32^nd Sunday of the Year

Widows figure prominently in today’s readings as pictures of poverty and powerlessness – people exploited not just by Israel’s religious institutions but by institutions through to the present.  Jesus' concern was for vulnerable people – people who suffer at the hands of international money markets, global agribusiness and corporate monopolies. The extremes of poverty, oppression, violence, inequality and the Covid-19 pandemic all bear a female face – women often being its victims as evident in places of conflict, war, famine and wholesale illness.

Pacific Islanders in Australia and overseas have cautiously welcomed the Morrison Government’s commitment to net zero climate pollution by 2050. However, they also believe that without a firm plan for more immediate action by 2030, Australia is unlikely to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. 

31^st Sunday of the Year

The two themes that merge in the readings are the commandment to love God and neighbour. We see that concretely expressed in Ruth’s love for, and commitment to, Naomi in the non-Catholic selection for today’s liturgy, whereas in Deuteronomy, Moses instructs the people to wholeheartedly love God and by implication, one’s neighbour by obeying the commandments.