Monday, March 12, Third Week of Lent
ST. MAXIMILIAN OF TEBESSA (Numidia [present Algeria], 274-295), Martyr
Son of a Roman commander in North Africa, he refused to join the army as required
when he turned 21, saying he could only be a soldier for Christ. For this he was beheaded.
A 'passion of Maximilian' from late antiquity recounts his purported trial but little else
is known of him. He has been called the patron saint of conscientious objectors to war.
Readings for Mass:
usccb.org/bible/readings/031212.cfm
No events announced for the Holy Father today.
One year ago today...
One year ago today, the Wetsern world woke up to the terrible news that a tsunami in northern Japan not only wiped out the affected land are but also flooded a nuclear power plant whose reactors were in imminent danger of meltdown. The nuclear crisis quickly overwhelmed the tsunami story, as tragic as that was in terms of human lives lost.
Remembering Japan's
unprecedented 2011 disaster
March 20, 2012
The strong earthquake that struck Japan last year remains etched in the memory, not only of the people of the Rising Sun, but of the whole world – just like the even more frightening tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, with its hundreds of thousands of victims.
The Japanese earthquake and tsunami killed 20,000 people, taking by surprise a country that has lived for centuries with these catastrophes – but this one struck without warning.
the disaster was compounded by the shocking accident at the nuclear plant of Fukushima, with exceedingly dangerous long-term consequences. Faith in science and in emergency plans, and indeed the entire energy policy of an advanced and well-organiZed country, were radically at issue.
Today in Japan four nuclear reactors are working while fifty are not. Experts think that last year’s shock created a situation of instability that makes the probability of another strong earthquake ever more likely. Life and expectations have changed.
We all admired the courageous, dignified, and united way in which the Japanese people reacted to the tragedy and dealt with the consequences.
On Good Friday, in answer to a question from a little Japanese girl on a television programme, the Pope said: “I, too, wonder why. We don’t have answers, but we know that Jesus suffered like you, an innocent victim. God loves me, He is on my side, and one day I will realise that this suffering wasn’t meaningless. Rest assured, we are with you, with all Japanese children who are suffering. Let us pray together that light will come for you as soon as possible.”
When facing a tragedy greater than us, we must not lose hope; we must try to find the ability to discover the deeper, lasting meaning of our destiny, of our journey together on this earth.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 13/03/2012 04:14]