March Stop Trafficking

 

Child Sex Tourism involves people who travel from their own country to satisfy a specific desire to have exploitative and illegal sexual contact with children.

To combat trafficking and child sexual abuse, some international hotels and other tourism services have voluntarily adopted a code of conduct that includes employee training and reporting suspicious activities. One purpose of the Global Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism is to educate tourists that the exploitation of children is wrong in any country. Tourist establishments supporting this initiative to protect children from sex tourism are listed online. Providers and travelers who suspect child sexual exploitation or other trafficking activities occurring overseas can report tips anonymously.

By agreeing to "the code", companies agree to combat and eliminate child sex tourism. In addition, it is believed that by adhering to the six criteria outlined in the code, businesses are doing their part in ethical tourism. The Code criteria are as follows:

What Can Be Done?

Read about it in the March

Stop Trafficking Newsletter

Lent Week IV

 

"Restore hope to young people, 

help the old, be open to the future, spread love. 

Be poor among the poor. 

Include the excluded and preach peace."

- Pope Francis

The Prodigal Son, A Story of Our Life

Lk. 15:11-32

This Friday and Saturday, March 25th  and 26th , the Universal Catholic Church is invited to participate in the international initiative, ’24 Hours for the Lord’. Parishes are asked to make the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharistic adoration available for a 24-hour period on this weekend.

In Luke’s account of the Prodigal Son we find our own story of being called home where we experience mercy and forgiveness.  We are also called to embrace the other and bathe them in mercy and forgiveness - to be ambassadors of reconciliation in Jesus’ name.

Take some time this weekend to pray for this gift of MERCY

In our world and in our lives.

Oh God,

We cry justice for

our bruised and battered planet.

We cry justice for

our poor and marginalized communities 

of color

here and around the world.

We cry justice for

our detained immigrant and refugee

brothers and sisters in search of a home.

We cry justice for

all harmed by an unjust global economy.

We cry justice for

our criminal and legal system

that is selective in who is held accountable.

We cry justice for

our cities where violence is born

of injustice and inhumane conditions.

We cry justice ... We cry peace.

MERCY! AMEN!

Come back to me with all your heart….

With prayer

With fasting

With giving

Hosea

Gregory Norbet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfccyT1k5vc

Peace In Ukraine

 

Throughout this week we join Pope Francis and the world faith

community in praying for Ukraine and for peace

Prayer of Pope Francis for Ukraine

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,                 have mercy on us sinners!
Lord Jesus, born in the shadows of bombs 
falling on Kyiv,         have mercy on us!

Lord Jesus, who died in a mother’s arms 
in a bunker in Kharkiv,         have mercy on us!
Lord Jesus, a 20-year-old sent to the frontlines, have mercy on us!
Lord Jesus, who still behold armed hands 
in the shadow of your Cross,         have mercy on us!

Forgive us, O Lord.

Forgive us, if we are not satisfied with the nails with which we crucified 

Your hands, as we continue to slate our thirst with the blood of those mauled by weapons.

Forgive us, if these hands which You created to tend have been

transformed into instruments of death.

Forgive us, O Lord, if we continue to kill our brother;
Forgive us, if we continue like Cain to pick up the stones of our fields 

to kill Abel.

Forgive us, if we continue to justify our cruelty with our labors, if we

legitimize the brutality of our actions with our pain.

Forgive us for war, O Lord. Forgive us for war, O Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we implore You!

Hold fast the hand of Cain!

Illumine our consciences;

May our will not be done;

Abandon us not to our own actions!

Stop us, O Lord, stop us!

And when you have held back the hand

of Cain, care also for him. He is our

brother.

O Lord, put a halt to the violence!

Stop us, O Lord!

Amen.

Third Sunday of Lent - First Scrutiny

 Thirsting   for  Living  Water

"For anyone who drinks it, the water that I shall give
will become in you a spring welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14

Encountering Jesus, we thirst for that which Jesus has inspired within us… faith, hope and love; fasting prayer and almsgiving.  Along our Lenten journey we encounter Jesus, as the woman in today’s Gospel met Jesus at the well,  in some of the most unlikely places and people.  Such encounters challenged us to cleanse our hearts and minds so that we can see contemplatively the presence of our God and follow.  

Our Lenten purification washes away our prejudices, biases, fears and anxieties. We are freed so that we may “Go to all peoples” and “Announce the Good News”.  

During this third week of Lent, we join the catechumens preparing for their full initiation at Easter, into the ‘Way of Jesus’ and discipleship. With all the church we ask: may the waters of Baptism flow like a mighty river and our discipleship be real.  

During this week let us enter into the Jesus Story finding ourselves standing beside this ‘woman at the well’.  Our life, like hers, full of hope and desires. Searching, thirsting and longing are hallmarks of this journey of lent.  

Listen… to the dialogue between Jesus and this woman

Reflect… on your own hopes and desires  

Action… recognize the hopes of others and bring

                compassion and mercy to them                                                                                                        

Prayer

May your unfailing compassion, O Lord, cleanse and protect your Church,

and, since without you she cannot stand secure, may she be always governed by your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Gospel Reading Woman At The Well

       John 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”  His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” 

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.

“I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of

his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

Reflection

 

What word or words in this passage caught your attention?

What in this passage comforted you? What in this passage challenged you?

 

Give me a drink.  

For what do I thirst? 

How do I experience the need for God? 

In what ways can I help to share God’s love with those who thirst for his presence?

 

Those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.

In what ways does the public worship of the Church (especially the Mass) strengthen my faith in and love for God? 

How does this worship call me to transform my life to follow the truth of Christ?

 

We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world. 

What people, practices, readings, etc. help to strengthen my faith? 

What can I do this week to share my faith with others?

Come To The River

Bob Hurd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdMVQksOy6w

March 19th Feast of St. Joseph

     Behold, a faithful and prudent steward,

     Whom the Lord set over his household.

Happy Feast Day Cluny Sisters!

Cluny Sisters 2,600 around the world, 

unite with one heart and one mind as we celebrate the feast 

of our congregational patron, St. Joseph.

The sisters learn from him to live in intimacy with

Jesus and Mary,

And to appreciate the nobility and sanctifying value of work.

Memorare to Saint Joseph

Remember, O most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, my beloved Patron, that never it has been known that anyone who invoked your patronage and sought your intercession was left unaided. 

Inspired by this confidence I come to you and fervently commend myself to you. Despise not my petition, O dearest foster father of our Redeemer, but accept it graciously.  Amen.

Learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny

Cluny Sisters Congregational Website

www.sj-cluny.org

Province of USA & Canada Website

www.clunyUSandCanada.org

Transfiguration Lent II

Listen to the Beloved

From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:

This is my beloved Son, hear him.

The Transfiguration of Jesus

Luke 9:28-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.  And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, 

“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

But he did not know what he was saying.  While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.  Then from the cloud came a voice that said,

“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.  They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen. 

Go up the Mountain,
Listen, Be Touched,
Rise Up, Become Disciples

We follow Jesus with Peter, James and John up the mountain of transfiguration.  It is good for us too to experience mystical moments with Jesus.  To recognize and listen to the ‘Beloved’ sent by the Father and revealed today in the people, events and circumstances of our lives.  We are called this week to  ‘listen to him’,  be “touched” by him, let go of our fears in his presence, be “transfigured” with him and “rise up”! 

This Week we ask ourselves, is this the moment when we rise from the dead?  As community we rise? … family, neighborhood, workplace, nation? If not NOW, then when?  Is this a time to rise up? A time of liberation and transformation? A time that make all things New? 

Listening to the Beloved, sends us beyond ourselves to pray, fast, and do good.  As Disciples of Jesus, we go beyond the mountain mystical experience to the ‘cries of the poor’ and touch our world with the non-violent peace-filled presence of God, revealed in Jesus. Together we Rise Up!

Litany of Transfiguration

R: Let me see only Jesus 

When I’m tempted to look at only my faults.  R

When troubled by the specter of doubt and defeat.  R

When I can’t see beyond the frustrations of the moment.  R

When the horizon seems distant and dark.  R

When I can’t see the point of pursuing what’s good. R

When complaining and cynicism invade my peace.  R

When I can’t face my problems.  R

When the world looks bleak.  R

When others measure and judge me.  R

When beset by depression. R

When friendship is far from me. R

When overshadowed by sorrow. R

When it’s hard to forgive. R

When things don’t make sense. R

When I think I can’t change. R

When confronted by suffering. R

When stress gets me down. R

When it’s hard to go on. R

When blinded by sin. R

When the hardness of life overwhelms me. R

When hope begins to fade. R 

Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P.

Listen to the Song of The Transfiguration
David Haas
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkUkCjlFAOE

Catholic Sisters Week

 

Fifty-two weeks a year women religious stand with the poor and immigrants, teach children, fight injustice, heal the sick, share spirituality, empower women, defend the planet, promote peace, create community, offer hope …

But for one week, March 8-14, we shine the spotlight on women religious and encourage a wide range of campaigns and events that invite all who follow Jesus to

• expand and support their gospel witness
• grow the service networks they have seeded
• share their spirituality, charisms, and community
• encourage young women to consider a vocation to religious life
• support their pastoral, teaching and prophetic works
• and focus on the new world they call into being.

During this week, get to know more about Catholic Sisters.  Go to various websites and see what’s going on and the missions and works being done.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, bringing Hope and Compassion to a broken world.  An International Missionary Congregation in the Americas, Europe, Asia Africa, Indian Ocean and Oceania.

Here is a link to our  Congregational Website  https://sj-cluny.org/?lang=en

Here is a link to the Province of USA & Canada Website

https://clunyusandcanada.org/

We encourage you to read Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si and do what you can to care for earth.

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Lent Week I

 Driven Into the Desert

“lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”

In the Gospel Reading for the First Sunday of Lent, we hear how the Spirit led Jesus out into the desert. Jesus is passionate about the Mission of God entrusted to Him. In the desert, He is tempted by the evil one to give up and abandon this mission.  There is desert dryness, hunger and thirst.  Jesus is called into a place of wilderness and danger; a place also of beauty, silence and peace.

We too are called by the same Spirit.  In our own deserts we recognize our thirst and hunger to know and love our God more deeply, more completely. It is in solitude and struggle that Jesus becomes for us ‘Living Water’ and the ‘Bread for’ life.

Action

Renew your Baptismal Commitment this week. 

Renewal of Baptismal Promises

Do you renounce sin, so as to live in the freedom of the children of God?

I do. 

Do you renounce the lure of evil, so that sin may have no mastery over you?

I do. 

Do you renounce Satan, the author and prince of sin?

I do. 

Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? 

I do. 

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father? 

I do. 

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? 

I do. 

And may almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us new birth by water and the Holy Spirit and bestowed on us forgiveness of our sins, keep us by his grace, in Christ Jesus our Lord, for eternal life. 

Amen. 

Sing and Pray with Bob Hurd

Out Into the Wilderness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkPl3Cee8DY

Lent Ash Wednesday

 Return  To  Your  God

With Your Whole Heart

Even now the Lord says,

Return to me with all your heart,

with fasting,

with weeping,

with mourning;

Rend your heart, not your garment.

Return your God, gracious and

compassionate.

Joel 2:12, 13

Signed with the cross using ashes from the burnt palms of last year’s Palm Sunday, we are reminded at the beginning of this Lent of the three traditional Lenten practices.

Fasting         Our thirst and hunger for God 

Prayer         A contemplative gaze on Jesus’ Way

Alms-Giving Sharing our abundance with others

Prayer Together

May God fill our hearts with the love that bears all things,

Believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things,

Through Christ our companion on the journey.  AMEN.

I will take your heart of stone and place a heart within you,

A heart of compassion and love

Lenten Practice

Throughout Lent, collect stones of all sizes, color and shape.  

Build a sacred pile of stones symbolizing the promise of God that is being fulfilled in your heart and life.  Let them remind you to let go of your ‘Stoney Heart’ and build Strong Relationships in your family, parish, country, world and all of Creation we are called to steward.

Sing and Pray With John Michael Talbot

Hosea:  Come Back To Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB0TWvag_Ic