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Volume 28 - 8 September, 2015 Dear Parents & Students Over the past weeks, we see in the media almost every day heart-breaking images of refugees fleeing from hunger, from war, from persecution, in search of security and a dignified life. We pray today for the thousands of refugees who are undertaking the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea, for those who have perished attempting to reach European shores and for those who are coming to the aid of the refugees. I offer these two prayers. Sheltering God, You were born in flight, Your parents anxious and given no rest. The manner of Your birth calls me to open-heartedness and sensitivity to the strangers in our midst. Help me not to flee Your challenge. The violence of the present time teaches me fear of the stranger, reluctance to reach out to those who are different. Grace me this day as I seek to see You in the faces of those uprooted, weary, as they seek refuge and peace. Amen.
GENTILE DA FABRIANO “Rest during the Flight into Egypt�
Mary knew the weariness of the journey; to Bethlehem, to Egypt back to Nazareth. She knew the weariness, the fear, the longing for home, the need to continue moving, moving, the longing for journey's end, the longing for at least a semblance of a home.
for peace, for some security, for something like a home. May they find their journey's end as we open ourselves to their stories, their need, their spirits. We ask for mercy for all migrants and for our communities who are challenged to welcome them, to give them hope for a new life.
To Mary we entrust the mothers, the fathers, the children who today are holy families migrating in hope, in fear, in longing,
Justice
Freedom
Jane Deren
VERITY
Sincerity
Felicity