EXECUTIVE SUMMARY                                           Traduction française - voir ci-dessous A global ecumenical process is underway for various Christian churches to jointly elevate Creation Day (September 1), also known as the World Day of Prayer for Creation, to become a liturgical feast. A working group co-convened by the UISG-USG JPIC commission, Laudato Si' Movement, and Laudato Si' Research Institute is coordinating the participation of Catholic organizations and congregations in the process. Below is some background on the proposed feast, as well as invitations for your...

Prayers4Peace - Palestinians: A Struggle for Survival in a World Turned Away        Traduction française ci-dessous By: Rifat Kassis The Palestinian people, like many nations throughout history—Americans under British rule, the French during Nazi occupation, Indians under British imperialism, Algiers under French occupation, and others—find themselves under the iron grip of ruthless military occupation. Israel, the occupying power, imposes a regime of oppression and apartheid that denies Palestinians all their fundamental rights, among them to live in dignity and freedom. For decades, Palestinians have employed every method in their pursuit of liberation. They have t...

Marist School's Commitment to Sustainability: Embracing the Season of Creation At Marist School in Atlanta, GA, we are proud to embrace the Catholic Church's Season of Creation by fostering a deep sense of environmental stewardship and sustainability among our students. This special time in the liturgical calendar calls upon us to reflect on our role as caretakers of God's creation and to take meaningful actions that promote the well-being of our planet. This year, Marist students are leading the way with several new initiatives and projects that reflect their commitment to sustainability and the Earth. Launching the Eco-Garden Club Thanks to a generous $1,000 grant from the Our Lady of Vict...

Reconciliation: A Path to Peace in Interreligious Dialogue        -     pour la traduction française, voir ci-dessous -  Hermes Sabud, SM, Program coordinator, Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (IRICD) Program of the Marist Asia Foundation, Ranong, Thailand Interreligious dialogue is a collaborative approach to life where people from diverse religious faith traditions respectfully establish connections and build friendships. When people begin to establish friendships, trust is gradually initiated and nurtured. As relationships develop, we become aware of the uniqueness of the other. There are times when it is difficult to accept and appreciate ...

25 Years of Service in Notre Dame Refugee Centre [from Euro-Info SM – July] Notre Dame Refugee Centre (NDRC) in London, founded in 1996, had the opportunity to celebrate an important anniversary on 21 June, 25 years of service of Brian Mitchell, who is currently the senior immigration advisor. During his time in this post, personnel, both Marist religious and lay, have revolved around him! He is an exceptional example of dedication to this vulnerable community, and it can honestly be said that Brian has been instrumental in shaping the Centre into the service it is today. Brian writes, "I am genuinely appreciative of the experience NDRC has offered me. I came to the centre in 1999 with very ...

On May 11, 2024, I, Lauro da Silva Ferreira, at the request of the Assistant General Father Ben McKenna, I joined the Meeting of the Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation – JPIC Roma, of the USG [Union of Superiors General-men]/UISG [International Union of Superiors General – women]. The meeting took place at: Piazza di Ponte Sant'Angelo. Pour la traduction française voir ci-dessous The first factor that struck me was the number of participants. Representatives from more than seventy different religious congregations. The vast majority were first-time members of the commission. For this reason, I believe, the meeting took place with an introductory bias, in the sense of pre...

TALITHA KUM2nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Rome May 2024                                Voir la traduction française ci-dessous 150 delegates and participants from 71 countries, representing 60 Talitha Kum networks throughout the world …including two Kiwis, Ms Jeanette Atabelo & Sr Catherine Jones, smsm, and two Fijians, Sr Esther Powell DOLC & Ms Andrea Manueli …. gathered around the theme, "Journeying together, to end Human Trafficking: Compassion in action for Transformation."It was a special gift to begin on Pentecost Sunday, as we let the Holy Spirit guide us through the synodal process of listening ...

Fr Paddy O'Neil, Kiwi Marist based in Brazil, writes:                                        Traduction française - voir ci-dessous : Recently I had the opportunity of visiting Tabatinga, a town on the Rio Solimõesin the remote Amazon region where Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet. Arriving in Tabatinga one late afternoon I was warmly welcomed by members of the International Community of the Marist Brothers, which at the moment consists of Brother Luke Fong, FMS from Fiji and three lay volunteers: a married couple (Marcio from Brazil and Laura from Mexico) and Alessandra from Guatemala. They run ...

This week's blog is Chapter 2- Communities for Mission, from Fr John Larsen's recently released Letter to the Society of Mary: Like Mary, Bearers of Hope.         Pour la version française - voir ci-dessous.        Nazareth From our first beginnings Nazareth has always been an important symbol for us as Marists. For Father Jean-Claude: "Our spirit, the spirit of the Society … I personally find it in all its fulness in the house at Nazareth" (F.S. 188, 12) Nazareth speaks of a small village where people grew together in faith together with Mary, Joseph and their son. It was far from the centres of power, whether Jerusalem or Rome or elsewhere,...

Tim Duckworth: Climate of Fear - In Korero, April 2, 2024. New Zealand Marist Bulletin It is very easy to push away ideas that we do not like or we do not welcome. It is easy to say – I'm not the cause of these problems, I'm not badly affected by them, I'm going to ignore these problems because they are unlikely to have a huge effect in my life. One of the most important issues that confronts us today is the effect of environmental degradation. Those issues are identified quite clearly in Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si'. Laudato Si' identifies these major areas of concern related to the environment: pollution, climate change, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and global inequality....

Deep Time - Deep Adaptation - Deep Transformation    :    Peter Healy SM  Temps profond, adaptation profonde et transformation profonde  :  Peter Healy SM  :  Traduction française ci-dessous The following is a Summary of a Presentation given by Peter Healy, Kiwi Marist, to our Ecology Commission on 20th March 2024. Peter spoke, in the summer months, to a Gathering of Young Activists for social and political change. They were not specifically Catholic, or Christian. He felt privileged to be called to speak – as he is called to do by their organizers each year. He spoke of Deep Time and Deep Adaptation – using as a Visual a painting he has...

CALLED TO BE EUCHARISTIC PEOPLE                                               Traduction française - voir ci-dessous Our world has plunged into a frightening darkness. LIGHT has diminished, almost extinguished. The threat of evil hovers large today, in the suffering and horror of wars: in the cries of the women, The bewilderment of the children, The hunger and exhaustion of the elderly, The helplessness and powerlessness of the innocent and suffering. The list is endless, Yet, in the midst of this God reminds us- He is alive. He LIVES in me. He LIVES in you. He LIVES in me ...

Mary Burkett is a wife, mother, grandmother, retired nurse, and sometimes-gardener: she discovered a Gift for drawing loving attention to children who have been victims of violence and slavery. Her work is an invitation to our world today, where so many of victims of war and violence are children .Here is her story, and below are links to her work:                 Traduction française ci-dessous My work is simple. I draw pastel portraits of children who were killed in the Holocaust. This is an unusual work for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that I am not an artist. I have no art training; I have no background in art; I know litt...

One of the most serious violations of justice is slavery. An International Day of Prayer and Awareness was instituted on February 8, the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese girl who was sold into slavery in the 19th century and later became a nun. This is an opportunity to recall the importance of these crimes, which often remain in the shadows, and which States rarely pursue. Organizations like Talitha Kum are constantly fighting against slavery and human trafficking, and they ask for our prayers and support. https://preghieracontrotratta.org "Journeying in Dignity": Listen, Dream, Act is the theme of the X° International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, celebra...

Changing How Economy Works                                                                Traduction française - voir ci-dessous Capitalist economy, especially in its neoliberal, financial version, is ecologically and socially unsustainable, and it is the main driver of the poly-crisis we are today experiencing. Therefore, we need to change how the economy works. This will take a social transformation, that is, a systemic change that transforms both socio- economic structures and the worldview that underpins them. Having understood th...

Social implications of Economic Justice                            Traduction française - voir ci-dessous With the end of the bipolar system (Western capitalist world Vs Eastern communist system) Trans National Corporations (TNCs) pushed for a globalization of markets, seeking an expansion that could secure growth. Having reached the limits to growth within the Western consumer market, they needed to expand it. That meant pushing to turn the world into a global, single market – without any barriers of sorts – a single, interconnected financial marketplace, and a unified production system. However, they soon realized that s...

Economic Justice as a Priority for the Global South     Bro. Alberto Parise MCCJ     Rome, 23rd January 2024 La justice économique, une priorité pour le Sud            voir ci-dessous pour la traduction  The State of the World's Economy The recently published UN report on the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023, presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, portrays that we are in the middle of a "polycrisis". In fact, the report states that a series of severe and mutually reinforcing shocks struck the world economy in 2022: a. the impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic still reverberating worldwide,b. the war in Ukraine (a...

On-line Course on Integral Ecology From Laudato Si' to Laudate Deum An Initiative of the Alliance for the Care of Our Common Home (Pontifical Universities & Atheneums of Rome) In 2015 Pope Francis gifted us Laudato Si', the landmark encyclical letter on the care for our common home, in which he invited all people of good will to "a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet" (LS, 14). However, as Pope Francis recognizes in Laudate Deum, the apostolic exhortation published on 4th October 2023 - on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology, "our responses have not been adequate" and "the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the b...

Fr Richard Rohr OFM, presents on the Centre for Action and Contemplation , 4 key issues that call for us to be engaged in this year, 2024: He draws on Brian McLaren's work: Everything must Change .  McLaren presents 4 Crises: Planet, Poverty, Peace, and Religion.  McLaren Writes Way back in 2007, I wrote a book called Everything Must Change. I wanted to understand what our greatest challenges and threats and problems were here on Earth as a global civilization. I spent a year researching the literature of global crises, and I came away with an understanding of four deep problems that we face. First, we face a crisis with our planet. We are literally destroying our life su...

The three Magi from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to those gathered around the new-born child in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph among them. (Matt. 2) However, the beautiful story of the Epiphany suggests that these same travelers from the East bring other gifts, too, both to those in Bethlehem and also to us. These other gifts of the wise, then and now, are channels of peace and reconciliation within a very violent world. The Epiphany speaks to hearts in every age that long for peace and reconciliation in the midst of war, injustice and violence. We are so familiar with the Christmas scene that the magi seem to fit in there very naturally. In reality, they were strangers...