July National Holidays

Province of the

U.S.A. and Canada

Our Canadian and American Cluny Sisters wish all the Peoples of Canada

and the United States of America a Happy National Day.

Together we sing and rejoice for the gift of these two great nations. 

May their values, freedoms, and national community be a light to all

nations as they celebrate their Nationhood.

We joyfully live and serve as Missionary Disciples in

Hamilton, Ontario; San Pedro, CA; Norwich, CT; Middletown & Newport, RI.

Happy Canada Day

on July 1 ^st

National Anthem   O Canada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDg-NjcmZfc

Happy Independence Day

USA on July 4 ^th

National Anthem  The Star-Spangled Banner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhmkjDqer3c

DACA Dream & Promise

Summary of Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6)

The Dream and Promise Act of 2019, H.R. 6,^[2] would establish a roadmap to U.S. citizenship for (1) immigrant youth and (2) current or potential holders of (a) temporary protected status (TPS) or (b) deferred enforced departure (DED). H.R. 6 would provide conditional permanent resident (CPR) status and a roadmap to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status and, eventually, U.S. citizenship for immigrant youth who entered the United States before age 18, have four or more years of residency, and graduated from high school (or the equivalent). The bill also would provide an opportunity for people who currently have or who may be eligible for TPS or DED and have three or more years of residence in the U.S. to apply for LPR status and, eventually, U.S. citizenship. The bill passed the House of Representatives on June 4, 2019.

Read More Here

         https://www.hrc.org/resources/american-dream-and-promise-act

On Thursday, June 18, 2020 SCOTUS released their final decision on DACA. It’s good news! The Supreme Court has sided with immigrant communities and has stopped Trump from ending DACA this year. This means DACA will survive for now..

Please join us during our Home Is Here Digital Rally, Monday at 1PM,  and find out how to show up for DACA recipients and all immigrants.

JOIN THE RALLY!

Now that the decision is out, it’s important to remember that DACA was a victory which changed the lives of over 800,000 of undocumented youth and their families. 

There is power in numbers, and more supporters are needed to stand up with the Dreamers! Please share and invite your family and friends who are ready to show up for immigrants!

#HereToStay.

Good and Gracious God, we thank you for the resiliency of the Dreamers, for their courage and ability to share gifts under challenging conditions. We come together in gratitude for their service to our communities and great contributions to our nation. As adults, many have created their own families with children, children who are citizens.

We hold in prayer legislators who determine the future of these young people. May they pass humane and comprehensive legislation, providing Dreamers their long awaited citizenship.

While awaiting for a resolution on DACA we pray that hope not be lost. May Dreamers know of our support, love, action and prayers. We stand in solidarity with them, their families and our communities.

Good and Gracious God, continue to give us the wisdom and strengthen to be a voice on their behalf.

2020 World Refugee Day

Take A Step On World  Refugee  Day

 June 20, 2020

Welcoming Refugees… it’s part of who we are!

Remember and Celebrate

2020 Theme: #StepWithRefugees  -  Take A Step on World Refugee Day

In a world where violence forces thousands of families to flee for their lives each day, the time is now to show that the global public stands with refugees.

Families that have been forced to flee make extraordinary efforts to survive. From South Sudan to Uganda, Myanmar to Bangladesh, Syria to Jordan; they have endured long, dangerous and difficult journeys. At a time when there are more and more global crises forcing people from their homes, we are coming together to show our solidarity and to honor their resilience and determination to keep their families safe.

You can take a step too. Join today and take part in the #stepwithrefugees global challenge.

Global Trends in Forced Displacement

Go To

https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/refugees/

Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. There are several types of forcibly displaced persons:

Refugees

A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters

REFUGEES IN AMERICA

https://www.rescue.org/topic/refugees-america

Asylum Seekers

Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled.

Internally Displaced Persons

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country.

Stateless Persons

Stateless persons do not have a recognized nationality and do not belong to any country.Statelessness situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification — a citizenship certificate — can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment

  

Emergency Response

https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/emergencies.html

Refugee Rights

Some basic rights, apply to all refugees. A refugee becomes entitled to other rights the longer they remain in the host country, which is based on the recognition that the longer they remain as refugees, the more rights they need. 

• The right not to be expelled, except under certain, strictly defined conditions;
• The right not to be punished for illegal entry into the territory of a contracting State;
• The right to work;
• The right to housing;
• The right to education;
• The right to public relief and assistance;
• The right to freedom of religion;
• The right to access the courts;
• The right to freedom of movement within the territory;
• The right to be issued identity and travel documents.

  

A Prayer for Refugees

God of our Wandering Ancestors,

Long have we known
That your heart is with the refugee:
That you were born into time
In a family of refugees
Fleeing violence in their homeland,
Who then gathered up their hungry child
And fled into alien country. 

Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages:
“Will you let me in?” 

Give us hearts that break open
When our brothers and sisters turn to us with that same cry.
Then surely all these things will follow:
Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices.
Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat.
Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.
And hands will reach out—
working for peace in their homeland, 

working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven.

Lord, protect all refugees in their travels.
May they find a friend in me
And so make me worthy
Of the refuge I have found in you. 

 

AMEN

♥ Feast of the Sacred Heart

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You

The deepest longing of Christ's Heart is that we discover how much he loves us, the extent of his tender love for creatures who, cooled by their selfishness, look only inwards at themselves, as if they were afraid to let themselves be loved unconditionally by their Creator, who asks nothing and gives all.

Pope Benedict XVI speaking of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus said:

“In biblical language, "heart" indicates

the center of the person

where his sentiments and intentions dwell.

In the Heart of the Redeemer

we adore God's love for humanity,

his will for universal salvation, his infinite mercy.

Practicing devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ

therefore means adoring that Heart which,

after having loved us to the end,

was pierced by a spear

and from high on the Cross

poured out blood and water,

an inexhaustible source of new life”

(Benedict XVI, Angelus 5 June 2005).

The call which comes from this important feast day is first of all a call to Eucharistic adoration, because in the Sacred Host the Lord Jesus is truly present and He offers each of us His Heart, His Merciful Love. On this feast, we are called to spend time in the Presence of the Jesus who loves us. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has spread all over the world thanks to Jesus' revelations to Saint Margherita M. Alacoque in the 17th century:

“Behold the Heart which so loved mankind”!

On this annual feast in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus let us pray with the Church the traditional Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

 THE LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Lord, have mercy on us.                              Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us        Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,                           Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,           Have mercy on us

God the Holy Spirit,

Holy Trinity, one God,

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,

Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb,

Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,

Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,

Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God,

Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,

Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,

Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity,

Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love,

Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,

Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,

Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,

Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts,

Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,

Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead,

Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,

Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,

Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,

Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, have mercy on us.

Hymn: O Sacred Heart, O Love Divine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRd75xTt7hk

Let Us Pray

♥

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

  

O Sacred Heart of Jesus,

for whom it is impossible
not to have compassion on the afflicted,

have pity on us sinners
and grant us the grace which we ask of you,
through the Sorrowful and
Immaculate Heart of Mary,

your tender mother and ours.
AMEN.

—Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Corpus Christi

Feast of the Body and Blood of  Jesus

The Lord feeds his people with finest wheat

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Their hunger is fully satisfied

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Panis Angelicus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4OlTE7El0E

Corpus Christi Procession

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyuGXOFEAbo

Reading from the Gospel of John 6: 51-58

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."

Some thoughts on today's scripture

In Hebrew, the expression “flesh and blood” means the whole being. The reality of Christ’s presence at the Eucharist is beyond our comprehension. We are asked not to understand it, but to experience it.

Jesus has given his own flesh and blood for me personally, on the cross and in the Eucharist. What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?

Jesus here reveals the hospitality of God. Everyone is invited to the divine banquet: what matters is for each of us to foster our relationship with Jesus. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood is not an invitation to cannibalism, as the Jews feared. Instead, in the Eucharist the bread and wine are given a new and awesomely deep meaning: they become the very person of Jesus.

In the Eucharist we deepen our relationship with Jesus, not mechanically but by becoming more and more like him over the years. God gives himself to us, and we try to shape our lives into a loving gift for God.

“Abide in me” is a phrase Jesus uses over and over again. He invites us to take him into ourselves and become one with him. Then we will have real life.

Bread nourishes us, so Jesus uses that term to describe himself. But ‘living’ bread is an effort to reveal more deeply how profoundly he nourishes us. He offers us a relationship in which we can ‘abide’ in security. We need that life-giving relationship more than ever to-day.

What we receive in the small piece of bread or the sip of wine at the Eucharist is the gift of life from Jesus. This is a sharing in the life of God. hand.

‘Eat’, ‘live’ and ‘abide’ are all words that belong to the home. Jesus invites me to bring anything in my life that is unsettled or out of place, that it may find its home in him.

Come

Eat this Bread and Drink this Cup

You will never Hunger or Thirst.

Power of Art

Using the Power of Art to Raise

Awareness About Human Trafficking

ArtWorks for Freedom works locally and globally through various art mediums to empower individuals, communities and policy makers to be part of the solution to end human trafficking.

Find out about ArtWorks for Freedom. Click to watch this 3-minute video:

https://www.artworksforfreedom.org/about-us/

  

Golden Door to Freedom

Golden Doors to Freedom is another participatory art project of ArtWorks for Freedom. Trafficking survivors and community members are guided by master gilder, William Adair, to transform discarded doors into "freedom portals". Tis transformation "tells us about por own capacity to change perceptions and create empathy in the place of indifference." 

Learn more by clicking here:

https://www.artworksforfreedom.org/portfolio-item/conceptual-art/

Art to Heal Victims of Trafficking

When testifying during a United States Senate hearing on trafficking, human trafficking survivor, Margeaux Gray, called for an increase in services for survivors, including art therapy. Most programs are supported by grants from art councils or community fundraising.

Click here to learn more:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/feb/26/art-therapy-trafficking-slavery

 “Art therapy is defined as using an application of art in a therapeutic context. This can take many different forms, from painting and drawing to sculpture and pottery, to music and poetry.”

A Survivor Speaks

“I might have been through this struggle. But I’m a survivor as well. So, when you ask me who I see in the mirror looking back at me, I’m gonna say a girl who survived hell.”

‘When Jatia was just six years old, her father died of a brain tumor. She moved in with her aunt to what she thought was a safer environment, but she became a victim of human trafficking. After years of abuse, Jatia struggled to trust men. But that all changed when she met Covina Valley USD Fairvalley High principal Dana Craig. It was Craig’s open-door policy and gentle demeanor that allowed Jatia to open up about her tumultuous childhood. As she began to heal, Jatia turned to writing and poetry to sift through her experiences. Her resilience, bright smile and deep empathy are only some of the strengths she shows when reading her poems. Her future is bright but no matter what comes. Jatia is a survivor.’

To view her story please click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYWvxOtAcQ

Read the June Newsletter

https://www.sistersagainsttrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020_06_Stop-Trafficking.pdf

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday Customs & Traditions

Trinity Sunday is a day for Christians to honor the belief of an eternal God that is Father, Son, Spirit. Three distinct Persons, One God. Many churches will hold special services or prayers on this day. In some churches, The Athanasian Creed is recited. Other events that might be held on this day include concerts, Trinity Sunday awards, special meals and social events.

In some Western churches, is the liturgical color chosen for Trinity Sunday. This color may be combined with images of the Holy Trinity – which depicts the three elements of God in one. Sometimes, a triangle that is formed by overlapping loops or oval rings is used as a depiction of the Trinity.  Often times, a crown is used as the symbol of the Father, a lamb as the one for Jesus and a dove as a symbol for the Holy Spirit.

In Eastern Orthodox churches, Pentecost Sunday is also called Trinity Sunday. The Monday that follows this Sunday is then called the Monday of the Holy Spirit and the Tuesday after that is called the Third Day of the Trinity. In some of these Eastern churches, green is usually a prominent color.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, 
the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial
of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.