Sweet Tweets for 7/25/14 — Oppressed by Greed?

We are in New York City this week. When I awoke on Tuesday to the Pope’s tweet, I immediately thought of the glitz and glamour of the city. “The great threat in today’s world is the loneliness of hearts oppressed by greed,” our Holy Father warned. And then yesterday, he followed up with another doozy: “When one lives attached to money, pride or power, it is impossible to be truly happy.” I’d gone to bed humming showtunes and sated from the delicious dinner we had enjoyed that night. I have @Ponitifex set to text me when Papa sends his pearls. So often, they arrive in the early hours and rouse me from my dreams. They set my mind spinning and often send me to my knees in prayer.

So such was the case this week, not only with these tweets, but also so much sadness and anxiety in our world news. But perhaps during a week like this, New York is the perfect place to be. Because of the suffering and anguish I was feeling in the latter part of the week, I took a deeper, different look at the streets I was walking. I’d been looking in the days prior from an outsider’s vantage point at New York — at the latest styles, the miles of opportunity and the sheer busyness of the place. It’s easy to get caught up in that when you’re not from here and don’t call the city home. It’s easy to come, to take, to spend, and to leave without truly getting a sense of the heart of the city.

But because my Eric will now live here, I wanted more hope than I was feeling. I wanted to overcome the pit in my stomach that told me that a place like this was exactly what Pope Francis was warning us about. Is this city — or any city for that matter — capable of true happiness? Or is it simply obsessed by greed and thus destined to a chronic loneliness? How could I leave my beloved son here and have any hope that he could not fall prey to greed, excess and pride?

I walked the streets of New York yesterday with different eyes, looking for hope and care and giving. And I feel blessed to share that I found it in droves.

Yes, I saw men in fancy suits and women in chic shoes, but I also saw neighbor helping neighbor. Yes, I heard bad words in traffic and horns blaring, but I also saw a young woman in a business suit, kneeling next to a homeless teenage girl trying to offer counsel and comfort. I saw big stores filled with people buying, but I also saw scores of volunteers on the High Line, giving their free time to beautify the city. Yes, there was excess, but there was also a “mass mob” invitation in the back of a church inviting folks to form a congregation of love in support of a parish that is suffering economically.

The signs of hope had been surrounding me all along, I simply — in my own greed — had not been noticing them.

This has been a challenging week for so many in our world. The needs for peace and sustenance are vast and can at times leave us feeling as though there isn’t a hope in the world for resolution of so many crises. But we can’t give up to despair and turn our gaze inward greedily. Weeks like these remind me that we can each — in our own minuscule yet necessary ways — do our part to fill our world with compassion.

We can overcome the oppression, but it takes a firm and resolved sense of action on our part. It takes mercy and faith and hope.

It takes love.

I thank John Clem, O.F.S. (congratulations John!) for compiling this week’s Sweet Tweets:

• Papal Tweet: “The great threat in today’s world is the loneliness of hearts oppressed by greed.” (Pope Francis July 22nd)
• Pope Francis prays for peace in the Middle East (News.va) ow.ly/zmuxh
• Starting a new life as a refugee. Exhibit looks into the highs and lows of the journey (Rome Reports) youtu.be/8dDFxAYmfEw
• Parish decorates its columns with comics (Rome Reports) ow.ly/znryc
• Amid violence, priest opts to stay with parishioners in Gaza :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/znuuR
• Sad News: Bishop Tony Palmer, friend of Pope Francis, Dies in Motorcycle Crash (Patheos – Kathy Schiffer) ow.ly/zotRc
• The beauty of America’s cathedrals (USA Today) ow.ly/zp45j
• Fr. Barron on Intentional Discipleship (Word On Fire) youtu.be/aO0H0Cdn3C4
• National NFP Awareness Week July 20-26 (USCCB) ow.ly/zpaVC
• Prayers for intercession of St. Dymphna – Cost of not caring: Mental illness in America (series – USA Today) ow.ly/zpfnT
• Muslims in Baghdad Express Solidarity With Christians – Aleteia ow.ly/zpjaQ
• John Paul II and Gianna Beretta, patron saints of the World Meeting of Families (Rome Reports) ow.ly/zpqSL
• Graphic to Share: I’m A Catholic — And Proud Of It! (Catholic Link) ow.ly/i/6iFCp
• Video: Cardboard Stories | Homeless in Orlando youtu.be/THxtcWNw3QA
• Bishop Urges Sec. Kerry to Pursue an Israel-Hamas Ceasefire, Reiterates Call for Lasting Peace ow.ly/zpzqT
• Tech Tip: MIT Will Teach You Photojournalism For FREE | (Fast Company) ow.ly/zqerY
• Georgia Catholic dioceses ban guns, knives from church facilities (The Catholic Review) ow.ly/zqni7
• USCCB Chairmen Respond to ‘Unprecedented and Extreme’ Executive Order ow.ly/zqoAg
• Another decision that illustrates what social radicals really mean by “tolerance.” (Archdiocese of Washington) ow.ly/zru1p
• Download your FREE copy of “The Saints’ Favorite Books” – BrandonVogt.com ow.ly/zqunU
• 5 Things You Can Do Right Now as ISIS Threatens Iraqi Christians and Shiites (Elizabeth Scalia – Patheos) ow.ly/zqvbD
• Vatican’s publishing house resists impact of new technologies (Rome Reports) ow.ly/zrtrQ
• One Small Step | (Katie Carroll – American Catholic Blog) ow.ly/zrAag
• Reaching the Sleeping Soul Through Music (Monsignor Pope – Archdiocese of Washington) ow.ly/zrAh0
• Sowing in the Good Soil of Community – Reconciled To You…Rooted in the Grace of God (Allison Gingras) ow.ly/zrDxj
• Will the Real Saint Mary Magdalene Please Stand Up? (Fr. Steve Grunow – WOF) ow.ly/zrEEf
• Vote for the 2014 Photo Contest Winner (hint: John Clem took Photo #3) | Franciscan Monastery in DC ow.ly/zrKRF
• Tourist Scams to Avoid This Summer (Catholic Tourist) ow.ly/zsCss
• 1914-2014: Echoes of the Great War – WWI – (CNS) ow.ly/zsJkf
• Lives of the saints model Catholic social teaching in new book :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/zsY0M
• ‘America’ Announces First Round of New Correspondents in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Beijing | America Magazine ow.ly/zsYJY
• Google’s Autocomplete Suggestions Reveal The Internet’s Offensive Religious Stereotypes ow.ly/ztaBI
• All Roads lead to Rome…and to Spain’s Santiago de Compostela (Rome Reports) ow.ly/zupwo
• Papal puzzler: Leo XIII anonymously published riddles in Latin (CNS) ow.ly/zupR4
• Kurtz Joins Pope Francis in Prayers for Peace in Middle East, Ukraine, Africa, Central America ow.ly/zuGQ5
• Father Rules – Dad need a guide to keep on track | (Fathers for Good – Knights of Columbus) ow.ly/zuIZU
• A Palestinian father’s account of life under attack (Vatican Radio) ow.ly/zuSH2
• Catholic Relief Service served over 100 million people in 93 countries over the past year – 2013 CRS Annual Report ow.ly/zvoYm
• Catholicism and the Perils of Technology (Fr. John McCloskey) ow.ly/zvKF5
• How Catholic Missionaries Brought Science to China | Strange Notions ow.ly/zvYtT
• Belgian priest mathematician heads to space station –- in name only | CNS Blog ow.ly/zwfk4
• Tech Tip: 30 Genius Google Tips And Tricks That Most People Don’t Know About ow.ly/zvYZv
• Jerusalem patriarch: Don’t punish all Gaza Palestinians because of Hamas (CNS) ow.ly/zwkqa
• Bishop of Baghdad: Why is the world silent? (Vatican Radio) ow.ly/zx6ap
• Syria: Franciscan Monastery hit by missile Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) ow.ly/zx7bA
• Sudanese woman spared death for apostasy meets Pope Francis | theguardian.com ow.ly/zxfDS
• Vacation Guide to Saintly U.S. Cities – Busted Halo ow.ly/zxzr1
• 8 Reasons Instruments Are Important to Worship | (Billy Kangas – Theologues) ow.ly/zy98i
• Film: People with same-sex attraction find peace in Church :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/zzD3x
• El Salvador youth saved from violence by music :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/zzDIo
• NEW DVD Series from Fr. Robert Barron: Priest, Prophet, King – (Word On Fire) – Pre-Order Now for Sept. Delivery! ow.ly/zzIBQ
• Pakistani Catholics, Muslims cooperate to extinguish fire at friary :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/zzDmN
• Jesus is in the House! A Consideration of How Jesus’ Teaching Must Take Place in the Church (ADW) ow.ly/zzE0s
• 360 Photo: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception – (Dom Bettinelli – Photosynth) ow.ly/zzFbY
• Friday is the Feast Day of St. James | Saint of the Day |AmericanCatholic.org ow.ly/zzIqK
• Happy 2nd Birthday on this Feast Day of St. James to Catholic Web Services : A Community of Catholic Webmasters ow.ly/zzE8C
• Catholic Humor | (John Clem – Call To Holiness) ow.ly/zy1AK
• Fr. Robert Barron’s Word On Fire – Santiago’s Sacred Way (Fr. Steve Grunow) ow.ly/zzOUp
• Great Movie: The Way with Emilio Estevez & Martin Sheen | Call To Holiness ow.ly/zzP9w
• EWTN to open new studio at Orange County cathedral :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/zzQyQ
• Archbishop Chaput confirms pope to visit Philadelphia in September 2015 (CNS) ow.ly/zzQKY

John Clem, O.F.S is the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (http://catholicws.com/). John is currently in formation to join the Secular Franciscan Order, and loves to share his talents in faith, technology, and journalism in service to the church.  John also writes a blog entitled Call To Holiness  (http://www.calltoholiness.us/). Follow John on Twitter at @Catholicwebs, on Facebook and at Google+.