Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 17, 2021 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
Christ invites everyone
to His kingdom
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
In the Catholic Church, usually the 34 th Sunday of the
liturgical year concludes with the Feast of
Christ the King, instituted by Pope Pius
XI. This Sunday’s readings describe the
enthronement of the victorious Christ as
the King in heaven in all His glory. Christ
rules as King by serving others rather
than by dominating them. His authority is
rooted in truth, not in physical force, and Fr. Thankachan
His kingdom is based on the beatitudes. Joseph
The first reading from the apocalyptic
Book of Prophet Daniel came to importance during a
hostile torture of Jews in the second century BC, when
it reinforced the faith of the harassed chosen people of
God and rises again in the sixth century BC during the
captivity of the Jews in Babylon (the Exile). This week’s
selection (7:13-14) speaks of the promised Messiah. In his
vision, Daniel saw God seated on a throne with millions
of people serving Him. Into His presence came a human
figure (“one like a Son of Man”) to whom was given
“dominion and glory and kingship, that all should serve
him... his kingship is one which shall never be destroyed”
(v.14). He would be the King of Kings and the Lord of
Glory, and His kingdom would last forever.
The New Testament Book of Revelation has the same
apocalyptic character as the Book of Daniel, although
that element is not very evident in today’s short selection
(1:5-8). Its readers were being persecuted, and the author
wanted to reassure their faith. This reading also explains
how the risen Christ will come amid the clouds as the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all
things. The Book of Revelation prophesizes that at the
end of time, everyone will see the Lord Jesus, even those
who have pierced Him.
The Gospel of St. John explains that the Kingdom
of Jesus is not a kingdom of this world but a kingdom in
the world to come, life after death, life with Jesus forev-
er—or life rejecting Jesus forever. We must choose His
Kingdom, or we shall live forever in the domain of Satan.
The phrase “Kingdom of God” occurs in the Gospels 122
times, 90 of which are spoken by Jesus. Today’s Gospel
presents the first part of the trial conducted by Pilate, who
questions Jesus about His kingship. In His dialogue with
Pilate, Jesus implies that Pilate does not understand the
spiritual or transcendent nature of Jesus’s kingship (“My
kingdom does not belong to this world”). Jesus admits that
He is a King but declares that His Kingdom is not of this
world but is a larger and eternal kingdom. His authority
is rooted in truth, not in physical force. Jesus came to
bear witness to the truth: about God and His love, about
us and about who we are called to be.
What are we to meditate and take to heart?
1) We need to assess our commitment to Christ the
King today. Let us remember the truth that He is not our
King if we do not listen to Him, love Him, serve Him and
follow Him. We become His subjects when we genuinely
answer His loving invitation: “Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart”
(Matthew 11:29). By cultivating in our lives, the gentle
and humble mind of Christ, we show others that Jesus
Christ is indeed our King and in charge of our lives.
2) We need to give Jesus control over our lives. Christ
must reign in our lives; we must give Him sovereign pow-
er over our bodies, our thoughts, our heart and our will.
In every moral decision we face, there’s a choice between
Christ the King and Barabbas. Whom do we choose?
3) We need to follow Christ the King’s lesson of hum-
ble service to the truth. Christ has come to be of service
to others. Hence, we are called to His service - service
to the truth. Servant-leadership is the model that Christ
the King has given us.
4) We need to obey the law of love of Christ the king.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
Jesus expects a higher degree of love from His followers:
“Love one another as I have loved you.” Let us resolve
to give Him the central place in our lives and promise to
obey His commandment of love by sharing what we have
with all His needy children.
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Unite in favor of
independence
Small businesses try to
navigate through Covid
To the editor:
Advocates for Com-
mon Sense and Liberty
(Sons of Liberty) began
long before the birth of the
American Republic. Per-
haps the finishing touches
were penned by Robert
Paine beginning on January
9, 1776, with the anon-
ymous pamphlet “Com-
mon Sense.” The pamphlet
advocated the American
colonies to unite in favor
of independence from En-
gland. At the time Paine
wrote “Common Sense”
most colonists considered
themselves aggrieved Brit-
ons. “This new world hath
been the asylum for the per-
secuted lovers of civil and
religious liberty from every
part of Europe. Hither they
have fled, not from the ten-
der embraces of the mother,
but from the cruelty of the
monster; and it is so far true
of England, that the same
tyranny which drove the
first emigrants from home,
pursues their descendants
as well.” (Common Sense,
1776) Paine’s 47-page pam-
phlet sold over 500,000
copies and provided the
moral, civil and spiritual
foundation to convince
the aggrieved colonists to
declare independence from
their oppressor.
The ‘Sons of Liberty’
was a loosely organized
clandestine political or-
ganization active prior to
“Common Sense” which
advanced the rights of col-
onists to resist the oppres-
sion and tyranny of King
George. The ‘Sons of Lib-
erty’ believed “the colonists
are by the law of nature free
born, as indeed all men are,
white or black.”
The American Re-
public presently faces the
very same “cruelty of the
monster” and the “same
tyranny which drove the
To the editor;
With everything going
on in this crazy world, we
are all trying to navigate
through, reading statistics,
listening to the news, de-
bating with your friends/
family/neighbors over who
believes or does not believe
what. We are exhausted as
a nation. Who is telling you
the truth, who is forcing
your mind to be one way
or the other? Who can you
turn to anymore? I know for
me, the daily routines are
getting harder and harder, it
can get overwhelming with
the amount of information
we are thrown.
I, myself have written
a few letters to the editor,
trying to help not only my-
self, but my fellow man,
from the dehumanization
that I feel we are all under.
I have made points in prior
papers, with facts, statistics
and major research. So
today, I am reaching out
to you as a small business
owner, navigating through
Covid-19. We all have said,
just get through this (what
they are throwing upon us
this moment) and things
will get better. After almost
2 years now, I can honestly
say I do not see how it is
getting better.
Inflation is out of con-
trol; gas prices are skyrock-
eting, jobs are jeopardized.
And as a small business,
we feel every penny, pain-
fully. While the news is
“feeding the agenda” this
causes us to suffer from
the customer base who
is not willing to use their
own common-sense. I tru-
ly miss some of you who
no longer come in. While
the Covid-19 card is being
played in our world, this
is affecting every factory,
every worker, every truck
driver and every business.
The list is endless.
I have said many times,
and will continue to believe,
Covid-19 in a sick way has
been my blessing in dis-
guise. You may say “what?”
“how?” It has taught me to
grow as a person, to stand
harder on my own two feet,
it has taught me to adapt. I
no longer take for granted
the life I have been blessed
with. I spend my days fig-
uring out how to make my
first emigrants from home,
pursues their descendants
as well.” The ‘Sons of Lib-
erty’ became a well-orga-
nized paramilitary political
organization, shrouded in
secrecy, that eventually
overcome the tyranny of the
British government.
It is documented that
only 5 percent of the Amer-
ican colonists actively
supported the American
Revolution. Those Patriots
that risked their lives, their
families, their fortunes,
their heritage were ful-
ly convinced their cause
was ordained of God, the
one and only God of the
Holy Bible. Patrick Henry
warned, “Guard with jeal-
ous attention the public lib-
erty.” Tyranny is pursuing
the liberty of the American
people. Advocates for Com-
mon Sense and liberty is a
loosely organized body of
eastern Oregon citizens
committed to guarding and
preserving our liberty and
way of life blessed unto us
by our founding forefathers.
This battle will not be won
without risking our lives,
our families, our fortunes
and our very heritage.
I thank God for those
with courage and commit-
ment to battle for our Re-
public against the tyranny
(vaccine mandates) and
sophistry (CRT) of those
powers that oppress us.
Never forget the price of
our liberty (paid for by vet-
erans, forefathers, political
prisoners) when you are
forced to accept a foreign
substance in your body or
your child’s or a mask over
your face. Soon, very soon,
those vaccinated will be
forced to take a booster and
then another booster, and
another…to keep their pa-
per copy of the new liberty.
Stuart Dick, Irrigon
Primary election
filing deadlines set
According to Bobbi
Childers, Morrow County
Clerk, deadlines for candi-
dates filing for a position
in the primary election is
March 8, 2022. The first day
candidates could file was
September 9. The election
will be held May 17, 2022.
Two nonpartisan posi-
tions are open in Morrow
County; county commis-
sioners, positions two and
three. In a county non-
partisan race (Nonparti-
san Office – County ORS
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
249.031), a candidate does
not run as a member of
a political party. County
nonpartisan offices include
justice of the peace, coun-
ty clerk, county assessor,
county treasurer, and sher-
iff; it may also include
county commissioner. ORS
249.002. Those interest-
ed should check with the
county clerk for specific
qualifications.
Check the website at
https://sos.oregon.gov/
elections/Documents/coun-
ty-city-district-candidates.
pdf for more information
regarding filing.
dollar stretch further, what
can I do to make my busi-
ness better and stay around
longer. I have had to stop
relying on my vendors, as
most of the time they are
unable to provide me my
essentials, and have had to
spend my time searching,
scouring and coming up
with solutions, running
from one store to the next
trying to find anything.
And this is perpetuating
the problem in the world.
By my vendors losing a cus-
tomer, it is a major snowball
effect. I know you feel the
pressure too while you are
shopping. Why? While
our government is playing
around with our minds, our
money and our livelihoods,
they are destroying so many
people on such a personal
level. How many nights
have you stayed awake
wondering, panicking over
where or how you are going
to take care of your bills,
find and afford the next
meal for your family? As a
business owner, my answer
is nightly. My product, the
cost of goods, my staff, the
list goes on and on for us.
I know people say, it’s
just a mask, it’s just a shot.
We are no longer in a stage
of “for the greater good.”
We are in a stage where
our government wants our
businesses to fail which
allows them to keep con-
trol of the businesses that
rely on them. We need to
open our factories, open our
ports, start supporting peo-
ple with jobs. Our nation is
in trouble.
We are truly blessed to
be a part of this community.
We will always stay loud
and stand proud. Because,
as hard as it is sometimes,
you and I are not alone. We
want to thank each and ev-
ery one of you who has pa-
tiently been by our side. We
will fight, we will conquer
this. And please, when you
think it’s just a mask, just
a shot, remember, it’s our
livelihood, it’s our belief in
the freedom of choice.
The next meeting will
be November 21 at 3 p.m.
at Two Old Hags Pizza. You
are not alone. Hope you can
join us.
Dawn Brosnan
www.heppner.net
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