<div>Thank you, Art for writing and sharing this very inspired reflection</div><div dir="auto">Martha Crean</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sat, Nov 2, 2024 at 2:48 PM Arthur Blomme via Sundaycommunity <<a href="mailto:sundaycommunity@lists.integralshift.ca">sundaycommunity@lists.integralshift.ca</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204)"><u></u>
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<p> </p>
<p>In case you don't get around to reading the peoples progress I
would like to share with you my reflection on this Sunday's
readings. I do not wish to be solely judged by my opinion on
social matters.</p>
<p>Art<br>
</p>
<h1><br>
</h1>
<h1>The Essential Commandments</h1>
<p>By Art Blomme Oct 31,2024<br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This Sunday’s <span> </span>Gospel
relates the two commandments that form the essence of Christian
faith.<span> </span><span></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><i>"The first
is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all
your strength.'</i></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="background:repeat rgb(221,221,221);color:black">With this co</span></span><span>m<span><span style="background:repeat rgb(221,221,221);color:black">mandment
we acknowledge that ultimate reality is outside of our self
(a power greater than our self) and exhorts us to love
ultimate reality with all our being.<span> </span>It is a contemplation
through which we abandon our inclination towards
self-aggrandizement or self-deprecation. </span></span></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><i>The second
is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There
is no other commandment greater than these."</i></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="background:repeat rgb(221,221,221);color:black">This commandment is the essential practice
that unifies us as a communion of faithful. It breaks down the
barriers that separate us from one another.<span> </span>We go beyond tolerating
or accepting the other to loving the other. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Joan Chitiser once stated that the strong
impulse toward orthodoxy is a product of the Council of Nicaea.<span> </span>Before Constantine’s council
having one unified set of beliefs was not an issue for most
Christians. More important than beliefs was orthopraxis or the
practice of obeying these essential commandments. <span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While a common set of beliefs served to unite
the Holy Roman Empire into a coherent organization,<span> </span>it also created a division
between believers and nonbelievers.<span>
</span>Whereas Jesus called us to radical inclusivity, the creed
teaches us to exclude people based on their beliefs. It thus gives
us a false notion of Communion that unites us by excluding the
other. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Defining ourselves by who we exclude remains a
prominent part of our culture today. <span> </span>Think of the nasty polarization
between the left <span> </span>and the
right in our countries politics. We remain divided by creed, by
party politics and the loyalties that lead us to support war with
our neighbours.<span> </span>We are
easily manipulated by worldly powers who exacerbate our fear of
other. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the working document of the Synod on
Synodality passage 50 voices this concern over the exclusion of
those with different beliefs from the Body of Christ. <span> </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span><span>50.<i> Dialogue between religions and with cultures is not
external to the synodal journey but is part of its call to
live closer relations, given that "At all times and in
every nation whoever fears God and does what is right is
acceptable to God" (LG 9). Therefore, the exchange of
gifts is not limited to the Christian Churches because an
authentic Catholicity broadens the horizon and calls for
the willingness to embrace those factors that promote
life, peace, justice, and integral human development
present in other cultures and religious traditions.</i></span></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal">The document reminds us that the body of Christ
extends beyond the Christian churches to include the gifts of all
peoples who are faithful in the practice of <span> </span>these two most important
commandments voiced in the Gospels <span> </span>by
Jesus of Nazareth.<span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><font style="color:rgb(0,0,160)">Who all do you think participates with you <span> </span>in the Body of Christ
today? With whom are you in Communion?</font></span></p>
</div>
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</blockquote></div></div>