A Memorial Day video reflection

There is a thoughtful music video on Arlington National Cemetery, along with some "reflections on the shifting meaning of security on a shrinking, finite planet" posted at the Dot Earth blog on the New York Times online today.

See: Sacrifice, Security, and the Road Toward 9 Billion (New York Times 26 May 2008) by science reporter Andrew C. Revkin

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Memorial Day -- Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them . . .

A Memorial Day Prayer from the Education for Justice website of The Center of Concern :

On This Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day
Grant peace to the souls of all those soldiers who died in war.
We remember the tears and grief of their families,
The pain of mothers, wives, husbands and children
Who lost precious loved ones.

To build a meaningful memorial to them,
We ask God to give us all the will
To work for peace around the world
So no more sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, nor mothers
Are slaughtered by the guns and bombs of war.

We ask Mary, who held the lifeless body of her son
And was pierced by the sorrow of his suffering and death,
To grant us the compassion and wisdom to affirm life
And honor the dead through forgiveness and peace making.

May God have mercy on the souls of the departed.
Grant them peace, O Lord.
May we have mercy on the living.
Grant us peace, O Lord.
In Your name we pray.

+Amen

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Take action for PEACE & join Pax Christi Tucson
at their May meeting tonight at 7:00 pn
at Most Holy Trinity Parish
1300 N Greasewood Rd (just north of Speedway) MAP

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Feast of Corpus Christi -- Pray for an end to hunger

A prayer for reflection from
the Center of Concern's Education for Justice website:

Prayer for the End of Hunger

Sharing the loaves and fishes,
You gave us an image of solidarity with the hungry, O Lord.

Sharing yourself in the Bread and Wine,
You called all to the table, O Lord.

Give me the hunger to be a part of the feeding
And the healing of this world.

Nourish me with your Grace,
So I may work with joy to serve your children.

Open my eyes and my heart
To recognize those in poverty
And increase my awareness
Of the structures and systems
That need to be changed
So we may all break bread together.

In your name we pray for the end of hunger.

+ Amen

Bread for the World -- needed now more than ever!

Bread for the World was founded in 1974 on this date, May 20th.

Go to: http://www.bread.org/

With world hunger at the forefront of global news, and the controversial U.S. Farm Bill recently passed by Congress -- the work that this advocacy organization does is needed now more than ever.

What is Bread for the World? From their mission statement:

Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, we provide help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which we live.

Curious about Bread for the World's stand on the Farm Bill?
Read the organization's recent press release:

Bread for the World Calls 2008 Farm Bill “Half a Loaf”

Feeling overwhlemed and in despair over the Global Hunger Crisis?
Find inspiriation and a call to action here:

Recipe for Hope: Responding to the Global Hunger Crisis

Additional resources about the causes of the global hunger crisis and suggestions for taking action abound at the Bread for the World website: http://www.bread.org/

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Pax Christi Tucson -- prayer vigil on 1st Monday, meetings on 4th Monday, every month

"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God."
Mt 5:9

Come and join Pax Christi Tucson for a PRAYER VIGIL for peace in Iraq on the first Monday of every month.

Where: DeAnza Park (Speedway and Stone)
When: 7:00 pm. It lasts about 25 minutes.

Anybody is welcome to join us! June 2nd is our next Prayer Vigil.

You are also invited to join us at our monthly meetings:

Pax Christi Tucson -- a local Pax Christi Community -- meets in Tucson on the 4th Monday of every month.

Where: Most Holy Trinity parish at 1300 N Greasewood Rd (just north of Speedway) MAP
When: 7:00 - 8:30 pm. May 26 (evening of Memorial Day) is our next meeting.

A Pax Christi community is a group that participates in the Pax Christi Catholic Peace Movement by meeting on a regular basis to pray, study and act for peace with justice.

To learn more about Pax Christi, see the Pax Christi USA statement of purpose.



Information sbmitted by Fr. Bill Remmel, Most Holy Trinity Parish
Contact him for more details: bill@mhtparish.org


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Trinity Sunday

The Holy Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev

God we praise you:

Father all-powerful,
Christ Lord and Savior,

Spirit of Love.
You reveal yourself in the depths of our being,

drawing us to share in your life and your love.

One God, three Persons,

be near to the people formed in your image,

close to the world your love brings to life.

We ask this, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

one God, true and living, for ever and ever.

Amen +

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Alternative Opening Prayer, Trinity Sunday

Annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial - Sunday May 18

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
Sunday May 18th

GLOBALLY: The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, a program of the Global Health Council, is among the world’s oldest movements by civil society for HIV/AIDS remembrance, awareness and community action. Started in 1983, the historic Candlelight Memorial takes place every third Sunday in May and is led by some 1,200 volunteer Candlelight Coordinators in 119 countries who host vigils for their communities.

LOCALLY: "Never Give Up, Never Forget" is the theme for the 25th annual worldwide event presented locally by the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation and other groups. Individuals will share music, song, dance and reflections.

When: Memorial starts at 6 p.m. Sunday. The candle lighting will begin around 7:30 p.m. (dusk).

Where: Himmel Park, 1000 N. Tucson Blvd.

As we confront HIV/AIDS, we participate in the healing mission of Jesus. Read about the continuing challenges this epidemic presents to the world, and learn about the Catholic Church’s response to those affected by the disease in this Catholic Update article titled: AIDS and the Consistent Ethic of Life by Kenneth R. Overberg, S.J.

Feeling called to do more? Learn more about how you can get involved locally in "a compassionate interfaith response to HIV/AIDS" by visiting TIHAN -- The Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network at http://www.tihan.org/

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The Catholic Communication Campaign

Did you know you can find a video or audio "Daily Reflection of the Scriptures" online at CCC-TV? It's just one of many ways in which the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) seeks to spread the good news of the Gospel.

The CCC has also put together a variety of educational resources at the USCCB's Faithful Citizenship website to assist Catholics in forming our consciences as faithful citizens during this political season.

This weekend in the U.S. we are asked to donate to the USCCB's Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). Here's what the CCC does (quoted from "Who We Are" on the CCC website):

In 1979, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) established the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) to respond to the domestic communications needs of the Catholic Church in the United States. Through the CCC, the US Bishops fund media programming, projects, and resources that promote Gospel values and foster the pastoral teachings of the Catholic Church.


The work of the CCC, including the funds set aside for these grants, is made possible by the generous donations of Catholic parishioners from all across the country to the CCC’s annual appeal. Proceeds from this collection are divided equally between each diocese and the CCC’s national office in Washington, DC.


Dioceses use their 50% share of the CCC Collection to support local communications efforts such as televised Masses and diocesan newspapers. And, on the national level, CCC funds support the development and production of a wide range of media programming.


For more than 25 years, the CCC has been serving dioceses and parishioners by spreading faith-filled messages locally and nationally on radio, television, in print and on the Internet.

Learn more about the CCC and some of its recent activities at the Catholic Communication Campaign website.



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Pray for World Peace: Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

Icon of Our Lady of Fatima
from Our Lady of Fatima Byzantime Catholic Church
San Francisco, CA





Prayer to Our Lady of Fatima

Immaculate Heart!

Help us to conquer the menace of evil, which so easily takes root in the hearts of the people of today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our modern world and seem to block the paths towards the future!

From famine and war, deliver us.

From nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war, deliver us.

From sins against human life from its very beginning, deliver us.

From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us.

From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.

From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us.

From attempts to stifle in human hearts the very truth of God, deliver us.

From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.

From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual human beings, laden with the sufferings of whole societies.

Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer all sin:
individual sin and the ‘sin of the world', sin in all its manifestations.


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Prayer from Pope John Paul II, excerpted from Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: The Message of Fatima (2006) by then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI)

Read more about the role of Mary and popular devotional practices such as those surrounding the private revelations of Our Lady of Fatima, in the USCCB's 2003 statement on Popular Devotional Practices: Basic Questions and Answers.

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Pentecost Sunday

The Holy Spirit: The Lord, the Giver of Life,
The Paraclete and Sender of Prophets
-- icon by Fr. William McNichols

A Peace and Justice Prayer from the Center of Concern's wonderful resource site: Education for Justice

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Wind of God, continue to blow.

Sail over the barriers that we build

to divide ourselves from each other.

Pick up your seeds of freedom and truth
wherever they flourish,

carry them across frontiers

to be planted in other soil,

to begin fresh growth and new forms.


Blow from the South

to the ears of Northern peoples.

Blow away the blinders

which keep our eyes focused only on the past,

repeating its violence,

deepening its divisions,

and adding to its despair.
Reveal the new future

you have in mind for us.

Fire of God, continue to burn,

smolder in the hearts of people

where oppression keeps them in chains,

where unemployment and poverty

devalue their humanity,

and where hunger weakens the spirit.

Burn in them, like Moses' bush,

and do not let them be destroyed.

Tongue of God, continue to speak Shalom.
Speak peace where nations meet,

justice where ideas clash,

mercy where power reigns,

healing where minds and bodies hurt,

and love where churches seek your unity,

and wherever else Babel drowns out the sound of Pentecost.

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Celebrate World Fair Trade Day -- Saturday May 10th

World Fair Trade Day 2008

Have you been enjoying Just Coffee /Cafe' Justo? How about Divine Chocolate?

Saturday May 10th is WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY -- a day to celebrate the global movment that supports these and other fair trade products promoted in our Diocese and by Catholic Relief Services.

Things to do for World Fair Trade Day:

-- Read about this year's theme "FAIR TRADE + Ecology" at the World Fair Trade Day website.


-- Visit the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Fair Trade Blog

-- Learn more about Just Coffee/Cafe' Justo -- our "local" border area Fair Trade+ enterprise which got started in 2002 when small-scale coffee farmers in Chiapas bought a coffee roaster in Agua Prieta with a loan from Frontera de Cristo, a bi-national border ministry of the Presbyterian Church. Learn how Cafe' Justo creates one positive solution to the migration issue. Meet the people (growers and directors) behind the coffee in Salvador Urbina, Chiapas and Agua Prieta, Sonora.

-- Read a Fair Trade Overview and learn how to identify and find Fair Trade Certified products at the Fair Trade Certified website.


-- Browse A Greater Gift (on online catalogue promoted by CRS) to find hundreds of fair trade gifts and products (including Divine Chocolate!).


-- Reflect on how supporting FAIR TRADE is one way of promoting the Catholic Social Teaching principles of : The Dignity of Work & the Rights of Workers, Solidarity, and Care for God's Creation.

-- Pray for, support, and join with -- all those engaged in transforming our world by promoting justice and peace through FAIR TRADE.

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Action needed: May 8th meeting of the Casa Maria Coalition!

Background: In January a blog message was posted about the Casa Maria Housing Coalition and in March a message went out about a rally to SOS Save Ochoa School . The following post gives an update on the school issue and announces a meeting to address the next issues faced by the Casa Maria Housing Coalition:


In case you haven’t heard the news… THE SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN SPARED! Thanks to Brian and the Casa Maria Coalition (including many Just Faith participants), the TUSD Board has voted to keep the schools open! This is great news for the families of Casa Maria, but the struggle goes on…

On May 22 the City Council will meet again to continue discussions on the Rio Nuevo project, moving the Greyhound bus station to Marana (where homeless and low income families will have NO ACCESS) and police/immigration issues.

Please join us at Casa Maria (Maryada’s house) this Thursday, May 8, at 5 pm, to discuss these issues and ways to support our Casa families. Your presence is important and COUNTS! as we have seen this past week!

On behalf of Brian and all those at Casa Maria, Thank you for your support and willingness to stand as a voice for those who aren’t able to speak.

YOU CAN AND DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!! See you Thursday!

sent in by Barbara Padilla

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Celebrating 75 Years of "The Catholic Worker"

Catholic Worker
artwork by Ade Bethune



Quoted from The Catholic Worker website:
http://www.catholicworker.org/


"On May 1, 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, The Catholic Worker newspaper made its debut with a first issue of twenty-five hundred copies. Dorothy Day and a few others hawked the paper in Union Square for a penny a copy (still the price) to passersby. "

"The Catholic Worker Movement is grounded in a firm belief in the God-given dignity of every human person. "

"Today over 185 Catholic Worker communities remain committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and foresaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms. "


See also this article from Catholic News Service:

"Catholic Worker Movement marks 75th anniversary without fanfare," by Dennis Sadowski at:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0802398.htm


And keep Casa Maria -- our own Tucson Catholic Worker Community -- in your prayers today!
http://www.casamariatucson.org/

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St. Joseph the Worker

Artwork
by Ade Bethune

May 1 -- Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker

Today's feast day calls us to reflect on the value of work and advocate for the rights of workers. Read about the origins of this feast day at AmericanCatholic.org's Saint of the Day website.

Today we also remember the unemployed, all those seeking jobs, and -- in a special way -- all those who have died in the desert in a desperate attempt to find work in the U.S.

From the Center of Concern's Education for Justice website:

Prayer to St. Joseph, Patron of Workers

St. Joseph, Patron of Workers,
Help us to respect the dignity of all workers.
Help us to learn about and to care about
Workers who do not have fair wages, just benefits, safe working environments.
Help us to raise our voices for justice for workers.
Help us to ask our government and our representatives
To develop policies that create jobs with dignity.

You taught your son
The value of work and the joy of work well done.
Teach us these lessons.
Guide us in our own work
And in the work of justice we are all called to participate in.
Renew our strength and commitment
Each day as we face the work ahead
As we labor for the common good of all.

+ Amen.

Feast of St. Peregrine

May 1 is the feast day of Saint Peregrine Laziosi, patron of those with cancer, AIDs and other serious illnesses -- A good day to pray for the sick and advocate for a better health care system -- especially for the poor and uninsured.

Find out what our US Bishops have been advocating with respect to health care for the needy and justice for the uninsured by reading the various statements and pastoral letters posted at the USCCB's Health Issues webpage (part of the website of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development --formerly Social Development and World Peace -- of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.)

In Arizona, we can advocate for better health services and promote heath care reform by joining PAFCO -- The Protecting Arizona's Families Coalition.

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