A New Year is a great time to recall and to be renewed. We have been blessed every day with gifts and graces which could be through the basic necessities we continue to have, well-being, associations, ministries, formal and informal education, etc. However, there are places where this is not the case. As human beings, we are capable of using our gifts which can lead to constructive or destructive paths. We have chosen and continue to make choices that affect our lives, our families, our communities, our society, and our world.
How are you today? How is your world today? Where are we heading as a human family? These are the questions that we can ponder if we want to live, if we want our brothers and sisters to live as much as we enjoy our blessings in life. We do not live for the sake of living but we live as part of a family, a society, and part of the world. We are invited to take part of being truly “alive” and being truly “human.”
New war in Gaza and Israel, on-going war in Ukraine and Russia, climate change, 24 lives are challenged by death-row executions, human trafficking, on-going border and migrant crisis, gun violence, and all the other political divisions in United States. Some of you ask, is there any good news? Some of you stopped watching television news. Can people ever come to a place where our mind can reach the intellectual level and resolve our differences through peaceful deliberations and healthy conversations? Can we stop to ponder like Mary did when the shepherds came, when the three wise men came, etc.? What can we change within ourselves to become a better contributor to peace rather than a contributor to disorder and violence?
We certainly cannot stop all evils. We need a Divine Intervention. God respects human will. The Divine is calling us to use our senses. Otherwise, the Divine will not be “divine” but a dictator, a robot manufacturer commanding us what to do. We can just be all robots with a command center. However, we are not robots. We are human beings who are capable of making decisions.
Mark 10:51 “What do you want me to do
for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
We need good formation and good association to know what is good, be good and to do good. The question is am I participating in any evil (e.g. provoking someone, using violent words, coercing someone into an action, etc.). If you are aware of any evil, are you taking actions in ending any of those evil whether through counselling, advocacies, education, healing, policies, or pastoral work?
United States has been a melting pot of ideas, scientists, and liberation. Amidst the divisions faced by the citizens of this country, this is still a place where we have freedom of speech and usually have safety. The question is what is right? Sometimes, the truth can be manipulated by people and organizations surrounding us. This is when discerning the truth is important. When you know what is true, beautiful, and good, then you are one step closer to discerning the next action.
There are hundreds of thousands of people walking in
caravan towards the border while the United States border patrol have
encountered 2.5 million migrants at the border in 2023. People are
walking thousands of miles to United States, thinking that United States can
provide solution to their lives seriously affected by lack of jobs,
infrastructure, safety, and security. Do we have all of these for the
citizens of this country? How can United States provide these solutions to
the migrants fleeing here when a lot of people are also homeless which
according to Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are about
582,462 people (18 out of 10,000) with 28% of these have families with
children?
In places where we find people who have unmet expectations whether due to their employment status, being trafficked, homeless, being brainwashed and coerced to do something, drugs, alcohol, there is certainly a lot of help that each and everyone in the society can provide. Resources must be made available, advocated, and promoted for the betterment of the well-being of the individual and in essence the justice, and peace for the society. Education can provide skills to the people who are unemployed while mental support, physical healing, and social support are some key resources to journey with the people who are on the streets.
I have met a lot of them. Some I interviewed.
Some I have served food. Some I have referred to Catholic institutions
and others to non-profit organizations. There are a lot of reasons why
they are there: some are migrants, some have abused drugs, some lives changed
from being employed to being addicted to drugs and then to prostitution and homelessness,
some have alcoholism, some have run away from home due to trafficking,
etc. How can the education happen for people who do not know the
resources? There is a work that needs to be done, an outreach to provide
the connections. There are resources, but there is an influx of people
not knowing where to go, what to do, and not yet ready to be helped. There are also cases, when evil perpetuates,
when we do not do anything about it, knowing that as human being, we can be in
solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are suffering and can participate
in making change and transformation possible.
Jesus did this. He was eating and
drinking with what his time called “sinners.”
He wanted the people to get to know him, to get to know love. While he revoked those in authorities that
they were not doing what they were supposed to do (Matt 23:1-7).
So, what are we looking forward to this New Year? It
will be an exaggeration
to say that this year will be the time that all the world problems to be solved
overnight but there is a space for improvement with human efforts, and miracle
and graces beyond impossible by God's grace. We are looking forward
to collaboration in working towards a society where there are better policies and laws for gun
safety, the people are more aware of climate impact of human-centered
activities or functions degrading the state of the environment leading to a
more God-centric and more ecologically-conscious living, people are more aware
of spotting human trafficking and thus, more innocent lives can be saved from
traffickers if not eradicated therefore creating more trafficked-free cities,
better policies in border and programs for integrating refugees and asylum into
the society, mental health programs for the homeless, leaders of nations to
come to an end in providing weapons to all the countries who are at war at each
other, leaders of nations to have peace talks, political system that upholds
the dignity, common good, and welfare of the citizens than waste time in
ruining the reputation of the individuals for the sake of gaining popularity
over another, etc. There are a lot of issues to be tackled.
Focusing on the major issues at hand in United States that
the Incarnate Word Sisters JPIC would like to continue on the
following:
1. Response to the Cry of the
Poor (defense of all forms of life on Earth with special attention to
vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, migrants, children at risk of
human trafficking, etc.)
a. Awareness of Human Trafficking
January 11 Wear
blue on this day to support the National Awareness day for Human
Trafficking. How do we educate people in becoming aware of the signals
and red flags in identifying who are being trafficked and how to help
them.
b. Ending Death Penalty: There are 23 people in death row that are scheduled for execution in 2024 (13 from OK, 1 from TX, 8 from OH, 1 AL). How do we create a circle of trust, promote healing of lives than promote vengeance and hatred?
Upcoming Executions
| Death Penalty Information Center
News | Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) (catholicsmobilizing.org)
c. Peace Advocacy
Catholic Nonviolence Initiative https://nonviolencejustpeace.net/
Pax Christi internationally https://paxchristi.net/ , nationally https://paxchristiusa.org/, state wide, and local
Pacem en Terris https://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html
Speaker Event by Father John Dear, SJ
Tuesday, March 12th, San Antonio, TexasUniversity of the Incarnate Word (University of the Incarnate Word | UIW Home)
Contacts: Arthur Dawes, arthurdawes@att.net – 210-213-5919,
Sr. Martha Ann Kirk, kirk@uiwtx.edu
There are advocacies that we can partake to end war and violence by making way for diplomatic actions and systemic solutions for peace in our communities, and the world. Sounds big for the world? Start with self-reflection, integrate peace within you and practice in your circle of influence. Participate in collective justice and peace works by checking out the advocacies by grassroots movement. We continue to discern how we can make justice and peace possible. We cannot have these two without working with others. People deserve a better life. Innocent lives deserve to live.
2. Adoption of Simple Lifestyle - sobriety in the use
of resources and energy, avoid single-use plastic, adopt a more plant-based diet and reduce meat
consumption, etc. 🙏🎉🎁📝
The way to contribute in lowering
carbon footprint, mitigating the impending drastic climate impact can through our own individual life style changes and encouraging others to do the
same. If you are buying clothes every month, can you buy every year? However, doing something good in an individual basis may not be as encouraging
and strong as doing it in groups. Therefore, joining ecologically
friendly group or movement will be something to get you going strong.
Instead of only being charitable to the poor giving money, food,
clothing, while we can consume without limits or without conscious thought, we
can be in solidarity with the economically poor so that we can understand their
own sufferings to identify solutions we can develop, and offer. When we understand
as an experience, we understand why change and transformation in the society
need to happen one life at a time and some changes can be done systemically as
there are policies that can protect people and programs that can make change
and transformation possible. When we are
spiritually poor, we know, however, that we need to go back to our foundation,
to our Source, and to our Creator.
- Earth Day 2024
- Earth Day: This is the day to raise
awareness of caring for all of creation where our lives depends on it and
the stewardship of creation also depends on our responsibility (Gen
1:26-27).
- Join Laudato Si
Animators and learn from ecologically conscious group of individuals
supporting the call of Pope Francis in his Encyclical Laudato Si, the
letter written to all people of good will: Animators -
Laudato Si Animators
- May 21-28:
Laudato Si Week Laudato Si’ Week 2023: Hope for
the Earth. Hope for humanity. (laudatosiweek.org)
- Sept 1 - Oct
4: Season of Creation
We are in the process of publishing our statement on
Laudato Si Action Platform. Watch out for it and join us in this call to
action in reducing our carbon footprint to be carbon neutral by 2050, which is
to make our planet a livable place by 2050.
Climate Change 2023:
Synthesis Report | UNEP - UN Environment Programme
We have so much energy within us. We have so much
hope to look forward to. This year is going to be a year that is a clean
slate for us to dream, to work on something new, to enjoy, to be gracious and
to be grateful. I would like to share with you a beautiful quote to use
your energy on something that is good for this year:
“The secret of change is to focus all
of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” —Dan
Millman, gymnast, coach and lecturer
We wish you a Blessed and Happy New Year 2024.
😀🌳🌴🌵🍐🍍🍃🌹🌸🍎🍅🌼🎉🙏🎇🥳
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