Que las heridas de tantos inocentes nos curen

Unidas a las miles de personas que han salido a las calles, no aceptando la violencia como respuesta y exigiendo paz; porque asesinar o desaparecer personas NO es algo normal. Aquí algunas líneas para insistir: ¡basta de normalizar las desapariciones! ¡Basta de impunidad!

Nuestra solidaridad con familiares y amigos(as) de estos muchachos. Aquí les compartimos esta profunda reflexión de la Religiosa del Sagrado Corazón en México, Clara Malo.

"Ante él cerrarán los reyes la boca, pues lo que nunca se les contó verán, y lo que nunca oyeron reconocerán..." (Isaías 52, 15)

La lectura la escuchamos el Viernes Santo. Habla del Siervo de Yahveh, ese personaje misterioso que sufre una muerte horrible. Tanto, que las personas prefieren mirar hacia otro lado, porque se ve tan desfigurado que no parece humano. La lectura de Isaías, leída despacio y con atención, hiela el corazón, porque podemos mirar a Jesús y otros miles de rostros: víctimas de tortura, desaparecidos, asesinados. "Fue arrancado de la tierra de los vivos", dice también.
Desde ese día, ese texto me persigue, porque no está lejos de lo que vemos cada día. Al leer la noticia de los estudiantes asesinados en Guadalajara (México), me vi otra vez tratando de entenderlo, de desentrañar su sentido, que es una mezcla de dolor y de esperanza.

La verdad, lo de la esperanza resulta difícil. Vivimos en un país en el que la violencia está normalizada a tal punto que ya perdimos la cuenta de los muertos; en el que el horror ante el nivel de sadismo nos encoge el corazón, pero la conversación se centra en las campañas políticas. En este contexto, ¿qué sentido salvador puede tener una tragedia más? El canto del Siervo dice: "Con sus heridas hemos sido curados". ¿Curados?

Cuando San Marcos nos cuenta la muerte de Jesús en la cruz, añade algo que me impresiona: "Al ver el centurión, que estaba frente a él, que había expirado de esa manera, dijo: Verdaderamente este hombre era Hijo de Dios".  (Marcos 15,39) Es un momento sagrado. El muerto, el torturado, es reconocido como Hijo de Dios por aquél que ayudó a matarlo. Me pregunto qué pasaría si ese momento de revelación lo tuvieran hoy nuevamente tantos otros: sicarios, soldados, policías... Y también los que cerramos los ojos de puro cansancio. Estos, verdaderamente, eran hijos de Dios.

Hoy sólo puedo pedir por sus familias, por sus compañeros, por los que tienen miedo. Pero también por los reyes, gobiernos y autoridades que callan, que ya no dicen nada. Por los que necesitan ojos nuevos para ver a sus víctimas. Por todas(os) nosotras(os), para que las heridas de tantos inocentes nos curen la resignación, el silencio, la costumbre. Y que, como los amigos de Jesús al tercer día, descubramos el regalo posible de la resurrección.

Clara Malo C. rscj

Recursos | Día de la Tierra: 22 de abril

«Madre Tierra» es una expresión común utilizada para referirse al planeta Tierra en diversos países y regiones, lo que demuestra la interdependencia existente entre seres humanos, las demás especies vivas y el planeta que todas(os) habitamos.

Este día nos brinda también la oportunidad de concienciar a todos los habitantes del planeta acerca de los problemas que afectan a la Tierra y a las diferentes formas de vida que en él se desarrollan.

De este modo el 22 de Abril, como sucede cada año,  muchas personas se “visten de verde” en manifestaciones por la Tierra,  algunas(os) plantan árboles, limpian áreas públicas, contactan con sus representantes políticos en defensa del medio ambiente, etc.

Nosotras(os) en nuestra ciudad, comunidad o pueblo, podemos realizar todo tipo de acciones y actividades a modo de celebración, y de paso para unirnos en el cuidado de la creación de Dios.

Aquí algunos pequeños actos que en conjunto se conforman en grandes actos.

1. Guía de oración: http://bit.do/GuiaporlaTierra

2. Oración ' Oremos por nuestra Tierra' : http://bit.do/oremosTierra

3. Oración 'A la Ruah por nuestra Tierra' :  http://bit.do/RuahTierra 

4. La Carta de la Tierra : Leer

5. Carta Pastoral del CELAM: Custodios de la Casa Común 

6. Acciones individuales/colectivas: http://bit.do/AccionesTierra

Haz que todos los días sean el día de la Tierra. Para ello, nada mejor que comprometerte a cuidar a diario la creación de Dios. A veces las pequeñas acciones de todas(os) juntas(os) son las que dan pie a los grandes cambios.

Statement in Response to National Guard Deployment to the US/Mexico Border

The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word stand with our Bishops (US Statement and Mexico Statement) and other people of faith (Pax Christi statement) in expressing deep concern about the decision of the U.S. Government to send U.S. National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico.
Our faith requires us to welcome the stranger and give aid to those in need.  We recognize there is a crisis at our borders.  However, it is a humanitarian crisis for those fleeing violence and persecution, not one that requires military intervention.  We denounce the rhetoric that seeks to dehumanize those who cross the border and deny them their human dignity and human rights.  
We are a Congregation that serves in both the United States and Mexico.  Grounded in the expansive love of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, we will continue to welcome, support, and advocate for the rights of all who choose to cross the U.S./Mexico border.

St. Anthony's Students Raise Money for Rain Harvester

They’ve done it again!

St. Anthony Catholic High School sophomores have raised enough money for the women WGC partners with in Tanzania to build yet another rainwater harvester!

This is the third clean water tank that this amazing local high school has funded under the tutelage of faculty member Dr. Christopher Samuel (pictured here with some of the sophomore leaders).

This recent class raised the money faster than any previous class - a testament to the fact that St. Anthony is a place where justice is an action, not just a theoretical concept. Thank you!

For more information on how you or your organization can partner with WGC on our women's empowerment projects, please check out our website here or email us at wgcinsa@gmail.com.

US and Mexican Bishops Express Concern about Border Militarization

FOR THE DIGNITY OF MIGRANTS

STATEMENT OF THE BISHOPS OF MEXICO’S NORTHERN FRONTIER
AND OF THE COUNCIL PRESIDENCY OF THE MEXICAN EPISCOPATE CONFERENCE

APRIL 7, 2018


To all Mexicans on national territory and beyond our borders
To all believers and non-believers in Jesus Christ in Mexico and the United States
To the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump
To the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto


1. For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in Mexico, the undersigned Bishops are addressing to all the inhabitants of Mexico and the United States, regardless of their religious convictions, and in a very special way and with great respect, to the Presidents of our respective countries, for the reason of the deployment of troops of the National American Guard at the frontiers that delimits our territories.

2. The Catholic Church in fidelity in the faith to Jesus Christ, cannot ignore the suffering of our migrant brothers who are looking for better living conditions crossing the border to work and contributing to the common good, not only for their families but also for the brother country that receives them.

3. We know that the present and future migratory flows will require a renewed regulation by both nations. Moreover, we are not oblivious to the fact that a constitutive dimension of a prosperous and peaceful society is the effective exercise of the Rule of Law. However, not all rule, nor all political or military decision, by the simple act of promulgating or defining it, is just and consistent with human rights.

4. If there has been a historical lesson that we as society have learned based on the experience of the global conflicts during the XX Century, this is, what’s legal needs to be legitimate; that the inalienable dignity of the human person is the true source of law; that the pain of the most vulnerable must be understood as a supreme law and fundamental criterion for the development of the peoples and the building of a future with peace. That is the profound origin of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That is the universal foundation of a fraternal coexisting among nations.

5. For these reasons, Mexican Bishops wish to repeat what we said one year ago: “the cry of the migrants is our cry.” Their pain is our pain! Each migrant that gets hurt in his/her dignity and in his/her rights, Jesus Christ is once again crucified!

6. Mexican past and present governments have a grave responsibility for not having created enough development opportunities for our poor and marginalized people. For this reason, our incipient democracy has an enormous challenge in the near future: choose the people that must lead honestly, without corruption and impunity, a historic change that will help the people of Mexico to be the principal agent of his or her development, this, with peace, justice, and full respect of human rights. A road that involves, not to close, but to be open to the dynamic of the new global world, increasingly interdependent and needed of solidarity and cooperation.

7. However, the unfulfilled needs that Mexican people have cannot be justified to promote the antagonism between peoples that are called to be friends and brothers. It is not conforming to human dignity, and the best reasons and arguments thought of by men like Abraham Lincon or Bartholomew de las Casas, to build up barriers to divide us or implement actions to violate us. Migrants are not criminals, but vulnerable human beings that have the right to their personal and community development.

8.From there the defense that the Church makes on a universal level, and in a special way through the work done between the brotherly peoples: Mexico and the U.S.A., with Central America, the Caribbean, Latin America and Canada, in this necessary attention to our migrant brothers.

9. There is only one future in the promotion and defense of the equal dignity and of the equal freedom among human beings. The frontier between Mexico and the United States “it is not a war zone,” said by our Bishop brothers of the United States. On the contrary, this zone has been called to be an example of linkage and co-responsibility. The only possible future for our region is the future built with bridges of confidence and shared development, not with indignity and violence walls. Furthermore, Pope Francis has said to all of us: “A person that only thinks in building walls, wherever they may be, and not to build bridges, is not a Christian. This is not the Gospel”.

10. For the dignity of migrants and the dignity of all inhabitants of our countries, we propose to consume all our energies in the development of other types of solutions. By this we mean, solutions that can sow the seeds of fraternity and mutual enrichment in the humanitarian, cultural and social order.

11.That the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the True God for whom we live and Patroness of our Freedom, may bless those who govern us, and our peoples. May She sustains us in the effort of improving our nations, and of all our region, a space of fraternal reconciliation, integral development, and service of solidarity to the poorest that will inspire the whole world.

By the Bishops of the Presidency Council (see full list of signers HERE)  

U.S. Catholic bishops of U.S./Mexico border respond to U.S. National Guard deployment

In response to announcements regarding deploying the United States National Guard to the U.S./Mexico Border, the U.S. Catholic Bishops of the U.S./Mexico Border issued a statement.

We are deeply concerned by the announcement that the National Guard will be deployed on the U.S./Mexico Border. The continued militarization of the U.S./Mexico Border distorts the reality of life on the border; this is not a war zone but instead is comprised of many peaceful and law-abiding communities that are also generous in their response to human suffering. We recognize the right of nations to control and secure their borders; we also recognize the need of nations to respect the rule of law. Current law in the United States rightly provides that those arriving to our country fleeing persecution are entitled to due-process as their claims are reviewed. Seeking refuge from persecution and violence in search of a peaceful life for oneself and one’s family is not a crime. Our faith calls us to respond with compassion to those who suffer, and to live in a spirit of solidarity with all human beings. We remain hopeful that our local, state and federal officials will work collaboratively and prudently in the implementation of this deployment, ensuring that the presence of the National Guard is measured and not disruptive to community life. We are also deeply concerned that at this time divisive rhetoric often promotes the dehumanization of immigrants, as if all were threats and criminals. We urge Catholics and people of good will to look past the dehumanizing rhetoric regarding immigrants and remember that they are a vulnerable population, our neighbors, and our sisters and brothers in Christ.

(See full list of signers HERE)

Baptism is Our Call to Care for Water

This article by Sr. Martha Ann Kirk CCVI was originally published by Global Sisters Report on April 9, 2018. You can access the original article here.

In this Easter season, when we were blessed again with the waters of baptism, do we have eyes to see the sacredness of water? May we who have passed through the waters of baptism recognize that as our call to speak and work passionately so all in our global family may have clean water.

What if I had a day without water? No coffee, no toilet, no water to brush my teeth, no refreshing drink at the water fountain in the hall between classes, nothing to wash the dishes and the clothes — not to mention the dirt on my windshield — no water along the way as I bike a few miles, no water to make the soup for supper, no hot shower (not even a cold one).

I could endure a day, but what if I were a mother with small children in sub-Saharan Africa, where the deserts are increasing in size? Or what if I was one of the children I saw last summer in Chimbote, Peru, in a neighborhood without a clean water supply?

My heart was cracking open, and when I came home, I invited people in our city of San Antonio to be a part of the Global Water Dances movement, and join groups on six continents who are focusing on water issues.  We danced at the dry "Blue Hole."

Though my community, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, did not have enough money in the late 1890s to purchase the land around the headwaters of the San Antonio River from Col. George Washington Brackenridge, they worked hard to raise money over a period of years. They believed that being close to nature is educationally beneficial and spiritually renewing. People need to learn of nature and learn to care for nature.

Abundant springs once bubbled up from the Edwards Aquifer, providing for the growing population and delighting sisters and students. The aquifer has been depleted and now the "Blue Hole," the largest of the springs considered sacred by the native peoples, is almost always dry.

Nothing but a dry hole is now at this place, the Headwaters of the San Antonio River,
where students and sisters once enjoyed abundant springs and boating, circa 1907.

This was the beginning of the San Antonio River and it has drawn people for over 11,000 years. When there are very heavy rains, some water may come up for a while, but then the hole is dry again.

World Water Day, observed annually on March 22, reminds us that 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water at home, which affects their health, education and livelihoods.

Wars have been fought over power, land and oil. Now, life's most basic need — water — is causing escalating violence.

If we want a safe world, if we want a healthy world, now is the time to rally about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6, and work together to ensure that everyone has access to safe water by 2030. Budgets for water have more potential to contribute to global security than budgets for weapons.

Because water easily comes out of your faucet now, don't forget that the city of Cape Town, South Africa, is due to run out of water this year. Its reservoirs are nearly dry.

Let us consider that we may be called to the spiritual discipline of learning where local water supplies come from, or following state and national legislation relating to water issues — and using our individual and corporate influence to advocate for the wise use of it.

The theme of World Water Day 2018 was "Nature for Water." Many problems like damaged ecosystems can be helped by nature-based solutions.

A sister and students enjoy the San Antonio River about a hundred
years ago. (Archives of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word)

And working for water may call us to global solidarity.

Last year at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, we attended a session given by Lisa Uribe, director of Women's Global Connection — one of our sister's ministries. Lisa told a story about a girl in Tanzania who was often punished for being late to school, but she couldn't get there sooner because she had to carry water for her family.

Women's Global Connection started a rainwater-harvesting project to assist and encourage local women; now, there are 700 women in 60 villages harvesting rainwater. The little girl was profoundly grateful and could get to school more easily.

The women of Buwea, Tanzania, built this rainwater
harvester assisted by Women’s Global Connection.
(Women’s Global Connection)

In the midst of the San Antonio metropolitan area of almost 2.5 million, our sisters are the guardians of a 53-acre nature sanctuary, the Headwaters at Incarnate Word. This nonprofit Earth care ministry seeks to increase biodiversity and benefit local wildlife, offers educational programs for adults and children, and provides a sanctuary where people are encouraged to reflect and reconnect with the Earth.

As we let the Earth restore us, we can be better at restoring the Earth.

As we renew our baptismal promises and reflect on the waters of our baptism, may we deepen in our commitment to ensure life-giving water for all.

An Evening with John Dear in St. Louis

The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, along with other member Congregations of the St. Louis Intercommunity Ecological Council are pleased to sponsor an evening with renowned author and peace activist John Dear. 

Join us for an evening of reading, reflection and book signing with internationally acclaimed voice for peace and nonviolence, long time activist, popular lecturer, and movement organizer John Dear, sharing about his new book: They Will Inherit the Earth. 

In his landmark work, They Will Inherit the Earth, John Dear shows us why we need to build the global grassroots movement of nonviolence if we are to protect creation.

Dear notes how Jesus connected nonviolence with oneness with creation; how he practiced nonviolence and lived at one with creation, and how we need to do the same.

Books will be available for purchase and signing! 

Attendance is FREE but seating is limited, so please register at the ticket link: http://www.franciscansisters-olph.org/events

Earth Day Resources

Catholic Climate Covenant

This year’s Earth Day program, “Beyond a Throwaway Culture-Reduce Waste, Grow Community” is a one-hour educational program that includes prayers, readings, actions, and a video, designed to raise awareness on how the overuse of single-use disposable plastics contributes to what Pope Francis calls “the throwaway culture.” From contributing to land and marine pollution to increasing our use of carbon-producing fuels, our reliance on single-use plastics has a devastating impact on God’s creation.

We invite you to download the program, share it with your parish, school, or religious community. Though targeted for use as part of an Earth Day celebration, the program may be used at a time that best fits your community’s schedule.

Already planning an Earth Day celebration? Don’t forget to share stories and photos with us! Consider joining the Facebook Earth Day 2018: Beyond a Throwaway Culture event to connect with others and to share your community’s projects and ideas.


Creation Justice Ministries

Each year before Earth Day, Creation Justice Ministries offers Christian education materials to equip faith communities to protect, restore, and more rightly share God's creation.

Our 2018 theme is "Sense of Place" and offers insights about living in harmony with local ecosystems and watersheds, rightly sharing places with a diversity of peoples, and respecting the history of your place. Download the resource at www.creationjustice.org/place. 

Connect with others who are making plans for Earth Day Sunday by sharing in a Facebook event.


Global Catholic Climate Movement

Earth Day is Sunday, April 22. This Earth Day, Catholics around the world are joining together for a global day of action.

We are coming together with 2 simple plans:

• include creation in your prayers or mass and
• encourage your diocese to care for creation.

Will your community join the worldwide events on April 22? Please register your event here. From talking points and postcards to lesson plans and mass suggestions, the free toolkit has everything you need for a successful program. Please register your event now to take full advantage of all the materials.