'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.' Sunday Reflections, Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

Sheaves of Wheat, Van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24).

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel John 12:20-33 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.  They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

The readings for Year A may be used instead of those above.

Christ in Agony on the Cross, El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself (John 12:32).

Sir, we wish to see Jesus. This was the request of some Greek pilgrims to Jerusalem who spoke to Philip. Jesus when told of this said to Philip and Andrew, Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Presumably, these words were conveyed to the Greeks by the two apostles or perhaps repeated to them by Jesus himself.

St Philip the Apostle, El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

The Lord was making it very clear that there are consequences to following him. Philip himself was to end his life as a martyr.

On 12 March 2015 Pope Francis addressed the bishops of Korea during their ad limina visit. He recalled his visit to Korea the previous year when he beatified a group of martyrs. The Bishop of Rome said [emphasis added]: For me, one of the most beautiful moments of my visit to Korea was the beatification of the martyrs Paul Yun Ji-chung and companions.  In enrolling them among the Blessed, we praised God for the countless graces which he showered upon the Church in Korea during her infancy, and equally gave thanks for the faithful response given to these gifts of God.  Even before their faith found full expression in the sacramental life of the Church, these first Korean Christians not only fostered their personal relationship with Jesus, but brought him to others, regardless of class or social standing, and dwelt in a community of faith and charity like the first disciples of the Lord (cf. Acts 4:32).  “They were willing to make great sacrifices and let themselves be stripped of whatever kept them from Christ… Christ alone was their true treasure” (Homily in Seoul, 16 August 2014). Their love of God and neighbor was fulfilled in the ultimate act of freely laying down their lives, thereby watering with their own blood the seedbed of the Church.

The previous Sunday, 9 March 2015, there were attacks on a Catholic church and a Protestant church in an area of Lahore where many Christians live as my Columban confrere Fr Liam O'Callaghan, who is based in Pakistan, reports. Pope Francis expressed his grief during his Angelus talk later in the day and noted: Our brothers' and sisters' blood is shed only because they are Christians.

When we say, We wish to see Jesus we have no idea what this might entail. But we do have the assurance of Jesus himself today where our following him will lead us: Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

Let us pray for the Christians of Pakistan, the Christians of the Middle East, the Christians in those parts of Africa where they are being persecuted simply for being followers of Jesus. May the promise of Jesus, Whoever serves me, the Father will honor give them courage and honour.

Responsorial Psalm (NAB Lectionary, Philippines, USA)

Columban Missionaries standing by Pakistani Christians, despite violence

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore [Wikipedia]

The Irish Catholic has as its front-page story, written by Mags Gargan and dated 31 March: Irish missionaries vow to stand by Pakistani Christians despite upsurge in violence.  

The missionaries quoted in the story are all Irish and are all Columbans. However, not all Columbans in Pakistan are Irish. Fr Dan O'Connor is from New Zealand. There are three Columban seminarians whose two-year First Mission Assignment is ending about now, Chung Beong-Rool Joachim from Korea, Pat Visanti from Fiji and Louie Ybañes from the Philippines. There are also four Columban Sisters. Since 1990 Sisters from Ireland, Korea, Philippines and Scotland have worked there. Columban priests first went to Pakistan in 1978-79. Columban Lay Missionaries, mostly from the Philippines but also from Fiji and Ireland, worked in Pakistan for more than 20 years, though there are none there at the moment.

St Anthony's Church, Lahore 

Featured in the CNN report below [Wikipedia]

CNN features a report today, 4 April: Life as a Christian in Pakistan. While the report clearly focuses on discrimation against minorities, particularly Christians,  Simah Mohsin points out the fact that more Muslims than Christians were killed in the Easter Sunday bombing. As one of the Columban priests  requested in an email after that evil event: We also feel it is important not just to focus on the Christian victims, as there are many other innocent victims of violence, the majority of whom are Muslim, so we need to keep them all in mind and prayer. The majority of the victims were women and children. It might be enough to ask Columbans to keep all here in prayer.

Bishop Joseph Arshad of Faisalabad [Wikipedia]

One of the Columban priests in Pakistan sent this press release by the National Commission on Justice and Peace of which Bishop Joseph Arshad of Faisalabad is the chairperson.

Condemnation of the bombing in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Lahore

The city of Lahore once again had to face the harsh and tragic outbreak of the extremist forces in a deadly and brutal attack on innocent families visiting the park to celebrate the spring season and the festival of Easter. A few days back the government took an initiative to declare Holi (Hindu festival) and Easter (Christian festival) as holidays. While the non-Muslim community of Pakistan were rejoicing and appreciating the efforts of the government, on March 27, 2016, Easter Sunday, a suicide bomb in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park killed over 70 and left more than 300 injured. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan JamaatulAhrar has claimed responsibility for the blast stating it had intentionally targeted the Christian Community on Easter. The National Commission for Justice and Peace, a rights based organization of Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, strongly condemns the tragic attack on innocent people in a public park.

His Lordship Bishop Dr Joseph Arshad, Chairperson NCJP and Rev. Fr Emmanuel Yousaf (Mani) National Director NCJP in a joint statement said that killing innocent people, in particular women and children, in the name of religion is unacceptable. While the motive was to target the Christians, yet so many of our Muslim Brothers, Sisters, Children and families who were also visiting the park on account of Sunday holiday fell victim to this brutal attack. We pray for all the victims of this attack, as they were all Pakistanis. While the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Army Chief have strongly condemned the attack, the commission calls upon the government to bring the perpetrators to justice and to tighten its measures for protection of all citizens including minorities and vulnerable communities.

They further stated that the government while addressing the extremist elements through the military operation needs to also address the root causes of this intolerance. It must conduct a large-scale operation to eliminate such elements that are prevalent in the province of Punjab and other parts of the country, which are operating and blatantly challenging the writ of the state.

Bishop Dr Arshad and Fr Yousaf further stated that the uncertainty of life is becoming more obvious in Pakistan. We thus pray to our Lord Jesus Christ that as a nation He may grant us wisdom, tolerance and peace. May God give strength to the families of the victims to endure the loss of their loved ones.

NCJP Media Cell

Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Lahore [Wikipedia]

Pope Francis on Easter Monday:

I wish to express my closeness to all those affected by this cowardly and senseless crime, and ask you to pray to the Lord for the numerous victims and their loved ones.

I appeal to the civil authorities and to all the social components of [Pakistan] to do everything possible to restore security and peace to the population and, in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities.

I repeat, once again, that violence and murderous hatred lead only to pain and destruction; respect and fraternity are the only way to achieve peace. The Passover of the Lord inspires in us, in an even more powerful way, prayers to God so that he stops the hands of the violent, who spread terror and death; and makes it possible for love, justice and reconciliation to reign in the world.

Easter Sunday killings in Lahore, Pakistan

The following report was emailed yesterday, 28 March 2016, by Columban priests in Pakistan. The Columbans have been in Pakistan since 1979. Columban Sisters serve there and Columban Lay Missionaries have been assigned there.

On Easter Sunday at about 6.30pm, there was a suicide bomb attack at a popular park in Lahore, Gulshan-i-Iqbal park in Allama Iqbal Town. The park is about one kilometer from the Columban house. The park was particularly crowded, due in part to many Christians out celebrating Easter. Many feel that Christians were the main target of the attack though the District coordination Officer (DCO) of the district government has denied that Christians were the target of the attack.

As of now, the official death toll is given at 70 with about 250 injured, the majority being women and children. The city hospitals were completely over-stretched and an emergency was declared at all government hospitals in the city; there were urgent appeals for people to donate blood.

The attack has been claimed by a group calling themselves Jaamat ul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistan Taliban, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This is the same group which claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attacks on two churches in Lahore on March 15, 2015.

The Punjab government announced three days of mourning. The Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Raheel Sharif, chaired a high-level meeting late Sunday night with intelligence and military agents to begin the process of apprehending those responsible, saying these “inhumane savages will not be allowed to overrun our life and liberty”. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also chaired a meeting at the PM house, Islamabad, where he was briefed on the Lahore situation by his security staff.

A separate incident earlier in the day in Islamabad, which is likely not unconnected to this attack, is also very worrying. About 10,000 gathered to attend the chelum (40th day after the death) of Mumtaz Qadri, the former Punjab police commando who was hanged last month for assassinating the man he was assigned to protect, Governor Salman Taseer of Punjab on Jan 4, 2011. He shot him because of the Governor’s call for reform of the so-called ‘blasphemy law’. About 2,000 of the crowd took the law into their own hands by staging a sit-in within the Capitals Red Zone, near to Parliament house and presented a charter of demands to the government. These include: -the implementation of Shariah law in the country, the unconditional release of all Sunni clerics and leaders booked on various charges including murder and terrorism, the declaring of Qadri as a martyr and the execution of blasphemy accused Christian woman, Asia Bibi, the woman Governor Salman Taseer was killed for defending.

This is another dark day for Pakistan, where the security situation now seems out of control and people are forced to live in an atmosphere of fear, with no real hope of any change. The message of Easter is hard to keep alive in such a situation.

This request came with the report: 

We also feel it is important not just to focus on the Christian victims, as there are many other innocent victims of violence, the majority of whom are Muslim, so we need to keep them all in mind and prayer. The majority of the victims were women and children. It might be enough to ask Columbans to keep all here in prayer.

Governor Salman Taseer

(31 May 1944 - assassinated 4 January 2011) [Wikipedia]

Shahbaz Bhatti

(9 September 1968 - assassinated 2 March 2011) [Wikipedia]

Governor Taseer was a Muslim. Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic, was the first ever Christian to be appointed to the cabinet in Pakistan and the first Federal Minister for Minority Affairs. Both were opposed to Pakistan's Blasphemy Law.

UCANews (Union of Catholic Asian News) has a report dated 27 March, Church condemns Easter bomb attack in Lahore, here and one dated 28 March, Pakistan mourns Lahore park massacre victims, here. The first report notes that Dr Attiya Mehboob of Sheik Zaid Hospital said that they had received both Christian and Muslim bomb victims.

UCANews 28 March 2016

Suicide bomb attack on Churches in Lahore, Pakistan, 15 March 2015

Suicide bomb attack on Churches in Lahore

The following report was sent by Columban Fr Liam O'Callaghan in Pakistan.

On Sunday morning, March 15 there were two suicide attacks on two Churches in Yohannabad, Lahore – St. John’s Catholic Church and Christ Church Protestant Church, in which 15 were killed and over 70 injured. The first attack was on St John’s but it could have been much worse as the security guards stopped the attackers who detonated the bomb outside the gate. A few minutes later the second attack happened at Christ Church which is only a short distance away. People at the church claim that two of the three Government police on duty were actually at a nearby shop watching the Pakistan-Ireland World Cup cricket game and as a consequence the bomber got further into the church compound and most of the deaths and injuries were at Christ Church.

Violent protests erupted after the blasts, with a mob killing two men accused of involvement in the attacks and news reports also claimed the mob set their bodies on fire. There is deep anger in the Christian community at the Government’s failure to protect minorities, especially in the aftermath of the suicide bomb attack in All Saints Church, Peshawar on 22 September 2013 in which 83 people were killed. There were protest marches by Christians in other cities all over the country on Sunday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain have condemned the latest bombings. The Government also announced compensation for the victims – Rupees 500,000 (US$5,000) to each of the families of those who were killed and Rupees 75,000 (US$750) each for those injured,

Nabila Ghazanfar, a spokeswoman for the Punjab police, said the deaths from the attack on Sunday included 13 worshipers, two police officers deployed for security outside the churches and the two suspects beaten to death by the mob, in addition to the two bombers. Dr Muhammad Saeed, the chief doctor at Lahore General Hospital, where scores of the wounded were brought, said that many were in critical condition.

 

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore [Wikipedia]

Yohannabad has the biggest concentration of Christians in Lahore with an estimated 100,000 living there. There are numerous problems facing the community – poverty, unemployment, drug use, violence - and a sense that the entire area is being neglected by the government in terms of development and infrastructure.

The militant group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organisation of various militant groups, one of which is Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. In September 2014 Jamaat-ul-Ahrar split from the TTP amid leadership rivalries. The splinter group launched a series of devastating suicide attacks and later announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group, a move that was seen as signalling frustration over waning support from an embattled al-Qaeda and hope that Islamic State might send men or money. 

However, on last Thursday, 12 March, the group's spokesman announced that it was rejoining the Pakistani Taliban.Today, Monday, is a day of mourning and all missionary schools have been closed as a mark of respect. Most of the funerals are taking place today. Please keep in your prayers all those in Pakistan who suffer at the hands of extremists as well as for peace in the country.