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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“So faith, hope, love remain, these
three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor: 13).
It seems to me that the main message
of the Bible is about love- the love God has for us, the love we have
for God and the love God expects us to have for one another. “We have
come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is
love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in
him” (1 John 4:16).
.jpg) “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:36). When Jesus said these
words, he wanted us to make a total commitment to God instead of
condensing God into a one hour time slot on Sunday mornings. If we do
not love God with every fiber of our being, we are incomplete.
I know that many of us think about
what I want and what I need, forgetting about or not
hearing what God wants. We think we are in charge. "No one can serve
two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
will hold to one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24).
“God who created man out of love
also calls him to love – the fundamental and innate vocation of every
human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is
himself love” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1604).
Many of us have religious symbols in
our home – statues of the saints, pictures of Mary and the Sacred Heart
of Jesus. But outside of our homes, do people know that we are
Christians? James wrote, “Faith, if it has no works is dead, being by
itself (James 2:17). If you love God who is
love, the love of God will live within you, and whatever you do will be
done for the love of God. When you love your neighbor as you love
yourself, the love of God is in your heart.
Every day I read in the newspaper how
little we love one another – gang violence, murders, war throughout the
world, violence against the immigrant, abortion, racism, verbal,
physical and sexual abuse. Archbishop Oscar A Romero said that,
“Nothing is so important as human life, as the human person. Above all,
the person of the poor and the oppressed…Jesus says that whatever is
done to them he takes as done to him.” Our actions touch the very heart
of God.
With the
psalmist let us pray, “Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers; protect me
from those who are violent, who plan evil things in their minds and stir
up wars continually. They make their tongue sharp as a snake's, and
under their lips is the venom of vipers” (Psalm 140:1-3).
May the
love of God fill your hearts, your souls and your minds.
Sincerely yours
in Christ,
+ Arthur N.
Tafoya
Bishop of the Pueblo Diocese
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Diocese Of Pueblo
Spring Conference
for Clergy and Parish Leadership
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Diocese of Pueblo Pilgrimage
"In the Footsteps of St Paul"
Greek Island & Turkey Cruise with Bishop Arthur N. Tafoya
October 14-25, 2009
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Emmaus Encounter
Retreat Days
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"Jesus Christ:
Who Do You Say That I Am?"
Trinidad - Jul 18. 2009
La Junta - Aug 8, 2009
Grand Junction - Aug 15, 2009
Alamosa - Aug 29, 2009
2009 Golf Tournament
August 14, 2009
Diocesan Pastoral
Council Retreat
August 21 & 22, 2009
Parish Planning Sheet
English
Spanish
Diocesan Pastoral Plan
English
Spanish
Bishop's Statement regarding Roncalli Settlements
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FOCA Information
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