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We must return to the spiritual values that are the foundation of life. We must love and respect all living things, have compassion for the poor and the sick, respect and understanding for women and female life on this earth who bear the sacred gift of life –
Indigenous delegates to the Global Forum on Environment, 1990.
The third Sunday of Advent is often referred to as “pink candle” Sunday, and in Latin, Gaudete Sunday indicating rejoicing and joy. The reading from Zephaniah, the Responsorial Psalm, and St, Paul’s words of encouragement, all ring with the tone of rejoicing, singing and gladness. This year as we listen to the news of a seemingly endless pandemic, catastrophic events related to weather, migrants searching for a better future, strained relationships, one might think, “about what could we be rejoicing?” Hearts are broken, lives are fragile, and hope can seem lost.
In the gospel from Luke, we continue to read about the people gathering around John the Baptist, seeking a new way of living, looking perhaps for hope, wondering, asking “what are we to do?” These people had not met Jesus, in fact, they thought that perhaps John was the Messiah, the long-awaited one who would change their lives.
But we have met Jesus. As we ask, what should I do? How am I to be? We need only to remember the two great commandments of love.
““Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.””
St. Paul’s words, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone,” are key words for me as I reflect on today’s scriptures.
We also celebrate today the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. This day was established in 2002 by the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council, with the approval of the Bishops of Canada.
The theme this year is We are called to Healing, Forgiveness, Reconciliation. ” We, the Body of Christ, are called to live in friendship and harmony with all peoples. We are brothers and sisters of our One Creator God. God gives everything to all of us. God creates and sustains the wonderful diversity of peoples, cultures, races and creeds.” (2021 Message of the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council)
And so, we ask the question posed to John the Baptist, “What should we do?”
Sister Maggie’s view in Hay River, Northwest Territories
In Hay River, Northwest Territories, where I live our days in December are very short. The sun rises in late morning and sets in early afternoon. Often the afterglow from the sun at this time of year is a beautiful mauve to pink texture. As I drove down the highway today, the soft colours reminded me of the gentleness that St. Paul spoke about …Let your gentleness be known to everyone.
Sister Maggie Beaudette, csj
Amnesty International’s “Write for Rights” is an activity during Advent that the Sisters of St. Joseph have embraced for ten years - 10 years!!
Each December 10th we join with global citizens to write letters to plead with leaders of countries to free people unjustly incarcerated for working on behalf of social justice and peace. We come together as a group of women armed with pen and paper as well as the names and stories of people around the world who have been apprehended on false and unjust premises.
Sisters Ann & Kitty pens ready!
This year our letters include calls for freedom and justice for a Chinese citizen journalist jailed in 2020 for reporting on the unfolding of the COVID-19 outbreaks in Wuhan. We also advocate for a Guatemalan man jailed seven years now for being a courageous defender of the rights of his people. Another case involves a young woman who was arrested at the Sudan border in 2012 and has never been heard from since that time.
Our letters of advocacy, joined to thousands of others around the world do make a difference. The diligent workers and volunteers of Amnesty International keep us abreast of people who have been freed from their unjust situations. Regardless of age or circumstance, one letter written with love and compassion can make a huge difference - it changes the life of one who we will never meet.
-Sister Jean Moylan, csj
Pictured above, the Sisters hard at work, letter-writing.
We wrote 100 letters so far this year! #W4R21
None of us would likely name ourselves a racist. And in fact, no one is born a racist. Racism is something we learn. We may learn this in our families, our schools, our churches, or in the broader society. From our earliest days we learn and are influenced by our experiences in life, by the people with whom we interact, and by the society where we grow up.
Many of the ways I look at people who are different than I am may be because I learned to make assumptions about that difference I see. We may feel uncomfortable, confused, uncertain or any other number of feelings. The feelings are within me. However, if I can learn to pay attention to what is going on within me and not assume that my feelings convey the truth, then I can begin to examine the mental models of my thought processes and begin to explore the assumptions from which my thinking and conclusions emerge. Just a simple example: Let’s take colour. Why is white seem as preferable to black? Or is it? It is only a colour or non-colour, but we have learned to attach value to colour. It may as simple as “I like _____ or I do not like ______. But when this kind of thinking is attached to a human person, then I can make any number of harmful and wrong conclusions.
The point of this short blog is not to suggest that I understand or recognize the many nuances of racism but rather to invite us all to pay attention to our thoughts, feelings, and to be curious about what we discover within us to assume that we are right. If the world we live in is to become less divided, less racist, it can only start with each one of us. We are never too old or too young to try.
Addressing racism is “soul work”. For me it is summed up in the thoughts of Michael Leunig, an Australian journalist and cartoonist. He counsels us “Love one another and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that. There is no other way.”
And so the soul within us has some wisdom to teach us. Let’s slow down to listen.
-Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ | Office for Systemic Justice
Image: Unsplash/Ed Robertson
