Friday, September 13, 2024

Oración Bilingüe Virtual - Movilidad Humana

Amigas y amigos,
Te invitamos a un especial encuentro de oración en línea, bilingüe, este 26 de septiembre a las 6 p.m. hora en Chimbote y Lima (Perú), y a las 5 de la tarde en Ciudad de México (México). Mientras continuamos nuestro itenerario en el Tiempo de la Creación (del 1 de septiembre al 4 de octubre) y nos acercamos al Día Mundial de los Migrantes y Refugiados (último domingo de septiembre), unámonos como comunidad en Perú, México, Estados Unidos y más allá. Este será un momento para la reflexión, oración y solidaridad con todas las personas que buscan refugio y un hogar. Tu presencia enriquecerá nuestro compromiso compartido con la justicia, paz y cuidado de nuestra casa común.

Fecha: 26 de septiembre
Hora: 6 p.m. (Lima) y 5 p.m. (Cd. México)
Plataforma: Zoom

Esperamos orar contigo.



Online Bilingual Prayer: Human Mobility

Friends,
We invite you to a special bilingual online prayer gathering on September 26 at 6 P.M. Central Time. As we continue our journey through the Season of Creation (September 1 to October 4) and approach the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (last Sunday of September), let us come together as a community from Peru, Mexico, the United States, and beyond. This prayer will be a time for united reflection, prayer, and solidarity with those who seek refuge and a home. Your presence will enrich our shared commitment to justice, peace and care of creation.

Date: September 26
Time: 6 PM Central Time
Platform: Zoom

We look forward to praying with you.



Monday, September 9, 2024

Season of Creation (Week 2 Reflection)

On this second week of Season of Creation, we reflect on the global impact of climate change, the water supply, right to life with dignity, social love that encourages culture of care. 

Psalm 146:8
The Lord sets the prisoners free;    the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
    the Lord loves the righteous.

Mark 7:32-35 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 

This Week's Laudato Si:

Article 25 (highlight): The effects of climate change are affecting environment, social, political, economic systems around the world especially the vulnerable people without financial reserves, legal protection, and physical safety.  The developing countries are mostly impacted by the climate change due to their dependency on the natural resources that are highly vulnerable with the natural disasters and severe weather conditions.  As a result, the people and animals impacted by the climate change are forced to migrate to a place of refuge.

Article 28 (highlight): The availability of water for drinking, land crops, vegetation and water-dependent industries is critical for the life's sustainability.  There are parts of the world where water is inaccessible while there are parts of the world where there is an abundant supply of water.

Article 43 (highlight):  Right to life and happiness is for everyone.  The throw-away culture has impacted the mindset about the value of human life.  It is always to be treated as indispensable rather than treating life as conditionally irrelevant.

Article 231 (highlight): A better world can be made possible by social love where this exists in various human relational aspects life: political, economic and cultural.  The culture of care can spread in all aspects of life where charity has a place in all of these dimensions as well.  We are called to include our actions in these spaces as God's invitation for us to relate with these for our maturity and sanctification.

Prayer Intention:
"That each of us will work together to heal Mother Earth in our own ways, using our own gifts and talents to help her nourish and protect us better, let us pray to the Lord …"

We are invited to ponder how we can integrate our spirituality in all the dimensions of life as all of these are affecting individually and collectively in the way we are consuming and producing for making life and happiness possible.

This morning of September 8, on the feast of the Nativity of our Blessed Mother Mary, we had the Archdiocese of San Antonio celebrated the Season of Creation.  People were grateful for Archbishop Gustavo for celebrating the Annual Mass for the season followed by the pilgrimage.  It was 1.5-mile walk pondering the many ways that the people can reflect, pray and act on the Care of our Common Home due to the environmental degradation.  




From the Season of Creation San Antonio Archdiocese Pilgrimage






Sunday, September 1, 2024

Season of Creation (Week 1 Reflection)

It is the Season of Creation once again where people all over the world are intentionally praying, pondering, having a conversation, and taking action together.  It started with ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I in 1989 when the church leader designates September 1 as the start of the World Day of Prayer and ends on October 4 which is the Feast of Saint Francis. We invite you can join us in praying for the Creation and collaborate with each other for anything that shows how you are good stewards of God's kingdom.  Reflecting the selected articles from Laudato Si, reflect on the ways that you are called to advocate and practice for the healing of our planet.

Selection from Catholic Climate Covenant with our summarized, reflection questions for your contemplation. 

Sept 1: We pray…
  • For this World Day of Prayer for Creation and the start to the global ecumenical Season of Creation: may we be doers, and not hearers only, of honoring and respecting God’s first act: Creation.
  • That we are to daily honor God, our neighbors, and all of creation, as "wise and intelligent people" who live on God’s creation.

This Week's Laudato Si

Article 68 (highlight):  The creation operates in balance.  There is production and consumption. This is part of the laws of nature.  It operates in a healthy way only if we give it a space to grow, ripen, rot or decompose and be used again in ecosystem.  Just as God rested on the seventh day when God created the universe/and cosmos, every parts of creation need rest for a reason.


Reflect the relationship that you have with others in creation.  What kind of food do you use for your daily food?  How is it package?  Where does it come from?  Did it come from traditional or mass farming?  Did the producer use organic fertilizers as opposed to comercialized fertilizers that can yours?  The Bible is teaching us that anthropocentrism is about all man's way at all cost but as you can see, God is please with what God created everything and human beings are stewards of all of these.

Genesis 29-30  And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” 

Article 208 (highlight): We can show concern for things that are beyond us.  There is an attitude of indifference where we do not concern ourselves with what is happening to our brothers and sisters including the other parts of nature surrounding us. 

Reflect on how you are currently consuming reasonably according to your needs.  How to mitigate the disregard for other creatures?  How are you going to be more mindful to put limit on how you use the natural reasources?

Article 231 (highlight): Social love and culture of care will connect our lives more socially, politically, economically and culturally so that our spirituality is more integrated.  Our relation can mature towards a responsible and systemic charity for regeneration and renewal of our commitment to care for our common good where we have concrete actions on our social responsiblity.

Reflect on ways that that you can incorporate regeneration part of the culture, to have a renewal and systemic change to heal the creation.  What are the laws that can be passed to stop single use plastics on food?  What are the laws that can be used for plastic utensils usage to be stopped so that people would use real utensils, real plates or sustainable?  How is the farming in your area?  Are the fertilizers destroying the quality of soil after a harvest?  

Are there organic alternatives to what you are using right now?

Mark 7: [Jesus responded to the Pharisees and scribes], "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me … teaching as doctrine"




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