No subject

Sat Jul 7 18:01:30 EDT 2018

Monday, June 23, 2008 
"Ain't Nothing Like a Comeback" Praying
that "somebody in the press gets saved today" and saying it was "good
for me to lose my comfortability," Fr Michael Pfleger came back swingin' (fullaudio) to his longtime pulpit at Chicago's St Sabina's church after a fortnight on the bench earlier this month:

"I
return to the pulpit committed to the gospel of justice. I will not let
my faults or imperfections cause me to neither run and hide, nor allow
them to cause me to 'play it safe' or become silent," he said....

At
St. Sabina on Sunday, ushers distributed light-blue fliers with a
silhouette of boxing great Muhammad Ali in fighting stance that read:
"Ain't nothing like a comeback." When Pfleger entered the church, the
congregation rose to its feet and cheered.

He started the mass by reading a statement to his congregation that posed the question, "Where do we go from here?"

Apparently
in reference to his recent missteps, Pfleger said the road traveled by
Christians is neither straight nor smooth but filled with bumps and
potholes, good choices and bad choices.

And although his charged
views on race were partly to blame for his recent suspension, Pfleger
said he would continue to speak out against racism, which he called
"the greatest sin."

"I want to see our country overcome this
sin," he said. "Because of that, I have chosen to be an activist, as
was Dr. [ Martin Luther] King, and like one of my mentors, Monsignor
Jack Egan, and encourage those whom I pastor to become activists."

Pfleger,
who leads one of the city's largest African-American churches, has
often said it was King who inspired him to become a priest. Egan was a
well-known Chicago priest and Catholic activist who was part of the
civil rights movement.

As long as he remained pastor, Pfleger
said, he would continue to protest poverty and lack of health care and
to fight gun violence that is "killing children every week."

"The
church cannot coexist with evil," Pfleger continued. "Rather, we must
be Christ's light in darkness and be committed to making a difference."

Later
during his sermon, Pfleger spoke about his two-week suspension as a
test of faith. Drawing parallels between Ali's boxing career and his
own public humiliation, Pfleger preached about the embarrassment of
being knocked down and the importance of getting back up again.

"You
will fall. I will fall. And even though we fall, we can get back up
again," he said. "When you hear the voice of God say, 'Get up' . . .
when you make that decision to get back up, you become dangerous to the
enemy."

Pfleger also mentioned his father, who is gravely ill, and said recent time spent with him taught him lessons on life.

"Stumbles will shake you. Stumbles will also purify you. They will cause you to ask yourself what really matters," he said.PHOTO: Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune File

Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul longs for you, O God.
Ps 42:1

--0-701510646-1214275007=:43858
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii

<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">From <a href="http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/">Whispers in the Loggia</a>  @ http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2008/06/aint-nothing-like-comeback.html<br><br><h2 class="date-header">Monday, June 23, 2008</h2>

  <!-- Begin .post -->
  <a name="3993978424696462403"></a>

    <h3 class="post-title">

	 "Ain't Nothing Like a Comeback"

    </h3>

      <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_BB2CEUhgSSY/SF-2QGcb05I/AAAAAAAAB8s/h5U7ILbAwas/s1600-h/pfleg3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_BB2CEUhgSSY/SF-2QGcb05I/AAAAAAAAB8s/h5U7ILbAwas/s320/pfleg3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215087281242362770" border="0"></a>Praying
that "somebody in the press gets saved today" and saying it was "good
for me to lose my comfortability," Fr Michael Pfleger <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/religion/chi-pfleger-23-jun23,0,4300305.story">came back swingin'</a> (<a href="http://east.streamguys.com/fcssc-audio/2008-06-22-stsabina-comeback-revdrmlpfleger.wma">fullaudio</a>) to his longtime pulpit at Chicago's St Sabina's church after a fortnight <a href="http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2008/06/george-pulls-plug.html">on the bench</a>  earlier this month:<br><blockquote>"I
return to the pulpit committed to the gospel of justice. I will not let
my faults or imperfections cause me to neither run and hide, nor allow
them to cause me to 'play it safe' or become silent," he said....<br><br>At
St. Sabina on Sunday, ushers distributed light-blue fliers with a
silhouette of boxing great Muhammad Ali in fighting stance that read:
"Ain't nothing like a comeback." When Pfleger entered the church, the
congregation rose to its feet and cheered.<br><br>He started the mass by reading a statement to his congregation that posed the question, "Where do we go from here?"<br><br>Apparently
in reference to his recent missteps, Pfleger said the road traveled by
Christians is neither straight nor smooth but filled with bumps and
potholes, good choices and bad choices.<br><br>And although his charged
views on race were partly to blame for his recent suspension, Pfleger
said he would continue to speak out against racism, which he called
"the greatest sin."<br><br>"I want to see our country overcome this
sin," he said. "Because of that, I have chosen to be an activist, as
was Dr. [ Martin Luther] King, and like one of my mentors, Monsignor
Jack Egan, and encourage those whom I pastor to become activists."<br><br>Pfleger,
who leads one of the city's largest African-American churches, has
often said it was King who inspired him to become a priest. Egan was a
well-known Chicago priest and Catholic activist who was part of the
civil rights movement.<br><br>As long as he remained pastor, Pfleger
said, he would continue to protest poverty and lack of health care and
to fight gun violence that is "killing children every week."<br><br>"The
church cannot coexist with evil," Pfleger continued. "Rather, we must
be Christ's light in darkness and be committed to making a difference."<br><br>Later
during his sermon, Pfleger spoke about his two-week suspension as a
test of faith. Drawing parallels between Ali's boxing career and his
own public humiliation, Pfleger preached about the embarrassment of
being knocked down and the importance of getting back up again.<br><br>"You
will fall. I will fall. And even though we fall, we can get back up
again," he said. "When you hear the voice of God say, 'Get up' . . .
when you make that decision to get back up, you become dangerous to the
enemy."<br><br>Pfleger also mentioned his father, who is gravely ill, and said recent time spent with him taught him lessons on life.<br><br>"Stumbles will shake you. Stumbles will also purify you. They will cause you to ask yourself what really matters," he said.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 78%;">PHOTO: </span><span><span style="font-size: 78%;">Chuck Berman/<span style="font-style: italic;">Chicago Tribune </span>File</span></span><br><div> </div><div><div><div><font color="#0000bf"><em><font face="comic sans ms"><div><em><font color="#0000bf" face="Comic Sans MS">Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul longs for you, O God.</font></em></div></font></em></font></div><div><font color="#0000bf"><em><font face="comic sans ms">Ps 42:1</font></em></font></div><div><em><font color="#0000bf" face="Comic Sans MS" size="1"></font></em> </div><div><em><font color="#0000bf" face="Comic Sans MS"
 size="1"></font></em> </div></div></div><div><br></div></div><br>

      </body></html>
--0-701510646-1214275007=:43858--