~~~SisterSea~~~

I always find it interesting to look at the verses that are omitted in the lectionary Gospel reading.   As you will have realized if you looked at the verses listed in your Missal and Missalettes, there are at least 11 verses missing.   This discussion starter is based on today’s reading including the omitted verses. For me, the Gospel of John provides a lens through which to view the words and actions of Jesus in other parts of Scripture.   In the Gospels of the previous weeks, we have been told to love one another and to abide in God’s love and that we are Christ’s own if we follow his commandment.   Further, that he asks this of us not as a Master but as a friend. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that following him will cost us for a time; that love will cost us for a time.   Jesus also tells us that when he is no longer physically here, we will not be alone because the Spirit of Truth is being sent to guide us. The previous readings emphasize: l...

Dear Tina, Today was an extraordinary day full of (to coin a new oxymoron) ordinary miracles. It began with members from the different groups that form the local Catholic community. We came together to form two pilot small faith community leadership groups. After the six-week Discipleship Program, the members of the pilot group would act as the seed persons who bring together other members of the community to form groups that would work together through Lent. The meeting was followed by a lovely lasagne lunch. Two old 1950s/1960s songs kept running through my head as I stood in a sun shower smoking a cigarette. I think it is the first time I have experienced a winter sun shower. As I gazed up at the trees, I saw a squirrel scrabbling up it. I immediately thought, Spring can’t be too far off. After all, I have seen several squirrels out and about this week. Three of us were in my friend’s van as she drove down Main Street, ahead of us a strikingly well ...

January 15 - February 23, 2010 Last year over 10,000 people in at least 29 different countries participated in this worldwide event. The Dalai Lama has endorsed the Winter Feast for two years now and Deepak Chopra has added his endorsement to the list: “Meditating forty minutes a day for forty days, as done in the Winter Feast for the Soul won’t just further one’s conscious evolution. Humanity will be at peace when enough individuals choose to make peace a part of their spiritual practice.” Deepak Chopra The premise for the Winter Feast is that when people spend a block of time each day focusing inward they will discover there a source of inner peace. That peace, if shared by enough people will spread around the world. Founder, Valerie Skonie, of Hailey Idaho predicts that “a shift in our global consciousness will occur if enough people join us. That kind of shift translates into a new world order that includes wisdom and compassion for all beings.” The initial inspiration for the W...

By Victoria Marie People of colour, close friends Empathy, proclaimed Yet, Joy unshared Bring arrows of pain To understand let us Go back and see What this old black woman Saw as a child on TV Policemen with dogs and hoses Attack my people huddled In defensive poses Angry white crowds shouting, enraged Because black children with theirs being schooled While soldiers surround the black children Protecting their right to what the Supreme Court ruled Three young men missing, murdered For helping Black people register to vote With no one brought to justice Until 30 years later, a sad footnote Obama’s election, no big deal to you Full citizenship has always been your right However, for people of colour, sometimes Just to stay sane is a fight “You can grow up to be president” They tell us in school, but black students face The constricting clarifying message “President, not people of your race.” So you see, it’s not that he will Make all the nation’s problems go away But millions of Black Am...

CPTnet 22 March 2008 by Julian Gutierrez Castaño Translated by Michele Braley "…¿Adónde van los desaparecidos? Busca en el agua y en los matorrales. ¿Y por qué es que se desaparecen? Porque no todos somos iguales. ("Where have the disappeared gone? Look in the water and in the brush. And why do they disappear? Because we are not all equal ...") The sun warmed Washington, D.C. as did the colorful crowd that gathered in Dupont Plaza on 6 March 2008—an unusually balmy day. The Colombians, and the usual crowd of sympathetic "gringo" human rights activists, carried signs depicting the plight of the victims of the armed conflict that has plagued Colombia since the late 1940s. A unionist displaced by the political right that holds power in Colombia gave testimony. So did the daughter of one of the many victims who were not supposed to proclaim that in Colombia inequality is perpetuated by the State, that the people are devoured by alligators (the state security force...

Kingston , Ontario February 15, 2008 Kingston Regional Police took Bob Lovelace away from the courthouse in handcuffs this morning to serve a six month sentence on a contempt of court charge handed down by Justice Douglas Cunningham. Lovelace, age fifty-nine, is an ex-chief and spokesperson for the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN). He is also father to seven children and an instructor at Queen’s University and Sir Sandford Fleming Community College . Justice Cunningham imposed a fine of $25,000 on Lovelace and $10,000 on his community. Lovelace said “I am in a dilemma. I want to obey Canadian law but Algonquin law instructs me that I must preserve Creation. I must follow Algonquin law.” Judge Cunningham in his sentencing said, “There can only be one law – the law of Canada as expressed in this court.” Co-chief Paula Sherman and Honorary Chief Harold Perry agreed to abide by the terms of an injunction which forbids them from blocking Frontenac Ventures ...

Thursday, February 14, 2008 PRESS RELEASE - English FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' VOICE CENSURED AT UNITED NATIONS Rome , Feb. 14, 2008 - This morning Indigenous Peoples' representatives formally withdrew from the Working Group on Protected Areas of the Convention on Biological Diversity to protest their exclusion from this meeting held at FAO headquarters in the Italian capital. Before leaving the plenary, Indigenous leaders put on symbolic gags and held up protest signs. After Jannie Lasimbang of the Kudasan People of Malaysia read a statement, the indigenous delegation and some Non-Governmental Organizations left the meeting which was suspended upon their departure. The Indigenous Peoples' statement read: "Mr. Chairman, we have made great efforts to be part of this process. However, it is with great disappointment that from the very beginning of this Working Group on Protected Areas meeting we have found ourselves marginalized and without opportunity t...

Turtle Women Rising are needed in Washington D.C. on October 10-13 2008 in front of the White House. Bring your drums, prayers, and your songs. For more information, please visit: Turtle Women Rising

In violation of United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People the U.S. government plans to forcibly take land from the Lipan Apache people to construct a fence and levee to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S. border. The following is a letter from Margo Tamez, the daughter of a family being threatened by agents of the U.S. government. Dear Relatives, I wish I was writing under better circumstances, but I must be fast and direct. My mother and elders of El Calaboz, since July have been the targets of numerous threats and harassments by the Border Patrol, Army Corps of Engineers, National Security Agency (NSA), and other U.S. government agents who want to put a fence on their levee on Apache land. Since July, they have been the targets of numerous telephone calls, unexpected and uninvited visits. The agents informed the Apache that they will have to relinquish parts of their land grant holdings to the border fence buildup. The NSA demands tha...

CPTnet 17 October 2007 CPT Canada recalls team from Algonquin blockade ROBERTSVILLE , ON : The Shabot Obaadjiwan and Ardoch Algonquin First Nations have agreed to a mediation process involving their representatives, the governments of Canada and Ontario , and the uranium exploration company Frontenac Ventures (FV). As stipulated by the mediation agreement, the Algonquins left the Robertsville Mine site on 12 October 2007 after occupying it since 28 June 2007. Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada recalled its violence reduction team from the Algonquin Blockade on 12 October as well. The mediation process will encompass the following discussions: --whether Frontenac's staked claims and mining lease are legally valid; --the possibility of withdrawing traditional Algonquin land from staking and a moratorium on mineral exploration and mining; --addressing on-the-ground concerns about the impacts of uranium drilling. Frontenac Ventures obtained a license under the Onta...