Week of

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






Sr. Ruth Ann and Sr. Marie Pauline (top) design Earth Day reminders to post on the first floor of the Motherhouse to heighten awareness of the urgent call to care for our Common Home. Sr. Gabrielle (bottom left) shows off her green thumb and her recycled herb garden!
 
Summary of Pope Francis’ address on Earth Day
 
“The 50th anniversary of Earth Day provides an opportunity for renewing our commitment to caring for our common home.  We are called to cherish creation and all life within it, for the natural world is the “Gospel of Creation”, not a set of resources for us to exploit.  To overcome our selfishness and rediscover a sacred respect for the earth, we need a new way of seeing – an ecological conversion – for the earth is also God’s home and we stand on holy ground.  We can only be authentic custodians of the earth, and overcome the challenges before us – such as the coronavirus pandemic – by acting in solidarity with one another.  As the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ reminds us, we are one interdependent human family and so need a common response to the threats we face (cf. 164).  In this Easter season of renewal, as we strive to love more deeply our common home and all our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need, let us implore our Creator:: “Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth” ( Ps 104:30). Click here for his entire address: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/papal-audience/2020-04/pope-general-audience-22-april-earth-day.html    
 


SCCs Continue to Respond to the Needs of Our Times
                                              
















Sr. Mary Martha (left) assists St. Cecelia food pantry staff, Maria Campos and Jodi Smyth, with providing food for those in need during this time.  Sr. Mary Amato receives masks for her frontline ministry at St. Joseph’s Medical Center from Sr. Anna Nguyen and her cohort of mask makers and creates a heartfelt thank you out of the homemade masks!  The sisters in the Bronx have been making sandwiches 3 days a week and delivering them to the homeless in the neighborhood as well as working with the Mexican Coalition to pack 100 bags of food every week for the underserved in the local community. 
                 

Pray the Rosary for Vulnerable People on the Move
 
Recently Pope Francis invited Catholics and all people of faith to pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary seeking intercession from Mary during these challenging times.   The people we serve -immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and others- must act to prevent infection from COVID-19 but also must deal with their daily struggle to overcome the restrictions of our immigration system.  The program will begin on Monday April 27th.  You can join and even volunteer to lead a Rosary!                             

Email tscribner@usccb.org if you are interested in participating.  Click on the link below and scroll down past the how to pray section to the daily reflections that highlight child  migrants, refugees, trafficking victims, migrant families and asylum seekers.
  Justice for Immigrants Rosary for Vulnerable People on the Move - English
 
April 30 - Feast of Blessed Pauline - As we reflect on Pauline’s life we honor her legacy by continuing to respond to the needs of our broken world today as she did in her own time. I am quite certain that she would be advocating for our suffering earth and ministering to those most affected by the pandemic.  I dare say she would be zooming and face timing to stay in contact with her sisters, her family and those in ministry who needed her advice or affirmation. Her legacy is our mission today as we deal with the challenges of 2020. May she inspire and direct  us in being open to the signs of the times!
 
May 1 - Feast of St. Joseph the Worker / International Workers’ Day
Click on the link for a tool kit with resources and prayers.
https://ignatiansolidarity.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8e141d38e4bb12b990251e274&id=322eea3066&e=5d5fe26e19
  

 

“For my suffering brothers and sisters let no exertion be too much for me. ” -MP