During the Season of Creation, held between The World Day of Prayer (September 1st) and the Feast of St. Francis (October 4th) the world’s 2.2 billion Christians will come together to pray and act for our common home.
Click on the links for prayers during this time.
/documents/2020/9/Season%20of%20Creation%20Prayer%20Service%202020.pdf
Here iare some ritual ideas
/documents/2020/9/Ritual%20to%20Accompany%20the%20Season%20of%20Creation%20Prayer%202020.pdf
During Laudato Si’ Week, tens of thousands of people have united to learn and prepare for a better tomorrow. But Sunday is our day to slow down.
At noon local time, wherever we are and whatever we’re doing, we’re going to stop and pray as one global Catholic family all over the world. A wave of prayer for creation will start as the sun reaches its peak in the Pacific, then roll on through Africa and Europe before reaching the Americas.
The global day of prayer will envelope the entire world. That’s the power of this prayerful movement. We face a crisis in love and solidarity because we know that truly, “everything is connected.”
/documents/2020/5/Marking%20the%205th%20anniversary%20of%20Laudato%20Si.pdf
For all who want to support the pledge and letter of support that are part of D & P's education campaign this year, there is a very easy way to do it online. They can be found at the devp.org website link below. There are also links to numerous very short videos that are directly related.
https://www.devp.org/en/campaign/forourcommonhome
Another link would be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yvi3tqJkFA&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=Synod&utm_content=Synod
Display board at St. Joseph's Motherhouse
April 22 is Earth Day. There are three resourses which are provided:
Click on the title for a power point presentation
Click on here for a prayer service for Earth Day
Click here for information on the people of the Amazon
Photo of Scenic Lookout by S. Costanza
In the April 11, 2019 budget, you announced a 30% reduction in Legal Aid Ontario’s (LAO) budget and indicated the government will no longer fund refugee and immigration law services “outside of any potential transition costs.” The Sisters of St. Joseph Federation Office of Systemic Justice expressed its concerns on this matter. A letter was sent to the Premier. Click here to read letter.
Our mission as The Sisters of St. Joseph calls us to work for unity and reconciliation. Accordingly, “We work with others to alleviate the conditions which cause ignorance, poverty, suffering and oppression.” ― (CSJSSM Constitution Article 9:12.)
Faith, trust, compassion, respect and the gospel imperative to act justly underlie the ministry of The CSJ SSM Faith and Justice Office. We support the work of, and collaborate with, the Federation Office of Systemic justice www.csjfederation.ca/justice which represents three Canadian Congregations of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Our shared priority issues are: Poverty, Ecological Justice and Human Trafficking. Additional areas of collaborative work for the Faith and Justice Office are Development and Peace www.devp.org; Kairos: www.kairoscanada.org; and the Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Office of the Canadian Religious Conference; www.crc-canada.org/eng. In Kairos and the CRC JPIC the work is particularly focused on Justice and Right Relations with Aboriginal Peoples.
This internationally recognized criminal activity is an assault to the dignity of any trafficked person whether they are subjected to this abuse for sexual purposes or for labor. Pope John Paul II said: ‘Human trafficking constitutes a shocking offense against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights.’ Letter to Archbishop Tauran for the International Conference on Human Trafficking: “Twenty-First Century Slavery –the Human Rights Dimension to Trafficking in Human Beings.”
Recommended websites:
www.stopenslavement.org
www.caritas.org
www.unodc.org/blueheart
All Creation is forever sacred from its beginning over thirteen billion years ago. Dignity rightfully belongs to all creation. Indigenous peoples have long believed this. Ecological justice requires that we recognize and respect that dignity within every human person, every blade of grass and every part of the cosmos including the earth itself and every living being. It requires that we work to ensure just, fair and equitable treatment for all.
Recommended websites:
www.villastjoseph.ca
www.csjfederation.ca
www.kairoscanada.org
Poverty not only creates human suffering, it also denies human dignity. In Catholic Social teaching the person is primary. “Persons are not for the service and development of the economy, a nation’s or the world’s: the socio-economic order is to serve persons.” (Do Justice! The Social Teaching of the Canadian Catholic Bishops edited by E.F. Sheridan SJ 1987 p 39)
Poverty, a basic lack of resources including food, shelter, water and finances affects individuals, communities, countries and the well-being of the entire globe. In Canada the gap between those who have wealth and those who live in poverty is rapidly increasing. The 2013 United Nations Report on the Millennium Development Goals states the following on the goal to eliminate hunger by 2015:
The hunger reduction target is within reach. The proportion of undernourished people in developing regions decreased from 23.2 per cent in 1990–1992 to 14.9 per cent in 2010–2012. Given reinvigorated efforts, the target of halving the percentage of people suffering from hunger by 2015 appears to be within reach. Still, one in eight people in the world today remain chronically undernourished. (Ban Ki-Moon, General Secretary, United Nations, stated in the forward of the Millennium Development Goals Progress Report 2013.)
Recommended websites:
www.csjfederation.ca
www.cpj.ca
www.policyalternatives.ca
www.makepovertyhistory.org