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Lent is a time for reflectionAs we observe the first day of Lent — Ash Wednesday — March 5 this year, we delve into serious soul searching.We hear those familiar words on Ash Wednesday as clergy places ashes on our foreheads, reminding us that “We are but dust and to dust we shall return.”The 40-day period of Lent culminates the period for the triduum that encompasses Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday Triduum — all to that pinnacle of the most holiest day of the year — the resurrection of our Lord — Easter!We can ponder the rebirth of spring with its colorful array of flowers, plants and lush greenery; however, we can also muse upon our own rebirth and spiritual awakening with repentance and spiritual meditations.
King David so eloquently stated in Psalm 139, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”Our actions could reflect on these words by our own deeds, love in action and each other.Jacqueline QuigleyAllentownCatholic beginning to see Trump as uncharitableIn July 1933, Adolf Hitler and Pope Pius XI signed a concordat, or treaty, that said that the church would promise to renounce all political activities.
In turn, the state guaranteed the right to free worship, to circulate pastoral epistles, and to maintain Catholic schools and property.Over time, the Nazis regularly violated the agreement by shutting down some Catholic organizations, confiscating church property, interfering with Catholic newspapers, and imprisoning or murdering clergy and other church leaders.Unlike today’s Pope, who has been openly critical of Donald Trump’s deportation policies, Pope Pius didn’t criticize Hitler until 1937.
But Catholics today are starting to realize that the Trump administration has similarly stabbed their church in the back.Reuters reports that cuts to the U.S.
Agency for International Development would be “catastrophic” for the church’s charity arm, “ruthlessly” threatening millions. Although a federal judge has ordered the administration to reinstate foreign aid, Vice President JD Vance has also accused the church of resettling immigrants in the country without authorization to get federal funding — an accusation that triggered more backlash from the church.Catholics, along with farmers, seniors, small businesses, auto and home buyers, and all average American consumers facing rising prices from tariffs, have been duped by the biggest con man in our country’s history.
Chris LangBethlehemRoad needs to be cleared of debrisWhen will the area of Fish Hatchery Road from South 24th Street up to Cedar Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township be cleaned up? There are so many trees and telephone poles hanging close to the road. Will someone need to be killed there before this is cleaned up? The state needs to do a way better job. This is a very dangerous road to travel.
Please help.Dan RitterAllentownPresident Trump pursues disastrous policiesI wonder if Donald Trump voters have any buyer’s remorse yet? He was supposed to lower the cost of eggs and gasoline, but all his policies (tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy and massive deporting of migrant farmworkers) are inflationary.Did anyone vote to prohibit the National Institute of Health from funding potentially life-saving medical research or to withdraw from the World Health Organization so we couldn’t receive or share information the next time a global pandemic strikes? We know how well Trump did with the last one, blithely politicizing it while over a million Americans died.
Did anyone want the violent Jan. 6 riots who beat cops set free and the actual victims of the insurrection, such as Michael Fanone, left in the crosshairs for reprisals by the mob? And did anyone want the government dismantled, mostly by an unelected rich guy with a cadre of unvetted juvenile techies who may now have some of our most sensitive information from the U.S.
Treasury database? Guess they missed all the warning signs.Jeffrey GilbertSalisbury TownshipStopping U.S.
aid to other countries is a tragic mistakeAlmost 489 million tons of U.S. food is risking spoilage while warehoused at ports due to the U.
S. Agency for International Development’s funding halt. During World War II, American pilots flew food and other essential supplies over the highest mountains in the world to China.
These daunting flights dodged enemy attacks to deliver their goods. Now such vital supplies molder within our own storage sites.If this aid from the U.
S. stops, China and Russia will fill the vacuum for essential survival supplies to the most vulnerable parts of the world. Where is our world leadership? There are other benefits for the United States.
Farmers have better markets and greater stability with these foreign shipments. With less pressure on food production in poorer countries, steps can be taken for sustainability.Can our country ignore starvation for millions of children? To stop the waste of money, must we cause the wasting of children?Peg ChurchBethlehemThe Morning Call encourages community dialogue on important issues.
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