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Tuesday, September 27, 2005 |
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SOCIAL JUSTICE/HUMAN CONCERNS
By St Mary Administrator @ 12:00 AM :: 378 Views ::  :: Human Concerns
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“God’s October Surprise”.
At this moment in history, when religious conflict, violence, terrorism and war have reemerged with lethal dangers for our different communities and our shared planet, God has given our spiritual and religious traditions a gift of time. During October, 2005 (and again in the fall of 2006 and 2007), a confluence of sacred moments in the three major traditions invites us to pray with each other and work together for peace, justice, human rights and the healing of our wounded earth. The sacred Muslim lunar month of Ramadan and the sacred Jewish lunar month of Tishrei both begin October 3-4. October 4, as we Catholic Christians know, is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was one of the few Christians of his day who opposed the crusades, who learned in a serious way from Muslim teachers, and who was deeply dedicated to kinship with the earth and all living creatures. There are several ways that Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups can celebrate this confluence of sacred moments:
Share prayer together, whenever possible, for peace and the restoration of God’s precious gift to us, the Earth;
Set aside time from sunrise to sunset on October 13, which for Muslims is one of the Ramadan fast days and for Jews is the fast day of Yom Kippur, as a fast for reflection, repentance, reconciliation and renewal, to seek peace, feed the poor and heal the earth.
On October 4, celebrate the feast of St. Francis with a discussion around a family meal, ending with prayer for the Earth and its creatures so loved by St. Francis;
Share with friends (especially those of the other major faith groups) your own spiritual journey, or read passages from the saga of Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah and Isaac, and discuss the wisdom held in each of the passages for all faiths;
Explore what common actions you might take to bring about God’s dream for a peaceful, harmonious world, for example, an action to protect human rights (like immunity from torture) or to insist that public resources be used to feed the hungry and empower the poor, rather than to swell the treasuries of the mighty.
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