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Lenten Reflections Attention
Parishes, Schools, Small Faith Groups, and Others!Use this Lent as an opportunity to reflect on how our faith calls us to respond to our brothers and sisters in solidarity. This new series of Lenten reflections provides six weeks of information and resources about issues in Catholic social teaching. Now Available:
Themes:
Questions or comments about this series? Contact John Watkins at jwatkins@oakdiocese.org or 510-267-8379. Week 1: Solidarity Download Handouts
en español Bulletin Announcement (without bulletin insert)"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Like branches on a vine, we are intimately bound to each person throughout the world through our common descent from Adam. In Baptism we, though many, are incorporated into one body—the body of Jesus Christ. We become members of a spiritual family, spiritual sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. Receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist reinforces our union. This spiritual food deepens our bond to such an extent that we can truly “bear one another's burdens” (Galatians 6:2) by ministering to and praying for each other. Each week during Lent this series will focus on a particular group of our brothers and sisters who need our attention and offer simple ways to address their needs through the traditional Lenten practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. This week we focus on Operation Rice Bowl as a way of expressing solidarity with those in need throughout the world. Operation Rice Bowl encourages Catholics to pray, fast, and give alms in solidarity with those who hunger. Remember to pick up your Rice Bowl materials at your parish or visit www.crs.org and pick up your materials online. During this six-week series, we will examine:
For more educational materials, prayers, and actions, see the social justice web page of the diocese: www.oakdiocese.org/pastoral/SocialJustice/ Pulpit AnnouncementDuring the next six weeks of Lent, we will have an opportunity to reflect on several issues in Catholic social teaching. The U.S. bishops and Catholic Relief Services have invited Catholics to become advocates for the poor around the world. Each week, there will be a [bulletin insert/bulletin announcement] that will provide resources for learning and action. Today we look at how our Catholic tradition calls us to be in solidarity with all who suffer deprivation throughout the world. Please see the bulletin. IntercessionThat we may hear the cry of the poor in our world, responding as sisters and brothers in Christ, let us pray to the Lord. Week 2: The Environment Download Handouts en español Bulletin Announcement (without bulletin insert)Did you know?
We live on a beautiful planet fine tuned to sustain life – ours and those of "our companions in creation," as our Holy Father has called other living creatures. We owe it to our Creator to tend the garden carefully to sustain the lives of all human beings while still allowing other creatures to survive. Unfortunately, we are in danger of losing many of the beautiful creatures God has put on this earth because of overexploitation for immediate profit. Many stocks of fish and other edible sea creatures have drastically declined due to poorly regulated commercial fishing. As we practice our Lenten obligation to abstain from meat on Fridays, let us select fish and other sea creatures that are not in danger of extinction. Please make use of the list below prepared by the Monterey Bay Aquarium when choosing seafood during Lent. For more information, visit www.seafoodwatch.org.
Pulpit AnnouncementThis week the Lenten reflection found in the bulletin [insert] focuses on the environment. As we practice our Lenten obligation to abstain from meat on Fridays, let us select fish and other sea creatures that are not in danger of extinction. You will find in the bulletin [insert] a list of preferred sea food. IntercessionFor cooperation between all people to bring an end to the abuse of our environment, let us pray to the Lord. Week 3: The Family Download Handouts en español Bulletin Announcement (without bulletin insert)"If we really want peace for the world, let us start by loving one another within our families" – Blessed Teresa of Calcutta As the Holy Father stated on New Years Day 2008, "in a healthy family we experience some of the fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers and sisters, the role of authority expressed by parents, loving concern for the members who are weaker because of youth, sickness or old age, mutual help in the necessities of life, readiness to accept others and, if necessary, to forgive them. For this reason, the family is the first and indispensable teacher of peace." If you are not already praying together as a family unit, consider fostering this habit during Lent. Make a resolution to set aside a daily time for prayer and, whenever possible, scriptural reflection. Remember, the family that prays together stays together. Did you know?
Pulpit AnnouncementThis week the Lenten reflection found in the bulletin [insert] focuses on the family. If you are not already praying together as a family unit consider fostering the habit during Lent. IntercessionFor Christian families, the source of religious vocations, that they may be prompted to encourage young people to rejoice in doing God’s will, let us pray to the Lord. Week 4: Labor and Fair Trade Download Handouts en español Bulletin Announcement (without bulletin insert)"The economy should work for people, and not the other way around." — Economic Justice for All, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops One of the principles of Catholic social teaching is the dignity of work as a means of participating in God's ongoing creative activity. All legitimate work that contributes toward the common good has intrinsic value that should be reflected in adequate compensation. When the Honduran government entered a trade agreement that opened its markets to U.S. imports in the early 1990s, Maria Angeles Amaya of Santa Cruz de Yojoa lost her rice farm. Honduran rice farmers could not compete with the low prices of the U.S.-subsidized rice that was flooding their country. Growers such as Maria and her husband lost their livelihoods and had to leave their communities and migrate to find work elsewhere. To support small farmers like Maria, Catholic Relief Services and other organizations established a fair trade certification process that guarantees a just price be given to farmers for their produce regardless of fluctuations of the international market. When we consumers make the conscious decision to purchase Fair Trade items like coffee, tea, fruit, chocolate, and crafts, we are putting our values and faith into action and working to realize our vision of economic justice.
Pulpit AnnouncementThis week, our Lenten resources focus on how trade policy is a justice issue that can assist the poor in living a life of dignity. Buying Fair Trade products can help small farmers continue to earn enough from their labor to support their families. See the bulletin [insert] for more information. (There is another good handout on trade on the diocesan website.) IntercessionThat our eyes may be opened to the needs of the poor and that we may make choices that enable economic justice for all, let us pray to the Lord. Week 5: Persecution Download Handouts en español Bulletin Announcement (without bulletin insert)Next in importance to the right to life is the right to freedom of conscience – the right to speak and associate on the basis of one's beliefs. Many Christians and other religious groups are suffering severe persecution throughout the world because they do not adhere to the majority religion or ideology. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters are caught between extremists of both sides of the conflict in the Holy Land. Unfortunately, most of them have left their homeland because they can no longer find work, leaving only a small remnant in the land that Jesus walked. Those Palestinians still living in the Holy Land are trying to survive by selling abroad beautiful devotional objects made from olive wood. A good Lenten resolution would be to make our homes look more Catholic by purchasing and displaying some of these olive wood objects such as crucifixes and madonnas. For more information, visit the website of the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange at www.pace.ps or visit www.anastas/bethlehem.com Pulpit AnnouncementThis week’s Lenten reflection focuses on those who are persecuted for their beliefs. For more information check the bulletin [insert]. IntercessionFor the persecuted; and those without a place to call home, let us pray to the Lord. Week 6: Distributive Justice Download Handouts en español Bulletin Announcement (without bulletin insert)Over the past five weeks of this Lenten series, we have covered many issues relevant to Catholic social teaching. This week we consider distributive justice. Did you know that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of one-fourth of the world’s poorest countries is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people? One of the basic principles of Catholic social teaching is distributive justice. Distributive justice means that every human being has a right to the goods of the earth necessary for his or her flourishing. In his Epiphany homily this year, the Holy Father called attention to the fact that a large percentage of our brothers and sisters in developing countries lack this access due to an unfair global distribution of wealth. We are called as Catholics to work and speak on behalf of the poor by providing emergency relief, by helping those in need to become self-sufficient, and by advocating for the poor legislatively. This week we will have opportunity to live out this calling by donating to Catholic Relief Services. For more information visit: www.crs.org. Pulpit AnnouncementThis final week of our Lenten series on Catholic social teaching invites us to make personal choice that will enable others to live in dignity. Check our bulletin [insert] and the Internet for more resources. IntercessionThat our eyes may be opened to the needs of the poor and that we may make choices that enable economic justice for all, let us pray to the Lord. Tell us how you are using this series! If you have questions or comments about these materials, let us know. We'd like to hear from you. |
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Social Justice
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