Aug 16, 2016
by Gabino Zavala, Director of Peace & Justice Ministry
Last year Pope Francis designated September 1 as World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. In his letter on the Feast of the Transfiguration in 2015 Pope Francis wrote:
The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will offer individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care and to, implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.
Our sisters and brothers in the Orthodox Church have been praying for Creation as a community on this day since, 1989.
This day has now been extended to a Season of Creation celebrated by Christians around the globe from September 1 to October 4 the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. We are invited to unite as a Christian family worldwide to pray for creation during this time.
We can all pray. Will you pray with Pope Francis? Will you pray with our Christian brothers and sisters around the world? Beyond prayer what else will you do to care for creation?
Visit Season of Creation website for resources.
Aug 15, 2016
Prophets confront the status quo, the business-as-usual attitude, current power structures, and Jesus is in the prophetic lineage. His parables, which reflect his own life, urge a kind of humility as opposed to a religious exceptionalism. And always in the background is the question of how we will stand at last in the divine presence of the Father at the end.
OT 22 C Lectionary Catechesis
Aug 12, 2016
The Conveners and Sponsors for the Companion Groups in the Kansas City Province gathered at the Precious Blood Renewal Center in Liberty for training on August 6, 2016. The group shared many ideas about facilitation, prayer, leadership and how to welcome new Companions. They also learned more about the Companion Movement and plans for the upcoming year. The next training will be held at Saint Charles Center in Carthagena on August 20, 2016.
Aug 12, 2016
Dear Friends,
When Pope Francis visited Assisi last week, he offered a reflection on the power of forgiveness. “In this year of mercy, it becomes ever clearer the path of forgiveness can truly renew the church and the world,” the Holy Father said. “To offer today’s world the witness of mercy is a task from which none of us can feel exempted.”
This Sunday, August 14, at 4:00 PM, we will dedicate the Reconciliation Labyrinth at Precious Blood Center as part of our province’s response to this Holy Year of Mercy. We envision this sacred space on the grounds of the Center as a place where those who are carrying heavy burdens of guilt or grief, doubt or fear, resentment or remorse, can come to walk this sacred path as a way of finding forgiveness and peace in their lives. As I wrote to you when we announced its construction, “The labyrinth models for us how reconciliation is journey toward the sacred center where we recognize ourselves and each person as a child of God. It is this reality of covenant relationship that shapes a spirituality of reconciliation.”
In his homily at Assisi on August 4, the Pope said, “The world needs forgiveness; too many people are caught up in resentment and harbor hatred because they are incapable of forgiving. They ruin their lives and the lives of those around them rather than finding the joy of serenity and peace.” In this long, hot summer of seemingly endless violence, hurtful rhetoric of exclusion and condemnation, and hateful words that call forth wrath and vengeance, we hope this Reconciliation Labyrinth, patterned after the one designed by Clare Wilson of South Africa to help heal the wounds caused by apartheid in her country, will offer pilgrims a place of peace. In the stillness of this journey walking the labyrinth, one is invited to discover one’s true self as God’s beloved, and with God’s grace to remove the poison of resentment, shame, and hate. The sacred ritual of walking the labyrinth reminds us that forgiveness is not so much a moment as it is a movement of mercy that takes us deeper into the mystery of God’s compassion and love.
I hope you can join us as we dedicate the Reconciliation Labyrinth this Sunday, August 14. The following day, August 15, the Most Rev. James V. Johnston, bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, will join the province staff and Precious Blood members serving in the area for noontime prayer and lunch at Precious Blood Center as we celebrate the 201st anniversary of the founding of the Congregation. As we meet in prayer across the miles, may we rededicate our lives as people of the cross, cup, and covenant to be ministers of mercy and makers of peace in a world screaming for forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation.
With peace,
Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S.
Provincial Director
Aug 12, 2016
Aug 15 Florida Companions celebrate Covenant Rite
Aug 17 Companion Council Teleconference
Aug 19 – 20 Convener/Sponsor Training, Saint Charles Center, Ohio
Aug 22 Companion Directors Team meets with Putnam County Companions
April 31 – Sept 2 Companion Directors Team meets with North and South Dakota Companions
Sept 11 Companion Directors Team meets with Dayton Companions
Sept 15 Companion Directors Team meets with Saint Henry Companions
Sept 18 Companion Directors Team meets with Carthagena Companions
Sept 21 Companion Council Teleconference
Sept 26 Companion Directors Team meets with Centerville Companions
Oct 1 – Oct 2 Companion Retreat, Marillac Center, Leavenworth Kansas
Oct 21 – 23 Companion Council gathering at Precious Blood Center, Liberty
Oct 29 – 30 Companion Retreat, Saint Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio
Nov 5 Companion Day of Reflection, Saint Mary’s Church, Albia
