in the words of Pope Francis, R.I.P. April 21, 2025
āWhat a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world .... I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible! .... in Palestine, Israel, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, western Balkans, DCR, Sudan, South Sudan, Sahel, Horn of Africa ....ā
Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2025
world at war
āThe universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor personās face.Standing awestruck before a mountain, we cannot separate this experience from Godā
Laudato Siā (233), 2015
who is God?
āHands off Africa! Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered. May Africa be the protagonist of its own destiny! .... May Africa, the smile and hope of the world, count for more.
āToday we are not living a change of epoch so much as an epochal change .... Our time requires us to live problems as challenges and not as obstacles .... the Lord is active & at work in our world.ā
Basilica of St. Mary Major,
January 2025
change of epoch
May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions. In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenceless civilians & attack schools, hospitals & humanitrian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul & human dignity.
Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2025
mission & spirit
On this day I would like all of us to hope anew & to revive our trust in others, including those who are different from ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life & ideas! For all of us are children of God!
We thank you, Brother Francis, for helping us hear the call to meet the wants of this age.
The Holy Father has chosen as the theme of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1, 2025:
āSeeds of Peace and Hopeā
Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Human Development
care of creation
āChrist is risen! These words capture the whole meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life .... God created us for life & wants the human family to rise again. In Godās eyes every life is precious.ā
Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2025
who are we?
Apostolic journey: DCR & South Sudan 2023
Africa rising
Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2025
The resurrection of Jesus is indeed the basis of our hope .... hope is no longer an illusion ..... not an evasion, but a challenge ..... does not delude but empowers us ..... All those who put their hope in God ... set out on a journey ... become pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the victory of love & of the disarmed power of Life.
Urbi et Orbi, Easter 2025
THE RE- OPENING OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL, Paris ā an interview with Marguerite Bouteloup, SHCJ about the signiļ¬cance of the restoration of this much-treasured medieval cathedral after extensive ļ¬re damage ļ¬ve years ago.
You created the world and, when finished, saw that it was very good. You send us again and again the Power of your Spirit, Who opens our hearts and enables transformation towards constant improvement. Much has already happened. Courage is needed for more and much is still possible. We trust in the power of the Spirit and we sing: Veni creator, veni creator, veni creator spiritus! RESPONSE
Irene Gassmann, a Benedictine nun and prioress of Fahr Monastery, near Zurich in Switzerland, initiated the "Prayer on Thursday" together with three other women. Since February 2019, people in Switzerland and other countries have been praying every Thursday for changes in the Church, using the prayer "Step by Step.ā It is about equal rights for men and women and a church that is open to all. For five years, they asked for confidence and strength to keep praying, and they say, āDuring this time, we noticed that something had moved, that the church had taken some small steps in the desired direction. Thatās how the idea for a prophetic prayer of thanksgiving was born.ā In on Pentecost in May 2024, the womenās group around Irene Gassmann launched the new prayer called āThanks on Thursday.ā
Sr. Irene will be a speaker at the annual study days & conference of ANDANTE EUROPA, an organization of Catholic women in Europe, of which the SHCJ is a member organization, and European sisters and associates have been active participants. Maria Dinnendahl, SHCJ was asked to translate the prayer for Thanks on Thursday from German to English for that meeting in April 2025 in Gdansk, Poland. The theme is:
Moving and Movements: Not without women!
We thank
you: Veni creator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7EaOlCMPWU
For all who remain in the Church despite everything, because they love her.
For all who want to change the structures from within.
For all who disregard the regulations of the Church, when they contradict human dignity. Veni creator...
For all who expose sexual and spiritual abuse.
For all who put a stop to cover-up.
For all who speak about what has happened to them. Veni creator...
For all who stand up for human rights in the Church.
For all who have the courage to ācome outā in the Church.
For all who keep the doors of the Church wide open for all. Veni creator...
For all who make use of the resources particular to each local church and develop them further. For all priests and deacons who confirm and support the concerns of the Prayer on Thursday.
For all who listen to the Power of the Spirit and allow her space. Veni creator...
For all who hear your call and answer it, despite all opposition,
For all women who are training for the diaconate and are preparing for ordination,,
For all those who campaign world-wide for the ordination of women. Veni creator...
For all who share bread and wine with each other, For all who baptise children, bless the sick, pray with others for forgiveness, For all who act sacramentally. Veni creator...
For all who are conscious of their baptismal dignity.
For all who are true to their priestly, royal and prophetic calling.
For all who pass on the Word of Jesus, so that others may be enabled to open themselves and be healed by him. Veni creator...
For all who pass on and keep alive the message of Jesus by their actions.
For all who share power.
For all women who are changing the image of the Church, by preaching and standing behind the altar, Veni creator...
For all women who are called to minister as priests and deacons and openly profess this calling. For all who are already living out their priestly vocation, acknowledged and confirmed by the Anglican and other Christian/Catholic Churches.
For all who devote their talents and charisms to create a world conformed to the Spirit of Jeus. Veni Creator...
For all who, in our Convents and Monastries, go forward step by step and make it possible for change to happen. For all who have fallen silent, but whose quiet prayer is effective nevertheless.
For all who are united with each other through the Prayer on Thursday. Veni creator...
You, our God, what seems impossible to us human beings is already possible for you. We thank you for everything., today and always till we reach eternity. Amen.
Simeon took him in his arms & praised God, saying,
āGod, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes Iāve seen your salvation; itās now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel.ā
Anna never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting & prayer night and day.
How might your own signs of aging become a spiritual practice that deepens your connection with God?
aging
as a spiritual practice
We each face our decline and our death differently. Many avoid worrying about it by filling the later years with as much activity as we can handle. Many of us, however, face the gradual debilitation of terminal illness ā dementia, mobility issues, cancer. None of this is pleasant, so we would rather not think about these things, and live as much as possible as if we were going to live forever. We simply let the processes of diminishment gradually limit our world.
āConscious agingā is the spiritual practice whereby we take our decline as an opportunity for further deepening of our spiritual life and of our connection with God .... Recent spiritual literature, especially that influenced by Carl Jung ... talks of two halves of life: a first half is dominated by our ego ā that part of ourselves that judges, plans, selects, decides, orders, competes, and succeeds (or not). The second half builds on the first, but is a break from it; it moves from āegoā to āself,ā (or, as some would say, from āfalse selfā to ātrue self.ā) It is characterized by non-dualistic thinking, forgiveness, compassion, and inner depth and meaning-making.
There are some key tasks we should undertake in order to make our ageing a spiritual practice:
ā¢ embark on the āinner journeyā
ā¢ accept the inevitability of āpassivities of diminishmentā as we become less mobile, more racked with pain and illness, and other forms of debility
ā¢ find ways to transform these passivities of diminishment into possibilities for growth.
ā¢ learn to let go of attachments, planfulness, ambitions of our ego
ā¢ give ourselves to what is beyond us, bigger than us
ā¢ visit: https://spiritualpractice.ca/welcome/how-can-my-ageing-become-a-spiritual-practice/ RESOURCE #2: Meet the Wants of This Age ā Signs of Hope ā āAging as a Spiritual Practiceā ā February 2025
DAWN
When we see the world clearly, its doom of climate, of tyranny, of violence, the reign of riches, the empire of fear, we join those who sit in darkness. It is no longer only slaves and prisoners, but all the world that dwells in the shadow of death.
And now, now, the prophet announces the coming of a dawn as if a winter solstice. A light that guides us into the ways of peace even amid the winds of conflict.
Look, then, even in the darkness, to the light. The dawn is not on the horizon but among us, even in the deep night, already rising.
Pastor
Steven Garnaas-Holmes ā https://unfoldinglight.net/
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1.78-79
Thisicon,āChristintheRubble,ā was created last December to illustrate the prophetic message that if Jesus were born now, he wouldbebornāundertherubbleā insomanypartsoftheworld.
Kelly wants the icon to invite a āholy ponderingā - that potentially brings about hope to be among those who roll up their sleeves to help build communities that are compassionate, creative, inclusive, participatory, humane to animals and good for the earth. adapted from reflections on the icon
The guiding principles for our apostolic service in each succeeding age are rooted in Corneliaās understanding of the Incarnation. In Christ we unite ourselves to the whole of humanity, especially to the poor and suffering. We accept our share of responsibility for the sin of the world and so live that his love may prevail. Constitutions #6
During this Christmas season and beyond, may all of us be a blessing to others.
With love and prayer,
CHRIST in the RUBBLE by the hand of Kelly Latimore Casa Cornelia Community
Congratulations
Sister Francisca Ngozi Uti, HHCJ
the founder and executive director of the Centre for Women Studies and Intervention (CWSI) in Abuja, Nigeria, has been named the laureate of the 2024 Opus Prize ā a $1.2 million award recognizing transformative humanitarian work.
The Opus Prize is given annually to recognize unsung heroes of any faith tradition, anywhere in the world, solving todayās most persistent social problems. This $1 million faith-based humanitarian award and two $100,000 awards are collectively one of the worldās largest faith-based, humanitarian awards for social innovation.
In her address during the Nov. 14 award ceremony at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Silicon Valley, the Nigerian member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus (HHCJ) said that words could not express her joy.
VISIT the Centre for Womenās Studies & Intervention ā https://cwsing.org/what-we-do/
to read more about their work in ā
ā¢ human rights/gender equality training,
ā¢ addressing the under-representation of women in elected and appointed positions,
ā¢ making women economically self-reliant,
ā¢ addressing the growing trend in migration issues affecting women and girls such as trafficking, child labour, exploitation, and abuses, and more.
https://www.schoolforsynodality.org.uk/
The School for Synodality is a project of the Catholic Diocese of Northampton to help support the synodal conversion of the Church in England and Wales in our day to day practice. Through conversations, the development of resources and our programmes, we hope to enable an openness to the Holy Spirit in our Church through listening, sharing and discernment.
RE-SOURCE #2: Signs of Hope ā The School of Synodality ā December 2024
