Iran talks extended before they ran aground | Hagel done haggling with Obama administration | Americans prefer change in climate to change in lifestyle | Ferguson frustration erupts at no indictment
“I give thanks to my God always on your account,” writes Saint Paul to the Corinthians this Sunday, “that in [Christ Jesus] you were enriched in every way.” The enrichment of uranium is at the heart of tense negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Talks were extended seven months . . .
“Why do you let us wander?” asks the prophet Isaiah of the Lord in the first reading this Sunday. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, characterized by Obama administration officials as having wandered off message in his criticisms of White House defense policies, . . .
“Look down from heaven,” the psalmist implores of the Lord this Sunday, “take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted.” Seems most Americans have priorities greater than protecting the planet from the damaging impact of climate change. . . .
In the gospel for this First Sunday of Advent, Jesus says to his disciples, “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” That could have been the motto for Ferguson, Missouri the past several weeks as the city tensely awaited the grand jury verdict in the Michael Brown shooting case. After it was announced . . .
“Religious life ought to promote growth in the church by way of attraction. The church must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! . . . It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up.”