Wed Mar 24th Prayer Service Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Oscar Romero's Assassination

"If You Kill Me,
I Will Rise Again in My People!"

March 24th is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He was a fearless voice for the voiceless in El Salvador and remains today an example for each of us. A prayer service commemorating his life will be held at Most Holy Trinity Parish on Wednesday night.

Icon by
Br. Robert Lentz, OFM

God’s Challenge to the People

The Violence of Love

Recommitting Ourselves to the God of the Exodus

and

to the Example of Monseñor Oscar Romero

on the

30th Anniversary of his Assassination

with a special reflection by
Rev. John Fife
of Southside Presbyterian Church

Sponsored by
Pax Christi Tucson

When:   Wednesday March 24, 2010  @  7:00 p.m.
Where:  Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1300 N. Greasewood Road
              NE Corner of West Speedway Blvd & North Greasewood Road

Everyone is Invited!

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World Day of Peace & Feast of Mary, Mother of God

Mary of the Cosmos
by Bernadette Bostwick sgm

January 1, 2010

"IF YOU WANT TO CULTIVATE PEACE,
PROTECT CREATION"

Excerpts from

Pope Benedict XVI's World Day of Peace message:

Is it not true that what we call “nature” in a cosmic sense
has its origin in “a plan of love and truth”?

The goods of creation belong to humanity as a whole.
Yet the current pace of environmental exploitation is seriously
endangering the supply of certain natural resources not only for the
present generation, but above all for generations yet to come.

A greater sense of intergenerational solidarity is
urgently needed. . . . The ecological crisis shows the
urgency of a solidarity which embraces time and space.

If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.
The quest for peace by people of good will surely would
become easier if all acknowledge the indivisible relationship
between God, human beings and the whole of creation.

May this be clear to world leaders and to those at every level
who are concerned for the future of humanity:
the protection of creation and peacemaking
are profoundly linked!

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Transfigure Us in Peace!

Santa Maria de la Paz

The patronness of the Santa Maria de La Paz Catholic Church in Santa Fe, NM. The bulto is by artist Feliz Lopez and portrays Mary as a young woman, her face and manner serene, holding a dove and offering the olive branch of peace.

Today on the Feast of the Transfiguration, we mourn over the global transformation that took place in 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan and on Nagasaki three days later.

From our U.S. Bishops -- to reflect on and pray about:

"We oppose the continued readiness of the United States to use nuclear weapons, especially against non-nuclear threats, and the potential development of new weapons for this purpose. . . Our nation should lead in the challenging task of envisioning a future rooted in peace, with new global structures of mediation and conflictresolution, and with a world order that has moved beyond nuclear weapons."

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Statement on New Nuclear Treaty and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy, 2002

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Today is Mandela Day!

With an amazing legacy of pursuing justice and promoting reconciliation, Nelson Mandela continues to work tirelessly to promote peace and human dignity.

Today -- in honor of Nelson Mandela's birthday, we celebrate each indiviudal's ability to make an imprint.

Read about the day at this link: mandeladay.com

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TONIGHT May 6th - An Evening with Jack Jezreel of JustFaith

"The Call to Transform Our Hearts and the World"

You may have heard about JustFaith, come tonight to learn more!

Jack Jezreel, popular national speaker and justice educator, holds a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame, spent six years in a Catholic Worker Community, and has been involved with parish-based justice ministry for 25 years. He is the author of JustFaith and serves as Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries. He received the prestigious Harry Fagan Award in 2006 for his contribution to the achievement of the Catholic vision of social justice. He is married and has three daughters. Jack has been in Tucson for our JustFaith introduction. We have grown in JustFaith and welcome Jack back!

We are called to be compassionate as our God is compassionate (Luke 6:36), but what does the compassion of Christ look like in the modern world? How do I become a more compassionate person? Are you interested in embarking on a spiritual journey into compassion? The vision of the Gospels and Catholic social teaching speaks to life-giving choices on behalf of a world that struggles to survive.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore some new possibilities for your life, your parish, your heart!

Comments aboutJustFaith from Tucson participants:

* Our JustFaith grads have become a solid foundation for social ministry by meeting and praying and learning together and bydrawing others into their various ministries. – Most Holy Trinity pastor

* I am now living a more simple life – giving more, buying less, and trying to get more connected with my brothers and sisters. JustFaith is a life-changing experience. – Our Mother of Sorrows parishioner

WHEN: Wednesday, May 6, 2009

WHERE: Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, 1800 South Kolb Rd., Tucson, AZ

For all JustFaith Grads and present students:
Dinner with Jack in the OMOS Parish Activity Center (PAC)– 5:30 p.m.
More info: Jean Fedigan: jfedigan@cox.net or leave message for Jean: 520-747-1321

For all JustFaith Grads, Students and ALL NEW to JustFaith:

An evening with Jack in the Parish Hall with Closing Prayer at 9 p.m.
More info: Janet Towner: janett@diocesetucson.org or leave message: 520-838-2544

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photograph by Jill Johnson
read some of Sr. Jose's reflections on her life's path
in an exceprt from A Woman's Path by Jo Giese

Sister Jose Hobday, OSF
+

Born to Eternal Life

April 5, 2009

"Travel lightly -- God will replenish it all!"
(A quote from Sister Jose during a sharing on simple living with our JustFaith group)

for a beautiful photographic image of Sr. Jose see:

John Zeuli's Photograph

For more, including some of Sr. Jose's quotations see:
Spirituality & Practice - Resources for Spiritual Journeys

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Celebration of Life -- Prayer Service for Archbishop Oscar Romero

WHEN:

Tuesday March 24, 2009

7:30-9:00 pm

WHERE:

Most Holy Trinity Church

1300 N. Greasewood

If you have artifacts commemorating the life of Archbishop Romero, please bring them for an altar display.

Sponsored by Pax Christi Tucson

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Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero

Icon by Br. Robert Lentz, OFM

Today we remember Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador who was shot to death by a gunman while he was celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980.

A quote from Archbishop Romero:

Christ founded the church so that he himself could go on being present in the history of humanity precisely through the group of Christians who make up his church. The church is the flesh in which Christ makes present down the ages his own life and his personal mission . . .

Learn more about Oscar Romero at the Claretian's Salt of the Earth website, which has a webpage for the Remembrance of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

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Pope Benedict: Create justice in our hearts!

“Justice cannot be created in the world solely through good economic models, however necessary those are.

Justice is created only where there are just people.

There cannot be just people without a humble, daily work of conversion of hearts, or creating justice in hearts.”

-- Pope Benedict XVI

A quote from Pope Benedict extracted from John L. Allen Jr.'s latest "All Things Catholic" piece in the National Catholic Reporter online at:

http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/benedict-perfects-qa-format

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School of the Americas (SOA) Watch: Human Rights Activists Sentenced

From the SOA Watch website: http://www.soaw.org/

"Today, on January 26, six human rights advocates appeared in a federal courthouse in Georgia. The "SOA 6," ranging in age from 21 to 68, were found "guilty" of carrying the protest against the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC) onto the Fort Benning military base. The six were among the thousands who gathered on November 22 and 23, 2008 outside the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia to demand a change in U.S. policy towards Latin America and the closure of the SOA/WHINSEC."

To learn more, see:

What is the SOA?

About SOA Watch

Take Action to Close the SOA/ WHINSEC

Bringing it all to prayer:

SOA Prayer Service

(Designed by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth of Bardstown)

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Words of wisdom from
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
that are timeless,
yet fresh with new meaning
on the eve of this Inauguration Day:

Now let me suggest first that
if we are to have peace on earth,
our loyalties must become ecumenical
rather than sectional.

Our loyalties must transcend
our race,
our tribe,
our class,
and our nation;
and this means
we must develop a world perspective.

No individual can live alone;
no nation can live alone,
and as long as we try,
the more we are going to have war in this world.

Now the judgment of God is upon us,
and we must either learn
to live together as brothers and sisters
or we are all going to perish together as fools.

-from Dr. King's Christmas Sermon on Peace 1967

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A Prayer for Peace in the Middle East

Broken-hearted wall

Two peoples, one land,
Three faiths, one root,
One earth, one mother,
One sky, one beginning, one future, one destiny,
One broken heart,
One God.
We pray to You:
Grant us a vision of unity.
May we see the many in the one and the one in the many.
May you, Life of All the Worlds, Source of All Amazing Differences
Help us to see clearly.
Guide us gently and firmly toward each other,
Toward peace.

Amen.

Prayer by Rabbi Sheila Weinberg
Jewish Community of Amherst, Amherst, MA

The above is one of several Prayers and Petitions for Peace in the Middle East and Holy Land that can be found at Catholic Relief Services' Prayer and Discussion Resources webpage.

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Action Alert for Peace in the Middle East: Support a Cease Fire

An Action Alert from Catholic Relief Services & the USCCB :

Call Congress:
Urge Statements in Support of Cease-Fire

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Call your Members of Congress today to urge their support for U.S. efforts to achieve an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

WHY IS THIS ACTION IMPORTANT NOW?

Members of Congress are being urged to issue one-sided statements with no mention of the urgent need for a comprehensive cease-fire that will end the human suffering on both sides. Legislation making a similar point is expected in both the House and the Senate.

It is important that your Representative and Senators hear from you now on the need for U.S. diplomatic leadership to help achieve an immediate cease-fire that ends the violence, addresses the humanitarian situation and leads to concrete steps toward a two-state peace agreement.

Several Members have made constructive statements, but many more have not. They need to hear from Catholics that expressing sympathy for only one side of the conflict is not compassionate or smart policy. What is needed now is strong U.S. leadership that pulls Israelis and Palestinians back from the brink and puts them on a path toward an agreement that creates a viable Palestinian state and enhance Israel's security.

TALKING POINTS:

As an American Catholic, I deplore the tragic loss of life of civilians caught in the escalating violence in Gaza and southern Israel and care deeply about the welfare of both Israelis and Palestinians who are suffering and living in fear.

I ask that if and when the Senator/Representative makes a statement about the current crisis, he/she expresses support for strong U.S. diplomatic leadership, together with international partners, to achieve an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire that:

-- ends the escalating violence between Israel and Hamas;
-- addresses the humanitarian situation - including an opening of the border crossings that provides relief for the people of Gaza and meets Israel's security needs; and
-- leads to concrete steps toward a two-state peace agreement - the best hope for long-term stability and security for Israel and the Palestinians.

WHAT DOES PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND HAVE TO DO WITH MY FAITH?

The U.S. Bishops wrote in their 1983 pastoral letter, The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response, “Peacemaking is not an optional commitment. It is a requirement of our faith. We are called to be peacemakers, not by some movement of the moment, but by our Lord Jesus.”
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has called on the international community to help Israelis and Palestinians discard the “dead end” of violence and pursue instead “the path of dialogue and negotiations.” Immediate, visible and decisive U.S. leadership is urgently needed.

In a December 30 letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, Chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, USCCB, wrote: “At a time when the attention of Christians is drawn naturally to the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, it is tragic that innocent civilians are once again the victims of armed conflict and a humanitarian crisis. A ceasefire and humanitarian relief are indispensable initial steps on the road to a two-state solution—a secure Israel living in peace with a viable Palestinian state―with justice and peace for both peoples.”

WHAT IS CRS DOING TO ADDRESS THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND?

The continued insecurity of the environment makes the coordination of aid distribution incredibly difficult. CRS is working with local partners in Gaza including the Missionaries of Charity to prioritize needs and areas of intervention. On Saturday, January 3, before the airstrikes intensified, CRS coordinated delivery of a limited supply of bottled water, cooking gas, diapers and food to partners in Gaza.

To learn more visit:

http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/mideast.shtml
and http://crs.org/Jerusalem/.

For more information contact:

Dr. Stephen Colecchi, Director
International Justice and Peace, USCCB
scolecchi@usccb.org, (202) 541-3196

Tina Rodousakis,
Grassroots Advocacy Manager, CRS
trodousa@crs.org; (410) 951-7462

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August 6th: Hiroshima Day of Remembrance

Today on the Feast of the Transfiguration, we mourn over the global transformation that took place in 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.



For prayer and reflection, here is a powerful litany, written by Susan Adams, a missionary in Japan for 13 years, courtesy of the United Church of Christ:

Remember and Transform: A Responsive Prayer on Hiroshima Day (pdf)

. . . . and from our U.S. Bishops, more to reflect on and pray about:

We oppose the continued readiness of the United States to use nuclear weapons, especially against non-nuclear threats, and the potential development of new weapons for this purpose. . . Our nation should lead in the challenging task of envisioning a future rooted in peace, with new global structures of mediation and conflictresolution, and with a world order that has moved beyond nuclear weapons.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Statement on New Nuclear Treaty and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy, 2002





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The Catholic Worker Movement Re-Affirms Its Opposition to War

THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO OPPOSE WAR -- STATEMENT URGES U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS TO ACT

At the conclusion of the 75th Anniversary Gathering of the Catholic Worker movement, held in Worcester, Massachusetts from July 9 -­ 12, 2008, Catholic Workers from across the United States and from Germany issued a statement responding to unending war, ecological destruction and economic collapse; callingthe leadership of the church to speak out now; and urging their church and nation to join them in personal, political and spiritual actions. Over 500 Catholic Workers attended the gathering, the largest in these times, hosted by Ss. Francis & Therese Catholic Worker and the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker communities.

The Catholic Worker was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, as a Gospel-based response to the needs of those times. The Catholic Worker vision lives on in over 200 communities worldwide. The statement urges the leadership of the church, "now and without evasion, to break its silence and to wield the authority provided by the nonviolent gospel of Jesus Christ, by calling the entire nation to repent for the war crimes we have committed in the so-called War on Terror."

Read the 75th Anniversary Statement “We call on our church and nation to join us in repenting our affronts to God” at:

http://www.pieandcoffee.org/2008/07/14/catholic-workers-75th-anniversary-statement/


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Thanks to Felice Cohen-Joppa for information and links
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Our Lady Queen of Peace - Pray for Us

Our Lady
Queen of Peace

From Wikipedia:

Our Lady of Peace or Queen of Peace is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. She is represented in art holding a dove and an olive branch, symbols of peace. Her official memorial feast is celebrated on January 24 each year in Hawaii and some churches in the United States. Elsewhere, the memorial feast is celebrated on July 9.

Pax Christi Prayer Vigil Monday July 7th

"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 Monday July 7th.

(We hold a prayer vigil on the first Mondy of every month).

Where: DeAnza Park (Speedway and Stone)

When: 7:00 pm. It lasts about 25 minutes.

Anybody is welcome to join us!

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

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An Evening of Hope and Healing – in recognition of torture victims worldwide

An Evening of Hope and Healing: UN Day in Observance of Torture Victims
will be held tonight, Wednesday July 2nd, 2008.

The evening is held in recognition of survivors of torture worldwide and the June 26th UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Youth poetry and art, speakers addressing legal, psychological, policy, and personal aspects of torture, advocacy actions and a candle light procession and vigil comprise this non-partisan and secular event held at Southside Presbyterian Church Location: 317 W. 23rd street, from 7:00
PM – 10:00 PM.

Citizens’ actions on specific torture cases prepared byAmnesty International will be available for concerned citizens, as well a Candle Light Procession and Vigil to the local public shrine, El Tiradito, at Main Street and Cushing Street in downtown Tucson.

The event is free and open to the public.

Co-sponsoring Organizations are: Amnesty International Tucson, the Center for Prevention and Resolution of Violence, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest -Asylum Program, Owl and Panther Project, Torture on Trial, Tucson Human Relations Commission, United Nations Association of Southern Arizona.

The full event schedule and organization’s electronic links specifically relating to the event or survivors of torture testimony and advocacy are listed below.

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Full Schedule for July 2nd, 2008 Event:

7:00 - 8:00 pm

Poetry readings by youth of the Owl and Panther group precede speakers.
Speakers:

Rachel Wilson, JD, PhD, Lead Attorney for Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest's Asylum Program – Legal Challenges in Protecting Torture Survivors.
Lucy Wilson, Clinical Psychologist, CPRV – Hope and Healing
Dr. Roberto Cintli Rodriguez – A Policy Perspective on Torture
Leonardo Maturan – Life In Prison

Following the speakers, the audience is invited to:

8:00 - 8:45 pm

-- Chalk drawings artistically developed by youth of the Owl and Panther group on public view in the adjacent patio.

-- Enjoy light refreshments and non-alcoholic drinks.

-- Review and act on specific cases presented by Amnesty International in Tucson of persons currently imprisoned who are at risk for torture. Participants may send post cards requesting international and national legal procedures be followed and that no violations of the rights of detainees be allowed by responsible authorities. Letters from federal representatives who were asked to present their views on torture will be available for viewing.

8:45 - 9:10 pm

Assemble for procession of Candle Light Vigil toward El Tiradito Shrine on Main Street at Cushing Street.

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Organizational Links Related to Survivors of Torture

Amnesty International – Worldwide Torture Cases
Owl and Panther Project – http://www.owlandpanther.org/
United Nations Association of Southern Arizona - http://www.untucson.org/
United Nations background on torture:
Asylum Program of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest
Torture on Trial – http://www.tortureontrial.org/

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