International Solidarity Reflections

November Shalom Solidarity Reflection

Being protected, cared for, loved are essential to the life of the human being. We need to welcome our children, with all love in our hearts, and to take good care of them, because they are for us signs of joy, blessing, grace and the presence of God in our midst.

October 2018 Solidarity Reflection

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Mt 5: 9). The countless works of peace, of which the world is rich, bear witness to humanity’s natural vocation to peace. In each person, the desire for peace is an essential aspiration and coincides, in a sense, with the yearning for a full, happy and successful human life.

International Solidarity Reflection: July 2018

The feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita on February 8, and the World Day Against Trafficking in persons on July 30, call us to take responsibility for raising awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.

International Solidarity Reflection: June 2018

World Environment Day is on June 5, with the theme: “They (the rainforests) were fine before us, now they need us,” inviting us to save the rainforests of the world by less consumerism and protecting “the lungs of our planet.”

Shalom Monthly Solidarity Reflection for May 2018: Education for All

“Deep faith and high courage urged Mother Theresa to risk already meager resources to satisfy needs wherever she was called. In her spirit, we respond to God’s call expressed in our times. …we exclude no one from our concern, but we are especially sensitive to youth and women and are impelled to prefer the poor.” (You Are Sent, C. 24)

Shalom Monthly Solidarity Reflection for March: Women and Children

Shalom 2018

Monthly Solidarity Prayer January 2018: Migrants and Refugees

Today, more than any time in history, people are leaving their countries and cultures of origin. They are leaving to escape repressive and violent regimes. They are leaving because of the threat of genocide. They are leaving because of destructive climate change. They are leaving because they have no food, no shelter, and no jobs.

Monthly Solidary Prayer October 2017: Nonviolence and Peace

The centrality of Gospel nonviolence and just peace is fundamental to our charism and living out the mission, particularly in light of the times in which we live. Every day we hear of war, terrorism, social violence, and trauma that affect us and our brothers and sisters around the world.

Monthly Solidarity Prayer: Human Trafficking, July 2017

The trade in human persons constitutes a shocking offense against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights. … Such situations are an affront to fundamental values which are shared by all cultures and peoples, values rooted in the very nature of the human person.