Political and health conditions in Haiti continue to fall apart and degrade. The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and ongoing constitutional crisis will only cause further suffering, violence and bloodshed for the people. The PSN invites you to join us by signing this petition to urge President Biden to immediately send doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to Haiti. Addressing the current crisis in Haiti requires stopping the spread of COVID-19. Plus, the hopeful and faithful work of the Passionists through the work of St. Like Foundation Hospital, including Fr. Rick Frechette and Fr. Hugo Esparza is stretched beyond breaking. The hospitals are running out oxygen for the large spike in COVID patients and if they find it the cost is excessive. Please keep this work in your prayers and if you can, make a donation to their work through the website setup by Fr. Hugo. It is here: https://spphaiti.com/ Also Fr. Hugo has created a podcast series to tell the story of their work, intended to be educational, informative and current. The purpose is to talk about everyday Haitian life as well as "hopes and doubts." The series, Ask a Haitian Ask a Foreigner features Fr. Hugo as the foreigner and Sarah Exantus is the Haitian. The conversation is sharp and delightful, addressing questions such as "What is a quality in Haitian life that most expresses the Haitian 'heart?'" or, "What do you think about Christian missioners who come to Haiti?" There are six short episode so far in the series. Listen to the podcasts on Fr. Hugo's YouTube Channel here.
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As the United States, North America celebrated another Independence Day on July 4th it is understandable (and encouraged) to pause and ask more existential questions. Globally, what is "independence" and for whom and from what? And most broadly, can we also see ourselves as part of an "evolving Universe, where the Cosmos too, is our home" Mary Evelyn Tucker, scholar, friend of Passionist Thomas Berry and cofounder of the Yale Center of Religion and Ecology urges us to appreciate the bigger picture and the broadest sense of interdependence--one that Berry describes where "The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."
Mary Evelyn has thoughts on another timely and related area: democracy. She says "the spiritual roots of democracy lie in the aspiration that we can move through this period to reassert interdependence and interconnection in ways that are both ancient and new, simultaneously ecologically and economically viable, and, most critical, politically and socially imperative." We surely see this aspiration in Laudato Si' which calls for an integral ecology and "combines the 'cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.' In this spirit, mutually enhancing human-Earth relations need to be based on environmental justice and social participation." This is a basis for an expanded spirit of democracy and interdependence. Read more from Mary Evelyn TuckerPhoto: iStock In a recent message from Sojourners, Jenna Barnett,did a brilliant job with a reflective practice we recommend and call "Praying the News" which is a way to pause as we encounter the "signs of the time" and to provide context for current events. While this can surely be Scripture it can also include writers and poets who speak to the joys and sufferings of our planet and people.
She writes, "Whatever you choose to read during a certain month or week — if it’s good enough — can become a frame around most everything else you do. Even if you literally can put a good book down, it’ll still stick around in your imagination. That’s been the case for me with James Baldwin’s “Letter From a Region in My Mind.” An essay [so timeless that it] easily becomes a conversation partner for everything else you read. I read a lot of news this week, and Baldwin had something to say about all of it." Read the story here Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ Allan warren One of the seven goals of the Laudato Si' Action Platform is "ecological education." How can we teach about ecology and care of the Earth?
"Called "the coolest summer camp in Louisville," Camp Odyssey at the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Louisville, immerses children entering grades 1-6 in the three main aspects of the Earth & Spirit Center mission: spiritual practice, compassion for others, and connection to the Earth. As they explore the woodlands and meadows of our 27-acre nature sanctuary, work and play with our artists, garden and environmental educators, chefs, yoga and meditation instructors, and musicians, kids come to understand how ecosystems work, where their food comes from, and how to be more mindful and compassionate toward themselves, others, and their surroundings. " Read more and explore Camp Odyssey https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/class/camp-odyssey-summer-camp-series/ |
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