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[Jesus
said,] "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty
deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would
long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as
for you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to
the netherworld."
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| Gospelthink: If you realize who I am teaching you, you would surely repent. I am sorry for all of my sins, but do I say it enough? | ||||
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"Hey, even though I hate ya, I wanna
love ya, I want you! And even though I
can’t forgive you, I really want to. Tell me, why
can’t you leave me? ‘Cause even though I
shouldn’t want it, I gotta have it. Head in the clouds, got no
weight on my
shoulders. I should be wiser and realize that I’ve got
one less
problem without ya!"
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Ariana Grande and Iggy
Azalea sing of a love problem in their song "Problem." The lady in the
relationship realizes that she should leave the relationship, but
because she is enamored
with her boyfriend, she cannot bring herself to do it. Consequently,
she could easily hurt herself by following her own desires.
Taking the song out of the context of romantic love, we can study the general idea that we must learn to be people who will face the problems we have no matter what the external circumstances may be. Jesus once spoke about the people of the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, telling them that if they had faced the problems that had plagued them, they would have been better off. They had disregarded what they should have done, choosing to follow what they wanted. And the result was that they would be condemned because they had not repented of their sinfulness. Human beings know that they should face the problems that they have. Instead, they often ignore the signs and warnings, choosing their own answers or ways of acting, thus causing more problems than they have already. In the Christian scheme of things, facing the problems usually means facing what we have done, and "repenting" for the things that we have done. If we learn to face the problems that we have in life "head on," that is directly, our lives will be much better for it. |
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| PRAYER Good and
gracious God, your Son taught us to face the problems or sinfulness in
our lives directly, thus choosing to repent for our sins. Give us the
grace to face all the problems of our lives in such a way as to follow
your will at all times.
Be with us, we pray.
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+++++
GUIDE
FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: We must face personal problems in life "head on.". THE GOSPEL 1. Analysis: "Sitting in sackcloth and ashes" is a way of describing "doing penance." What is the best form of doing penance in our world today? 2. In your opinion, do most people practice "doing penance" in their daily lives? Yes or no and why? 3. Project: the presenter may want to do a presentation on what happened to Tyre and Sidon and why. See, for example, The Catholic Encyclopedia. THE SONG 1. How is it possible to hate and love someone at the same time? 2. How is it possible to not forgive someone even though we really want to? 3. Text analysis: "Head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoulders" What is the meaning of the phrase? 4. What are the characteristics of a "wise" person in romantic love situations? THE MEDITATION 1. What are the main reasons why a romantic couple would not want to break a relationship that really should be broken? 2. In general, what are some reasons why we will not face the problems we have? 3. What do you think is the meaning of "condemned" in the Gospel passage? 4. What are the largest problems in our world? What if anything can you do about them? 5. Give an example of facing a problem directly. 6. What does the song "Problem" teach young people? |
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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