Tag Archives: Justice Peace & Integrity of Creation

Often times, as the season starts to change, we sense the subtle shifting of the light to herald autumnal days and all the leave-taking that this can ask of nature and of us.  This changing rhythm can also herald a space for change in us. Perhaps a change in our way of seeing, being, discovering or responding to the needs ...

There is “no greater mistake … than that of trying to make charity do the work of justice”. ~ William Jewett Tucker There are more philanthropists than ever before. Each year they give tens of billions to charitable causes. So how come inequality keeps rising? asks Paul Vallely in this recent Guardian Newspaper article – How philanthropy benefits the super ...

We share a common role as caretakers of God’s creation. Our well-being is interwoven with the well-being of all of creation. So we rejoice in this opportunity to care for our common home and for the sisters and brothers who share it with us. The Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios proclaimed September 1 as Creation Day for the Orthodox in 1989, followed ...

 …. we pray for all those in our world who are suffering from injustice: For those who are discriminated against because of their race, colour or religion; For those imprisoned for working for the relief of oppression; For those who are hounded for speaking the inconvenient truth; For those tempted to violence as a cry against overwhelming hardship; For those ...

Reading the recent insights shared by Pope Francis at his Wednesday Audience on August 19th, where he reminds us that we must always keep in mind the “preferential option for the poor.” He said: “This is not a political, ideological, or partisan option” … rather, “the preferential option for the poor is at the centre of the Gospel.”  He goes ...

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) since 1914 as an occasion to express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for them as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.  Every year the WDMR is the last Sunday of September; in 2020 it ...

‘A quarantine of consumption’ – not my phrase but one that powerfully stayed with me from a recent article by Marcus Fairs  in dezeeen.com .  It was coined by Li Edelkoort in an interview – the full transcript of which is available in this link.  Edelkoort was born in the Netherlands in 1950 and is regarded as one of the ...

It is in excess of 300 years – three whole centuries – since the birth of Nano Nagle (April, 1718) founder of the Presentation Sisters, and yet it seems more true to say she lives in current times.  Nano initially, did not set out to found anything at all.  Her access to education and her life experience were inextricably woven ...

We are all too familiar with the existence and impact of the fast fashion industry (reflected in the prolific production and purchase of low quality clothes which need to be replaced more quickly to meet consumer demand).  This industry managed to entice us to embrace the so called ‘disposable clothing’ culture where the price of these garments never truly reflected ...

“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord.” These are the words that open Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology and care for God’s creation. These words, quoting St. Francis of Assisi’s beautiful canticle, remind us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms ...