one concrete step to become more environmentally conscious.
This year, world leaders gathered in Glasgow to discuss climate change at COP26. While Pope Francis was unable to be there in person, he did share a message. And let’s just say this: He did not hold back.
If you want to do your part to protect the planet, here is the big takeaway from the pope’s words: You should start now. Francis wrote to the conference with a tone of great urgency, recommending courses of action for both leaders and civilians. If there are lifestyle changes you have wanted to make in an effort to be more environmentally conscious, now is the time to get around to them. If there are things you think political leaders could be doing to protect all of us from the climate crisis, make them known—through your voice and your vote. As the pope said, “there is no time to waste.”
Francis’ message also offered spiritual advice for a world struggling with the effects of climate change. “We need both hope and courage,” he wrote. “Humanity possesses the wherewithal to effect this change, which calls for a genuine conversion, individual as well as communitarian, and a decisive will to set out on this path.”
5. Pray every day. Even when it is hard.
“Pray without ceasing,” the Apostle Paul exhorts us in his letter to the Thessalonians. A worthy goal, to be sure. But maybe this year, you simply want to be able to pray a nightly Examen without falling asleep or pray a rosary without starting to go through your to-do list after one decade.
Pope Francis understands your struggle. “Praying is not something easy, and this is why we flee from it,” he said on May 12. “Every time we want to pray, we are immediately reminded of many other activities, which at that moment seem more important and more urgent. This happens to me too!”
Pope Francis acknowledged the forces that can stand in the way of prayer: distraction, spiritual barrenness, sloth. All these, the pope said, must be met with perseverance:
True progress in spiritual life does not consist in multiplying ecstasies, but in being able to persevere in difficult times: walk, walk, walk on…. and if you are tired, stop a bit and then start walking again.
If you are feeling discouraged about your progress in prayer, know that Pope Francis is struggling and walking right there with you—and do not give up!
6. Let go of a grudge or two.
Too often, it is the people we love (and see) the most who bear the brunt of our anger, frustration or pure exhaustion. So if you have found yourself sniping at your spouse or being short with your close friends, Pope Francis has some advice: Don’t end the day angry.
“Listen to me well,” Pope Francis said in his Dec. 1 general audience. “Never finish the day end without making peace. ‘We fought. My God, I said bad words. I said awful things. But now, to finish the day, I must make peace.’ You know why? Because the cold war the next day is very dangerous.”
So whether it’s a caress on your husband or wife’s cheek, as the pope suggested, or a conciliatory text to a friend, do not let today’s grudges fester till the morning.
7. Get off Twitter.
After the pandemic moved much of our lives online—YouTube Masses, Zoom happy hours, untold hours of Covid-19 doomscrolling on Twitter—you might be ready for a social media cleanse in 2022.
Pope Francis has repeatedly urged people to get off their smartphones and to start communicating with the person in front of them. This year, in a message to journalists, he again warned of “the tyranny of always being online”:
Even if you are not a journalist, you can take a page from our very offline pope and make 2022 a year filled with IRL conversation and friendship.
8. Call your loved ones regularly.
“When was the last time we visited or telephoned an elderly person in order to show our closeness and to benefit from what they have to tell us?” That was Pope Francis’ question in his homily for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on July 26.
Few groups have been more profoundly affected by the ongoing pandemic than our elders. Now that vaccines and boosters have made it possible to safely visit them, what if you took the next year to listen to or even record their stories and wisdom?
“Let us not lose the memory preserved by the elderly, for we are children of that history, and without roots, we will wither,” the pope said. “They protected us as we grew, and now it is up to us to protect their lives, to alleviate their difficulties, to attend to their needs and to ensure that they are helped in daily life and not feel alone.”
http://theendtimeradio.com
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പിഎം വിദ്യാലക്ഷ്മി: ഈട്, ഗ്യാരണ്ടി രഹിത വായ്പ, വിദ്യാർഥികൾക്ക് സഹായകമാകുന്ന പദ്ധതിയുമായി കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ
ഉന്നത വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളിൽ പഠിക്കുന്ന വിദ്യാർഥികൾക്ക് സാമ്പത്തിക സഹായം നൽകുന്ന പുതിയ പദ്ധതി-പിഎം വിദ്യാലക്ഷ്മിക്ക് കേന്ദ്ര മന്ത്രിസഭ ബുധനാഴ്ച അംഗീകാരം നൽകി. പുതിയ ദേശീയ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ നയത്തിൻ്റെ ശുപാർശകളെ തുടർന്നാണ് പദ്ധതി ആരംഭിച്ചത്. പിഎം വിദ്യാലക്ഷ്മി പദ്ധതി പ്രകാരം സർക്കാർ നിഷ്കർഷിച്ച ഉന്നത വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ സ്ഥാപനത്തിൽ (ക്യുഎച്ച്ഇഐ) പ്രവേശനം നേടുന്ന ഏതൊരു വിദ്യാർത്ഥിക്കും ബാങ്കുകളിൽ നിന്നും ധനകാര്യ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും ഈട് രഹിത, ഗ്യാരണ്ടി രഹിത വായ്പകൾ അനുവദിക്കും.
ട്യൂഷൻ ഫീസിൻ്റെയും മറ്റ് കോഴ്സുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട ചെലവുകളുടെയും മുഴുവൻ തുകയും ഉൾക്കൊള്ളുന്നതായിരിക്കും വായ്പ. 22 ലക്ഷം വിദ്യാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് പദ്ധതിയുടെ പ്രയോജനം ലഭിക്കുമെന്നാണ് പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുന്നത്. മാനദണ്ഡങ്ങൾ പാലിക്കുന്ന 860 സ്ഥാപനങ്ങൾക്ക് പദ്ധതി ബാധകമാകും. സാമ്പത്തിക ഞെരുക്കം കാരണം യോഗ്യനായ ഒരു വിദ്യാർത്ഥിക്കും ഉന്നത വിദ്യാഭ്യാസം നിഷേധിക്കില്ലെന്ന് കേന്ദ്രമന്ത്രി അശ്വിനി വൈഷ്ണവ് പറഞ്ഞു. 2024-25 മുതൽ 2030-31 വരെയുള്ള കാലയളവിലേക്ക് 3,600 കോടി രൂപ നീക്കിവച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഈ സമയത്ത് 7 ലക്ഷം പുതിയ വിദ്യാർഥികൾക്ക് പലിശ ഇളവിൻ്റെ പ്രയോജനം ലഭിക്കുമെന്ന് കണക്കാക്കുന്നു.
സ്കീമിന് കീഴിൽ, 7.5 ലക്ഷം രൂപ വരെ വായ്പയെടുക്കുന്ന വിദ്യാർഥികൾക്ക് 75 ശതമാനം ക്രെഡിറ്റ് ഗ്യാരണ്ടി ലഭിക്കും. കൂടാതെ, മറ്റ് സർക്കാർ സ്കോളർഷിപ്പുകളിൽ നിന്നോ പലിശ സബ്സ്വെൻഷൻ സ്കീമുകളിൽ നിന്നോ ഇതിനകം ആനുകൂല്യങ്ങൾ ലഭിക്കാത്ത എട്ട് ലക്ഷം രൂപ വരെ കുടുംബ വാർഷിക വരുമാനമുള്ള വിദ്യാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് മൊറട്ടോറിയം കാലത്ത് 10 ലക്ഷം രൂപ വരെയുള്ള വായ്പകൾക്ക് 3 ശതമാനം പലിശ ഇളവിന് അർഹതയുമുണ്ടാകും.
പ്രൊഫഷണൽ കോഴ്സുകൾ പഠിക്കുന്ന സർക്കാർ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളിലെ വിദ്യാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് മുൻഗണന നൽകുന്ന പദ്ധതി പ്രതിവർഷം ഒരു ലക്ഷം വിദ്യാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് സഹായകമാകുമെന്നാണ് കണക്കുകൂട്ടൽ. വായ്പ ലഭിക്കാനുള്ള നടപടികൾ സുതാര്യവും വിദ്യാർഥി സൗഹൃദവും പൂർണമായും ഡിജിറ്റൽ ആയിരിക്കുമെന്നും മന്ത്രി വ്യക്തമാക്കി.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com
Pakistan — Muslim vigilante groups are working with federal authorities to lure young people into sharing blasphemous content on social media in order to put them behind bars, according to an investigation by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).
A steep increase in blasphemy cases this year, many of them filed against Christians and other religious minorities, is tied to collusion between Muslim vigilantes and federal investigators, according to the NCHR report. Pakistan saw three times as many blasphemy cases in the first seven month of this year compared with all of last year, according to the NCHR investigation.
As of July 25, there were 767 people accused of blasphemy languishing in jails across Pakistan, whereas in 2023 there were 213 suspects incarcerated for blasphemy, 64 in 2022, nine in 2021 and 11 in 2020, according to the data gathered by the NCHR.
“Most of the blasphemy cases were registered with the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime Unit in collaboration with a private entity,” the NCHR noted, adding that young men were targeted through entrapment tactics involving females using pseudonyms to lure them into blasphemous activities online.
At least 594 blasphemy suspects were imprisoned in Punjab Province alone, followed by 120 in Sindh Province, 64 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, and two in Balochistan Province, the NCHR added.
The report follows a study by the Special Branch of the Punjab Police released in January, which for the first time revealed the presence of a “blasphemy business” that exploits the controversial blasphemy laws to entrap victims for extortion.
According to the Special Branch report, a majority of the cases were being brought to trial by private “vigilante groups” led by lawyers and supported by volunteers who scour the internet for offenders.
One such group was responsible for the conviction of 27 people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty over the past three years, the report revealed. It recommended the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launch a thorough inquiry to determine the source of the vigilante groups’ funding, but the agency’s response was unknown.
The most active vigilante group is the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, which is prosecuting more than 300 cases, led by Shiraz Ahmad Farooqi, the complainant in the blasphemy conviction of a 40-year-old Christian woman, Shagufta Kiran. Kiran was handed the death sentence by a special judge in Islamabad on Sept. 18.
The NCHR’s report called for “a comprehensive review” of the roles and accountability of both government and private entities. It also noted the inhumane conditions of blasphemy suspects in jails.
“Individuals accused of blasphemy are housed together in single, severely overcrowded barracks to protect them from potential harm by other inmates who may attack or threaten them,” the NCHR reported. “However, this arrangement results in inhumane living conditions, as the barracks lack adequate facilities and are grossly overcrowded.”
Detainees also face coercion, extortion and pressure from the vigilantes involved in their entrapment, “who sometimes encourage them to engage in further criminal activities within the prison,” according to the report.
The NCHR recommended engaging the highest levels of government and judiciary to address the FIA’s involvement with Muslim individuals and vigilante groups entrapping people. It also urged constituting a Joint Investigation Team comprising officials from the Special Branch of the Intelligence Bureau, the ministries of Law and the Interior, the FIA, and other relevant departments to investigate blasphemy cases.
Mere allegations of blasphemy in Muslim-majority Pakistan can ignite public outrage and sometimes result in mob violence. Hundreds of people have been accused and jailed for alleged blasphemy, and some were handed the death penalty, though none has been executed so far.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee on Oct. 17 observed that Pakistani authorities have failed to curb a range of human rights violations, including a sharp increase in blasphemy-related violence. Expressing serious concern over frequent attacks against religious minorities, including accusations of blasphemy, targeted killings, lynchings, mob violence, forced conversions, and desecration of places of worship, the committee stated that Pakistani society has become increasingly intolerant of religious diversity.
“Religious minorities are facing a constant threat of persecution and discrimination amid the rise of religious radicalism,” the committee stated.
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
Sources:Christian Post
Three Christian organisations on Tuesday submitted a joint representation to the the Dima Hasao district administration seeking lawful action against VHP leader Surendra Jain for his “unfounded” allegation about the Church’s involvement in the “drug business”.
The organisations did not specify Jain’s allegation, but a Church leader told The Telegraph that they submitted the representation to “express their deep shock, pain and disappointment” over Jain’s attempt to “malign” the Christian community during the launch of the Joya Thaosen Computer Learning Centre in Haflong on October 27.
Jain had purportedly said: “Today I realized that the drug business is also done on a large scale by the Church. On one hand, the church is destroying our culture, insulting the traditions, beliefs here and also destroying the life of the people here.”
“Conversion is a challenge, we do answer it but we will also tell the church. You keep going to the church, the Christians here should follow their faith, we have no objection. But if you disturb the law and order here, hurt the beliefs here, do drug trade, this will not be accepted and the society takes it as a challenge,” Jain had said while referring to the Church’s alleged contribution to the “drug business” in the district.
In its representation to the Dima Hasao deputy commissioner, the United Christian Forum of Dima Hasao, the United Christian Forum of Karbi Anglong and the Assam Christian Forum, stated that Jain used the “auspicious occasion” meant for honouring the memory of Joya Thaosen, a revered freedom fighter “respected” by all communities, as a platform “to malign and spew venom againstthe Christian community”.
The organisations said that Jain’s “baseless accusations” are “not only harmful but appear to be intentional, with a clear intent of maligning an entire community that has greatly contributed to the region” in sectors “such as education, healthcare, social welfare, literature, media, research, relief and sustainable development”.
Jain’s statements insinuating that the Church is involved in “illegal activities” are “unfounded, baseless and unacceptable” and these “threaten to create mistrust, undermine unity and harm the inclusiveness that is crucial for the peaceful co-existence and progress of the country and Assam”, the representation said.
The organisations then urged the deputy commissioner “to take action against Mr Jain under the law of the land and as per the provision of the Constitution for his demeaning remarks, that have hurt the religious sentiments of the entire Christian community.”
Sources:christiansworldnews
പിഎം വിദ്യാലക്ഷ്മി: ഈട്, ഗ്യാരണ്ടി രഹിത വായ്പ, വിദ്യാർഥികൾക്ക് സഹായകമാകുന്ന പദ്ധതിയുമായി കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ
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Muslim vigilantes colluding with authorities to entrap Christians in blasphemy charges
Pakistan — Muslim vigilante groups are working with federal authorities to lure young people into sharing blasphemous content on social...
Assam: Christian organisations seek action against VHP leader Surendra Jain’s drug claim
Three Christian organisations on Tuesday submitted a joint representation to the the Dima Hasao district administration seeking lawful action against...
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