National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples 2024

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops remind us that on 12 December, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Church in Canada marks the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples:

This initiative of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has been coordinated since 2002 by the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council (formerly the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council).

This year, the reflection by the Council is inspired by Pope Francis’s words of healing and reconciliation spoken during his “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada.

To mark the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council (CCIC) recalls the profound sorrow expressed by Pope Francis, during his Penitential Pilgrimage to Canada in July 2022, for the catastrophic effects of the residential school system on Indigenous communities, as well as the journey of reconciliation and healing we have embarked upon together. Two years later, the Pope’s words still compel us to recognize this painful legacy and walk alongside the Indigenous Peoples in a spirit of repentance, solidarity, and hope.

We contemplate the Holy Father’s words: “The Church is the house where we conciliate anew, where we meet to start over and to grow together”. This vision of the Church as a “living body of reconciliation” has guided us in our ongoing commitment to justice and healing. In this spirit, we reaffirm our pledge to work for healing and reconciliation, and to reflect on our efforts since the Holy Father’s visit to Canada in 2022.

Together we pray:

O God, Creator and Father of all,

with humility and hope, we, your children, 

acknowledge the relationship in You

of all living things.

For this we thank You and praise You.

We call on You, Great Mystery, our God who comes to us

in Jesus Christ, Your Son

– our Lord, teacher, prophet and brother –

to open our minds and hearts

as we continue to walk the difficult, yet critical journey

of reconciliation and healing.

In our world of such blessed diversity,

we see so many struggles and obstacles to oneness and unity.

We implore You to heal our brokenness and division.

Show us in Jesus the way to unity among the multiplicity

of Your peoples in our world.

We also pray that You will guide and lead us in the Truth,

and show us how to be a people who walk with You. 

May we be a people of

Respect, Humility, Courage, Honesty, and Compassion

- as we find Your Wisdom on the Spirit-led journey

that supports deep healing

and fosters renewed relationships.

Lord, make us channels of Your Peace, Hope, and Love!

+Amen

World Day of the Poor 2024

 

Image credit: https://allenbrowne.blog/2021/03/01/fig-trees-and-seasonal-change/

Extract from the Sunday homily by Deacon Steve.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near."
    - Mark 13:28. From the Gospel reading for 33rd Sunday, World Day of the Poor.

As threatening as today’s gospel sounds, with all of its vivid and stressful imagery of pain and despair, in the end it is not a gospel of doom. Amid the collapse, Jesus is asking the apostles and us, to trust our Lord and have trust in God, even when our world appears to be turning dark. 

We are all very aware of the harsh realities of life going on in the world today. All we have to do is listen to the news or read the paper, and we are confronted with numerous stories of war and crime, not to mention the people suffering devastating illnesses, both chronic and terminal, as well as family tragedies.

Despite living with all of these harsh realities, Jesus invites us to read the signs all around us, to look well at all the small buds about to blossom, the harbingers of summertime. Distress is not the final word of the story. Jesus tells us to look more closely. What signs of hope do we see that lifts our spirits, ever so slightly, with hope. Hang on to them, they are reminders that God has not left us on our own. They in fact are assurances Christ is coming with new life for us.

In reading these signs we are to join in God’s work. Wherever there are human needs and situations that cry out for justice, reconciliation, compassionate action and peacekeeping there is an opportunity for encountering our Lord.

Pope Francis, in his message for the Eighth World Day of the Poor, which is being celebrated today (33rd Sunday), offers some insights to help us see the “small buds… from the fig tree… and learn its lesson, and know that summer is near.”

First, we need to keep in mind that the “poor” are not only those people who suffer financial problems, homelessness and starvation, but also people who suffer chronic and terminal illness in long term care homes, hospitals and hospices, as well as those who suffer mental illness, loneliness and depression.

And so, the pope writes, “In this year dedicated to prayers, we need to make the prayer of the poor our own and pray together with them… Indeed, humility generates trust that God will never abandon us and will never leave us without a response.’

“We all have had the experience of prayers that seem to remain unanswered…God seems not to hear our cry…However, God’s silence does not mean he is inattentive to our sufferings.”

The World Day of the Poor is an opportune occasion…to recognize, support …and thank the Lord for the people who make themselves available to listen to and support the poorest among us…[and] by their testimony give voice to God’s response to the prayer of those who turn to God. 

“God’s silence, therefore, is broken every time a person in need is welcomed and embraced.”

In the spirit of Pope Francis’ message, on this the Eighth Day of the Poor, let us thank all of our volunteers. To our Vincentians, who visit with those who are poor in our community. To our ministers who visit those who are poor in hospitals and nursing homes. And to our CWG and Knights of Columbus who work to raise funds as well as all parishioners who make donations to support all of these works. You are the “small buds,” the signs of hope, that remind us to have faith and keep going. You are the ones who break the silence for our poor.

The Cry of the Poor - Laudato Si'

 

Image credit: https://institucionteresiana.org/en/focal-points/the-cry-of-the-earth-cry-of-the-poor

I asked Meta AI, "What does Laudato Si' say about 'The Cry of the Poor'?" 
Laudato Si' is an encyclical written by Pope Francis and released on May 24, 2015. It addresses the interconnectedness of environmental and social issues. Here is the response from Meta AI...

Laudato Si' emphasizes the intimate relationship between the cry of the Poor and the cry of the Earth. Pope Francis stresses that we're facing a single, complex crisis that's both social and environmental ¹. The encyclical highlights how the Earth's degradation disproportionately affects the world's most vulnerable populations, particularly the poor.

The Cry of the Poor

In Laudato Si', Pope Francis identifies two significant injustices experienced by the poor due to the climate crisis. Firstly, they're usually the first affected by extreme weather events, losing their livelihoods and facing displacement ². Secondly, despite contributing minimally to climate change, they bear the brunt of its consequences.

Key Points

- Ecological Debt: The global north owes an "ecological debt" to the global south due to commercial imbalances and disproportionate resource consumption ².

- Vulnerable Groups: The encyclical emphasizes the need to protect human life in all forms, with special attention to indigenous people, migrants, unborn children, and children at risk of modern slavery ³ ⁴.

- Spiritual Crisis: The ecological crisis is also a spiritual crisis, requiring a spiritual conversion to address the root causes of environmental degradation ⁴.

Pope Francis urges us to listen to the cry of the poor and respond with solidarity, advocating for eco-justice and defending human life ¹ ³. By doing so, we can work towards a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

Here are the references for follow up:

1 https://www.jpic-jp.org/en/a/the-cry-of-the-poor-laudato-si-2nd-goal

2 https://ssnd.org/shalom-laudato-si-laudato-si-reflections-response-to-cry-of-the-poor/

3 https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/listening-to-the-cry-of-the-poor/

4 https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/response-to-the-cry-of-the-poor/

Personal Reflections on Today's Gospel

 

Jesus eats with sinners and publicans by Alexandre Bida

Some personal reflections by Terry McCann

Catholics are taught that when the priest at mass says the words of consecration: take and eat, this is my body, this is the cup of my blood of the new covenant; do this as a memorial of me -  that the priest is representing Christ who is really present in our midst, eating and drinking with us who are gathered "in his name."

My mother converted to Roman Catholicism so that my dad and she could get married in the Catholic Church. She died in January of the year that I would turn six years old. In December of that same year my dad married again - this time he married a non-Catholic divorcee. It is not surprising that he married again relatively quickly. I have been given to understand that I was something of a 'handful', with behaviour problems and temper tantrums. It must have been incredibly brave of my stepmother to marry my dad, given the baggage represented by the five year old brat that he brought with him. I found out later that, immediately after the wedding service at Manning Road Methodist Church in Durban, one of my aunts (second cousin 1x removed) said to my new mom, "Of course, you must realise that you are not really married in the eyes of the Catholic Church." This left my mom hurting and angry.  In all their married years, I have no recollection, other than with one exception, that they ever stepped foot in a Catholic church. Nor did they ever again communicate with that side of the family. I met that aunt at my dad's funeral. She was a stranger to me and had to introduce herself.

In his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia), Pope Francis writes:

It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church. “They are not excommunicated” and they should not be treated as such, since they remain part of the ecclesial community. These situations “require careful discernment and respectful accompaniment. Language or conduct that might lead them to feel discriminated against should be avoided, and they should be encouraged to participate in the life of the community." - AL 243.

Many of us know how that went down. A small but vocal contingent of fervent Catholics, led by some bishops, accused the pope of sowing discord and confusion in the Catholic Church. Sin is sin, they say, and adultery is sin and should be called as such.

We also know from the gospels how Jesus felt about sinners, and about religious people. He called the tax collector, Matthew, to be a disciple and then joined in the party Matthew gave to his friends, eating and drinking with other tax collectors and sinners. See Matthew 9:9-13. This shocked the pharisees who were fervent, religious and meticulous about keeping the law. And yet it was to the scribes and pharisees that Jesus gave his sternest warnings: Woe to you, scribes and pharisees. See Luke 11:37–54 and Matthew 23:1–39.

It is very dangerous for us to judge who should be 'in' and who should be 'out'. Let's not go down that road. Our call is simply to love. As a general rule, the ones who most need our love are the most vulnerable people, and those who feel least loved. Our Lord call us to serve these with love, respect, justice and joy.

Biblical purity explained by Pope Francis

 

Image Credit: McGill University

The Pope's Sunday Angelus address for yesterday reported by Zenit

Biblical purity explained by the Pope in a nutshell

The day before departing for Indonesia, Singapore, Timor, and Papua New Guinea, Pope Francis led the traditional Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square. Around 15,000 people gathered to listen to his Sunday address and pray the Marian Angelus with him. Below is the English translation of the Pope’s words: 

***

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday! 

Today, in the Gospel of the liturgy (cf. Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23), Jesus speaks about the pure and the impure: a matter very dear to his contemporaries, which was linked principally to the observance of rites and rules of behaviour, to avoid any contact with things or persons considered unclean and, if this happened, to erase the “stain” (cf. Lev 11-15). Purity and impurity were almost an obsession for some religious of those times.

Some scribes and Pharisees, obsessive, strict observers of such norms, accuse Jesus of allowing his disciples to eat with unwashed hands, without washing their hands. And Jesus takes this reproach on the part of the Pharisees to His disciples to talk to us about the meaning of “purity”.

Purity, Jesus says, is not linked to external rites, but is first and foremost linked to inner dispositions, interior dispositions. To be pure, therefore, it is no use washing one’s hands several times if one then, within the heart, harbours evil feelings such as greed, envy or pride, or evil intentions such as deceit, theft, betrayal and slander (cf. Mk 7:21-22). Jesus draws attention to the need to beware of ritualism, which does not make one grow in goodness; on the contrary, this ritualism can sometimes lead one to neglect, or even justify, in oneself and in others, choices and attitudes contrary to charity, which wound the soul and close the heart. 

And this, brothers and sisters, is important for us too: one cannot, for example, leave Holy Mass and, still in front of the church, stop and gossip wickedly and mercilessly about everything and everyone. That chatter that ruins the heart, that ruins the soul. And you can’t do this! If you go to Mass and then do these things at the entrance, it is a bad thing! Or to show oneself to be pious in prayer, but then treat one’s own relatives at home with coldness and detachment, or neglect their elderly parents, who are in need of help and company (cf. Mk 7:10-13). This is a double life, and one cannot do this. And this is what the Pharisees did. External purity, without good attitudes, merciful attitudes towards others. One cannot be apparently very decent to everyone, and perhaps even do a bit of voluntary work and some philanthropic gestures, but then inwardly cultivate hatred towards others, despise the poor and the least, or behave dishonestly in one’s work.

In acting in this way, the relationship with God is reduced to external gestures, and within one remains impervious to the purifying action of His grace, indulging in thoughts, messages and behaviour without love. We are made for something else. We are made for the purity of life, for tenderness, for love.

Let us ask ourselves, then: do I live my faith in a consistent manner, that is, what I do in Church, do I try to do outside in the same spirit? By my sentiments, words and deeds, do I make what I say in prayer tangible in closeness and respect for my brothers and sisters? Let us think about this. 

And may Mary, Mother most pure, help us to make our life, in heartfelt and practiced love, worship pleasing to God (cf. Rm 12:1).

To read this on the Zenit website click here.

Advent Reflection: Two gifts that are needed

 After telling us how King Ahaz, St. Paul. and St. Joseph received the gift of divine grace which they in turn passed on to bless and strengthen others, Claretian Fr. Ferdinand Okorie CMF, writing for the Catholic Theological Union, concludes a reflection for the 4th Sunday of Advent as follows:

"Next Sunday, we celebrate and renew our faith in the gift of God’s presence in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and in doing so, we share in the spirit of the season by giving and receiving gifts with our loved ones, and with one another. But I invite you to think beyond the traditional routine of wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree, but rather to discern the impactful gift that your loved ones and the world are in dire need from you today. For our loved ones, trust is ebbing dangerous in our homes and society, affecting our respect and dignity for one another. Rebuilding a culture of trust can go a long way to repair fragile and damaged relationships. For our world, let us remember that every region has experienced a record climate disaster or the other. Time has come to give our world the gift of doing whatever we can to contribute to cutting down our carbon footprints. During this season of giving and receiving gifts, give the gift that is impactful and transformational to one another and to the world." https://learn.ctu.edu/fourth-sunday-of-advent-3/

Rebuilding a culture of trust: Instead of being negative and critical, can I be more positive, affirming and upbuilding? Pray the Prayer of Saint Francis

Cutting down our carbon footprints: Food waste? Plastic? Recycling? Unnecessary travel? Explore Laudato Si' - the encyclical by Pope Francis on the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor

Resources:
Laudato Si' Movement - https://laudatosimovement.org/
Laudato Si' - News and Resources - https://www.laudatosi.org/
Laudato Si' Action Platform - https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/

Image credit: https://cdn3.volusion.com/yhebw.jkdkr/v/vspfiles/photos/10501-2.jpg

Spiritual Reflection – World Day of the Poor 2021

 

Selection by Deacon Steve

“The poor, always and everywhere, evangelize us, because they enable us to discover in new ways the true face of the Father.

“They have much to teach us. Besides participating in the sensus fidei, they know the suffering Christ through their own sufferings. It is necessary that we all let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to recognize the salvific power of their lives and to place them at the centre of the Church’s journey. We are called to discover Christ in them, to lend them our voice in their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to understand them and to welcome the mysterious wisdom that God wants to communicate to us through them…what the Holy Spirit mobilizes is…above all an attentiveness that considers the other in a certain sense as one with ourselves.

“The poor are not people outside our communities, but brothers and sisters whose sufferings we should share, in an effort to alleviate their difficulties and marginalization, restore their lost dignity and ensure their necessary inclusion….acts of charity presuppose a giver and a receiver, whereas mutual sharing generates fraternity…mutual sharing is enduring…strengthens solidarity and lays the necessary foundations for achieving justice. In short, believers when they want to see Jesus in person and touch him with their hands, know where to turn. The poor are a sacrament of Christ; they represent his person and point to him.”

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the Fifth World Day of the Poor, p. 2 & 3

St. Joseph was an ordinary worker

Following spiritual reflection is by Denise Bondy, Chair of the ONRC Spirituality Committee. Read the original reflection on the Spirituality Corner.

Pope Francis has declared that, from December 8, 2020 until December 8, 2021 the church will celebrate a year dedicated to St. Joseph. Vincentians do well to study St. Joseph, to attempt to live in his example and to ask his intercession as we seek to live our vocation to serve Christ in his poor.

St. Joseph was an ordinary worker. Even though his family line traced back to King David’s royal family, Joseph was not wealthy and he wasn’t one of the VIPs in his hometown. He was an ordinary, a just man, who worked with his hands.

Covid 19 has brought those who are ‘ordinary workers’ to our attention and has rightly named them as the heroes who serve in spite of their own danger. Our Vincentian tradition has long encouraged the ordinary work of serving those most in need without any reward and without fear.

St. Joseph was a husband and father, not a high priest or a scholar. His call to serve elevated him above all other husbands and fathers, to become husband to Mary and earthly father to Jesus.

We can look to his example as we try to grow in our vocation as lay Catholics. Maybe we won’t quite reach sainthood, but our baptism is our call to service and our Vincentian vocation is the way we try to become the best we can be – maybe even saints one day.

St. Joseph was obedient to God’s call. It took courage to face the community as he accepted the pregnant Mary, to run away to Egypt and to return and re-establish his business. Joseph did all this because he had the courage of his faith.

Many people are suffering right now because of Covid-19. Some are ill or have experienced the death of a loved one. Others are unemployed and unable to manage their debts. Not all will manage to get through the pandemic without permanent, life altering damage. As members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, we must support everyone we can. We need to use the courage of our faith when we are dropping off groceries on a front porch, or making friendly phone calls, or paying bills, or any of the other things Vincentians do well. We must also be praying for our friends and searching for any way we can bring love, respect, justice and joy in these troubled times.

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,

Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

To you God entrusted his only Son;

in you Mary placed her trust;

with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too

show yourself a father

and guide us in the path of life.

Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,

and defend us from every evil.

Amen

(Pope Francis December 8, 2020)

A Special Solidarity - Fratelli Tutti of Pope Francis

 

Here is an excerpt from 'Fratelli Tutti', the latest encyclical letter of Pope Francis on fraternity and social friendship. This excerpt speaks directly to the values and mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Indeed, our Society is one of the 'popular movements' referred to at the end of this except. The numbers are paragraph numbers in the encyclical.

I recommend reading this excerpt a number of times - at least three or four times - slowly, silently and aloud. Set aside some time to reflect and pray over these words from a pope who clearly has a heart for the poor. There are a few technical or 'key' words to consider as you reflect: solidarity, service, vulnerability, community.

115. At a time when everything seems to disintegrate and lose consistency, it is good for us to appeal to the “solidity” born of the consciousness that we are responsible for the fragility of others as we strive to build a common future. Solidarity finds concrete expression in service, which can take a variety of forms in an effort to care for others. And service in great part means “caring for vulnerability, for the vulnerable members of our families, our society, our people”. In offering such service, individuals learn to “set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, before the concrete gaze of those who are most vulnerable… Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in some cases, ‘suffers’ that closeness and tries to help them. Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people”.

116. The needy generally “practice the special solidarity that exists among those who are poor and suffering, and which our civilization seems to have forgotten or would prefer in fact to forget. Solidarity is a word that is not always well received; in certain situations, it has become a dirty word, a word that dare not be said. Solidarity means much more than engaging in sporadic acts of generosity. It means thinking and acting in terms of community. It means that the lives of all are prior to the appropriation of goods by a few. It also means combatting the structural causes of poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, the denial of social and labour rights. It means confronting the destructive effects of the empire of money… Solidarity, understood in its most profound meaning, is a way of making history, and this is what popular movements are doing”.

2020 - Fourth World Day of the Poor

 

SSVP and the World Day of the Poor

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the World Day of the Poor

The WORLD DAY OF THE POOR will be held on 15 November 2020 on the theme “Stretch forth your hand to the poor” (Sir 7, 32), drawn from the message written by his Holiness Pope Francis (link to the message is provided below). The World Day of the Poor, established by the Vatican in 2016, is celebrated on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Pope Francis published his message and called on people to “stretch forth their hand to the poor”, and warned against “cynicism” and “indifference” of those whose hands are outstretched to accumulate money by the sale of weapons and drugs. “In these months, when the whole world was prey to a virus that brought pain and death, despair and bewilderment, how many outstretched hands have we seen!” said Pope Francis, drawing attention to the actions of solidarity throughout the world to help those most affected by dire poverty.

Pope Francis laments the frenetic pace of life that leads people, who turn a blind eye on poverty, into a “whirlwind of indifference”, but praises the “generosity that supports the weak […], a condition for full human life”. Pope Francis also acknowledged that the Church certainly has no comprehensive solutions to “the silent cry of so many poor”; it’s possible, though, to do much more for the poorest.

Even in times of pandemic, we, as members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, can celebrate the WORLD DAY OF THE POOR in a creative and efficient way. One suggestion would be to get closer to lay ecclesial movements in each parish, with fund-raising campaigns for Conferences (food and hygiene kits, which are essential in these times). 

Another idea would be to offer a greater visibility of the SSVP on the parishes’ and dioceses’ media, while liaising with companies, the government and the mass media, and showcasing the social work of Conferences and Special Works. At the end of the Mass, on 15 November, it would be worthwhile for the Conference President to disseminate the Vincentian mission, vision and values, prompting new members to join the Conferences.

“In any case, the most important thing is to be witnesses of Christ’s love for the most needy, living out the Gospel message, in community, serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice and empathy. Simply with our good deeds, we can do a lot for the poor”, stressed our fellow member Renato Lima, the 16th President General.

As we ponder on 2020’s WORLD DAY OF THE POOR, amidst this health crisis, it must be acknowledged that global extreme poverty is on the rise, with people becoming unemployed and mental health cases increasing significantly. The pandemic has also been a hard blow for the world economy and countries’ wealth, having a devastating impact on families, particularly on young people. The education world has also been turned upside down, with millions of children missing out on school.

Faced with this hostile context, the WORLD DAY OF THE POOR is a great challenge for all of us, as members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Let us pray that the Good Lord will protect us and help us overcome these difficult times. “Sharing with the poor means mutual enrichment. If there are unhealthy social structures that prevent them from dreaming of the future, we must work together to heal them, to change them.” (Evangelii Gaudium: Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, 2013, no 195).

Our founders taught us that we need to reassess our actions by better reallocating our resources, avoiding hoarding, relaxing our internal rules and mobilizing our human and material heritage, to serve the poorest with joy and no complaints, and love them without judgment, bringing the “Gospel of Hope” to everyone.

Click here to read his Holiness Pope Francis’ full message.

He Had Compassion

Here is an extract from the Pope's noonday Angelus comments on todays's Gospel about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes:

The compassion and tenderness that Jesus showed towards the crowds is not sentimentality, but rather the concrete manifestation of the love that cares for the people’s needs.

The Holy Spirit and three enemies of self-giving

This post draws on two articles reporting on the Pentecost Sunday homily of Pope Francis, one from the Jesuit publication,  America Magazine, and the other from Vatican News.

The Spirit, the living memory of the church

In his Pentecost Sunday homily, Pope Francis told Christians worldwide, “The Spirit, the living memory of the church, reminds us that we are born from a gift and that we grow by giving, not by holding on, but by giving of ourselves.”

Laudato Si’ Day 7 - #52 One Single Human Family

This is the last in this series of meditations on the Pope's encyclical, Laudato Si', Chapter 1, Section V - Global Inequality.
What does the Pope mean by “structural perversion” and “differentiated responsibilities”?

52. The foreign debt of poor countries has become a way of controlling them, yet this is not the case where ecological debt is concerned. In different ways, developing countries, where the most important reserves of the biosphere are found, continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future.

Laudato Si’ Day 5 - #50 Population Growth vs. Unbridled Consumerism

What does the Pope mean by “the present model of distribution”?

50. Instead of resolving the problems of the poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in the birth rate.

Laudato Si’ Day 4 - #49 The “Excluded”

Who is the Pope talking about when he references “the excluded”? Who are the “excluded” in your community”

49. It needs to be said that, generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which especially affect the excluded. Yet they are the majority of the planet’s population, billions of people.

Laudato Si’ Day 3 - #48 Inseparable and interactive coexistence

Having meditated on the two prayers which the Pope has proposed, we now contemplate paragraphs #48 through #52 from “Laudato Si’”. We follow the same steps each day from now on:

1. Read what the Pope wrote a first time.
2. Read it again, finding and reflecting on a word, phrase or sentence that stands out for you.
3. While reading a third time, prayerfully and with a listening heart, tell the Lord in your own words how you feel about what you have just read, and why. Does anything need to change for you, personally?
4. Quieten your mind and allow time for silence and the Holy Spirit.
5. Finally, pray “A Christian Prayer in Union with Creation”.

Laudato Si’ Day 2 - #246 A Christian Prayer

Today we continue Laudato Si’ #246
Firstly, simply read what the pope wrote. Then read it again, finding and reflecting on a word, phrase or sentence that stands out the most to you. With a third reading, prayerfully and with a listening heart, tell the Lord how you feel about what you read and why: Frustration? Encouragement? Helplessness? Resolve? Whatever. Allow time for silence and simply being present to God’s Presence. Conclude by praying the prayer again, simply and quietly. 
The refrain, “Praise be to you!” echoes the hymn of St. Francis, “Laudato Si’”.

A Christian prayer in union with creation

Father, we praise you with all your creatures.

Laudato Si’ Day 1 - #246 A prayer for our earth

Firstly, simply read what the pope wrote. Then read it again, finding and reflecting on a word, phrase or sentence that stands out the most to you. With a third reading, prayerfully and with a listening heart, tell the Lord how you feel about what you read and why: Frustration? Encouragement? Helplessness? Resolve? Whatever. Allow time for silence and simply being present to God’s Presence. Conclude by praying the prayer again, simply and quietly.
Don’t focus only on the prayer itself. Consider also what the Pope is saying in the introduction to the prayer.

#246. At the conclusion of this lengthy reflection which has been both joyful and troubling, I propose that we offer two prayers. The first we can share with all who believe in a God who is the all-powerful Creator, while in the other we Christians ask for inspiration to take up the commitment to creation set before us by the Gospel of Jesus.

Laudato Si’. Introductory Hors D'oeuvres

Picture credit: iustitiaetpax.va

Five years ago, on 25 May 2015, Pope Francis promulgated his famous encyclical letter, Laudato Si' - On Care for Our Common Home. Papal encyclicals are always named from the opening words in Latin, but this one is in Italian - from the opening words of the famous Canticle of the Sun and Moon by St. Francis of Assisi: "Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Brother Sun, Who is the day through whom You give us light." Indeed, the encyclical devotes an entire section to this great saint of the poor who had such love both for the poor and for the goodness and beauty of the natural world around him.
(You can download the encyclical in PDF format here.)

Feast of St. Joseph the Worker: the Pope's Homily

St. Joseph the Worker

ROME - With a statue of St. Joseph, mallet in hand, placed near the altar, Pope Francis dedicated his morning Mass May 1 to workers, especially those paid unjustly or virtually enslaved.

At the start of the Mass, while remembering all victims of Coronavirus, Francis prayed for all workers, and for the world of work as a whole. The Pontiff expressed his hope that there one day could exist a world where no one is without work, and from that work, is shown dignity and given a just wage.