A Novena of
Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation
A Novena of
Novenas
for Justice, Peace, & Creation
A "novena of novenas"
is 81 days of intercessory prayer and catechesis
for peace among nations, justice for all people, and the care
of Creation,
commencing the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, June
16, 2012.
This call to prayer consists of 9 consecutive 9 day novenas.
Each novena has a general intention, the prayers,
thoughts for the Journey, and an act of caring for Creation.
Each novena is dedicated to one of the titles of Mary, plus a
saint.
In addition, each day we will pray the Novena to St. John
Chrysostom on behalf of the
conversion of the United States Catholic Bishops. The purpose of
these novenas is not the
mechanical recitation of words, but a genuine act of prayer, a
prayer of the heart.
The spirit
of this novena may be found in these words of Oscar Romero. . . "It is very easy to be servants
of the word without disturbing the world: a very spiritualized
word, a word without any commitment to history, a word that can
sound in any part of the
world because it belongs to no part of the world. A word like that creates no problems, starts
no conflicts. What starts conflicts and persecutions, what marks
the genuine church, is the word that, burning like
the word of the prophets,
proclaims and accuses; proclaims to the people God's wonders to
be believed and venerated,
and accuses of sin those who oppose God's
reign, so that they may tear that sin out of their hearts, out
of their societies,
out of their laws - out of the structures that oppress, that
imprison, that violate the rights of God and of humanity. This
is
the hard service of the word. But God's Spirit goes with the
prophet, with the preacher, for he is Christ, who keeps
on proclaiming his reign to the people of all times."
Begin each novena prayer with a
time of quiet centering. You may find it helpful to pray some
repetitions
of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy
on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary,
the Chaplet of
Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual
reading or lectio divina.
PDF -- all the text of this web page arranged as a PDF for printing (8 pages)
June 16 - June 24th -- Our Lady of Sorrows and Oscar Romero
June 25 - July 3: Our Lady of Guadalupe and Martyrs of Latin America
July 4 - July 12: Our Lady of the Precious Blood and St. Franz Jagerstatter
July 13 - July 21: Our Lady of Good Counsel, and Matthew Talbott
July 22 - July 30: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sts. Vincent de Paul and Louise Marillac
July 31 - August - 8:
Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Joseph
Aug 9 - 17: Our Lady of the Assumption and Sts. Isidore and Maria
Aug 18 - 26: Our Lady of Charity and Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange
Aug 27 - Sept 4 :
Our Lady of the Streets and Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin
Our Lady of Sorrows
& Archbishop Oscar Romero
+ Let us pray together in peace,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen
the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor,
peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.
Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl
about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Open our eyes to see
the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through
obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope
for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.
Our
Lady of Sorrows, most holy and afflicted mother,
of martyrs, you stood beneath the cross and witnessed the
agony of your dying Son. We pray for those who will die today because of war,
economic chaos, injustice, and exploitation, especially the
children. Prepare them for the agony, despair, and terror of the
violence that is upon them. Comfort them and hold them close to
the bosom of thy Wounded Heart as they drink deeply of the
bitter cup which is forced upon them. Wipe their tears, calm
their fears, welcome them to peace and safety. Eternal rest
grant to them, and may perpetual light shine upon them.
Oscar Romero, prophet of
justice and peace, you stood in solidarity with the poor and
oppressed even unto your own death.
May your holy example strengthen us with courage and wisdom as
we do the works of justice and peace, beauty and wisdom.
Prayer to
St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts for the
journey. Today many swords pierce the heart of Mary.
Injustice, oppression, violence, war, murder, the rape of
Creation --
sins and structures of sin against justice and peace. We know
that within our hearts are the seeds of the problems the world
faces.
If we are going forward in the work of justice and peace, we
must begin with an examination of our own lives. How do my sins
of omission
and commission create and support structures of injustice and
oppression? How do I participate in and profit from the social
sins and
unjust wars of this age? What must be redeemed in my life so
that I live in solidarity with those our society has pushed to
the edge and further,
into the abyss? How can I change my life so that I promote
peace, rather than demanding war? Can I end the
ecological harm I cause to Creation
by my lifestyle?
June
25 - July 3
Our Lady of
Guadalupe and the Martyrs of Latin America
+ Let us pray together in peace,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen
the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor,
peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.
Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl
about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Open our eyes to see
the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through
obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope
for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.
O Mary, blessed Lady of
Guadalupe, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life: Look down, O Mother,
upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the
poor whose
lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of
brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed by
indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who
believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty
and love to the people of our time.
Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever
new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their
lives and the
courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build,
together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth
and love, to the praise
and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.
Pray for us, Martyrs of
Latin America. Bring to our remembrance this day all people who
are killed in wars, tortured in jails, disappeared
in the night, starved for food, subjected to oppression, driven
from their homes, unlawfully imprisoned, denied religious
liberty, excluded
from economic opportunity, marginalized by poverty, targeted by
racial and cultural prejudices, silenced by violence and
injustice. May we hear
and remember the tragedy, joy, despair, and hope of the voices
that call to us and to history for justice, reconciliation, and
peace. Help us by the
grace of God to build a world without injustice. Amen.
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on
behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts for the
journey. In this Novena we honor Mary as Our Lady of
Guadalupe, protector of the unborn, patron of all those
who are oppressed and persecuted. We also remember the martyrs
of Latin America, victims of cruel conflicts between world
empires and corrupt ruling classes.
Throughout history, we have
drawn circles around certain groups and said, "These people are
not human -- dispose of them as you choose."
The holocausts are too many to count. Do we really believe that
human life is precious and deserves respect and protection? That
depends
on where the alleged person is located, socially and physically.
Some people simply aren't considered to be real people.
They may be too
old, and too sick, and too poor, just give them a shot and put
them out of our misery. Or perhaps they live on land which is
coveted by
others more powerful than they. Society has developed many ways
to ease this process, starting with the NewSpeak vocabulary that
describes these events. Structures of sin always defend
themselves vigorously. There is enough tragedy in this to go around more than
once.
Abandonment by fathers, violence against women, unjust economics
that encourage abortion, terrorism, mandatory contraception
& sterilization,
demonization of the poor (especially young single mothers),
cartelized and corporatized health care and so on. Here is where
we
remember that the Lady of Guadalupe took upon herself the image
of a young pregnant Aztec maiden in a place of oppression and
injustice, demonstrating God's love for everybody.
We find this message also in
the mysteries of the many Martyrs of Latin America. They were
condemned by politicians. The bullets and
bombs were paid for by the powerful. They were targeted because
they were poor. Their deaths were enabled by structures that
dehumanize and depersonalize human beings. Like unborn children,
a circle was drawn around them & they were proclaimed as
fair game.
Empires counted their deaths as collateral damage. Their voices
call to us for justice & remembrance.
Our Lady of the
Precious Blood and St. Franz Jagerstatter
+ Let us pray together in
peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Holy Mary,
Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful,
comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace
to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples. Give us
strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl
about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Open our eyes to see
the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which
comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a
refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by
injustice and violence.
Precious
Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, most
pure Offering: Procure for us every grace! Precious Blood, Hope
and Refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, Delight of
holy souls: Draw us!
St.
Franz Jagerstatter, in a time of great injustice and violence,
you bore heroic witness to peace, beauty, and holiness. Your
devotion to truth shows us the way to reconciliation. Your
example of fortitude brings us courage. Your life of beauty in
the face of appalling evil fills us with hope. May your heart of
love inspire us so that we will witness, remember, teach, and
proclaim the Gospel of life and love for all peoples,
everywhere, and not count the cost.
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts for the
journey. His lifeless body was taken from the Cross
and laid in her blessed arms. How the tears must have
flowed as she cradled Him in her arms, He who once had been a
little baby, bouncing on her lap, a young man who followed in
Joseph's
footsteps as a carpenter and who taught in the Temple
confounding the wise, a fearless prophet who healed and taught
and brought hope.
How His life must have passed before her eyes, as her tears
mingled with His most precious Blood. "A sword shall also pierce
your heart."
At the first Eucharist, she received the Cup from His hands --
did she understand even then what was to come? "She kept all
these things
and pondered them in her heart." What did she tell the servants
at the wedding at Cana? "Do whatever Jesus tells you to do."
"For in Christ all the
fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all
things for him, making peace by the blood of his
cross through him. (Colossians 1:19-20a). "And all this is from
God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given
us the
ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses
against them and
entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians
5:18-19)
How great is the need for
reconciliation in this world! But reconciliation is more than an
oppressor saying, "I'm sorry" -- who then goes and
continues a lifestyle of oppression, who closes his eyes to the
consequences of injustice. Reconciliation is not the denial of
injustice,
it is the correction of the objective disorders that cause the
harm. The call to reconciliation is not the Voice of the
Oppressor saying
"Cooperate with our violence against you." No, it is the witness
of the Precious Blood of Christ that reconciliation is praxis -- it is action
rooted in spirituality. Faith without works is dead.
This is not a comfortable
process; it is easier to just blame the victims. Many close
their eyes to structures of injustice and exploitation and
greed, processes that make people poor and keep them "in their
place." The poor become a fearful Alien, the Other, to be
mastered, confined,
counted, regulated, and exploited for the good of the ruling
political and economic elites. Our Lady of the Precious Blood
without fear and
full of love stands against all oppression and injustice, she
comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comforted and calls us
to the same journey.
St. Franz Jagerstatter was
an Austrian farmer who was killed by the Nazis during World War
II because of his refusal to bear arms and
serve in the German military. His example of fortitude in the
face of the most appalling evil is a reminder that
reconciliation begins with truth --
and leads to a personal commitment to live the Gospel, even at
great personal risk. His example is of great importance in our
day, as the
United States wages unjust wars and our government demands
support for its crusades of death and slaughter.
Meanwhile, our bishops, like the bishops of
Nazi Germany, do not defend the right to life in the face of the
State's demand for war but hide behind ecclesiastical rhetoric
and preach a false gospel
of moral relativism. In the face of so much blood and death, we
remember the victims of imperial tyranny. We live in solidarity
with them.
Our prayer is that through
the reconciliation of the Blood of Christ, all people will learn
to be one in solidarity with each other, so that
all persons and peoples acknowledge the human personhood and
dignity of each other, and live together in peace upon the
earth. And as
the song says, let this begin with me. Our praxis is a prayer,
and this is the prayer that is most pleasing to God.
Our Lady of Good Counsel and Matthew Talbot
+ Let us pray together in
peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless,
strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to
the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all
peoples. Give us strength to stand against the demonic
powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness
which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to
be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and
violence.
Most Glorious Virgin Mary, you were chosen by the eternal Counsel to be the Mother of the Eternal Word made flesh. You know that our thoughts on earth are sometimes full of fear and uncertainty. Send us the gift of counsel to teach us how to discern God's will and to guide us in all we do.
Matthew Talbot, you were
born into poverty, among a marginalized people, and you went
right to the edge as an alcoholic. In these times,
the strong prey upon the weak and violence. Despair, alienation
and oppression rule the hearts of many. We pray that your
example of solidarity
with the poor will inspire us to follow your path and open our
hearts, minds, and homes in hospitality and welcome to those who
are in need. Amen.
Lord, in your servant, Matt
Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over
addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong
reverence of the Holy Sacrament. May his life of prayer and
penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the
footsteps of
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We ask this through the same
Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen."
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts for the
journey. See how Our Lady carefully guides the steps
of her Son. What advice did she give to the servants at the
wedding at Cana? "Do whatever he tells you!" What does Jesus
tell us to do? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the
homeless,
challenge unjust structures, speak out against oppression and
hypocrisy, love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Matthew Talbot was born in a
slum in Dublin, Ireland in 1856, and died in the same town in
1925. His journey led into the dark depths
of alcoholism. But by the grace of God, he experienced a true
and lasting religious conversion, and spent his life among the
poor,
practicing evangelical poverty, working at labor jobs and giving
most of his money as alms to the poor and for the benefit of
missions.
He helped people find sobriety. His life was an evangelical
witness to the power of the Gospel to transform the most
alienated & to bring
new life to community in the midst of despair. He reminds us of the precarious
place of those we push to the edge. Often they fall off, into
the abyss. They are all around us, but we don't notice them
because they are really good at hiding from us. In their
experience, to be
noticed is to be abused, hurt, wounded. Their defenders are few,
their enemies are many. Through the example of Our Lady of Good
Counsel
and Matthew Talbot, we can learn to open our eyes and
hearts to see the poor who are among us, and stop doing harm to
them.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help & Sts. Vincent de
Paul & Louise Marillac
+ Let us pray together in peace,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen
the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor,
peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.
Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl
about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Open our eyes to see
the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through
obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope
for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.
O Mother of Perpetual Help,
you who are called the refuge and the hope of sinners; be the
refuge and hope of all who are excluded from sharing in the
goodness and bounty of Creation. Help me, for the love of your
son Jesus Christ, to stretch forth my hands to feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. I bless and thank
Almighty God, who in His mercy has given me this confidence in
You, which I hold to be a pledge of my eternal salvation. Mary,
tender Mother, help me.
Mother of Perpetual Help, never allow me to lose my faith, hope,
and love. Amen.
St. Vincent de
Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, your lives were heroic examples
of justice, compassion, and mercy.
We ask your intercession today on behalf of all who are excluded
from participation in the bounty of Creation.
Teach us to live simply, that others may simply live. Bless our
efforts to ensure just distribution with discernment and
prudence. Amen.
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on
behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts
for the journey. From the Catechism of the Catholic
Church. "2402. In the beginning God entrusted the earth and
its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care
of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits.
The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race.
However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the
security of their lives,
endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The
appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the
freedom and
dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his
basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should
allow for a
natural solidarity to develop between men." "2403. The right to
private property, acquired by work or received from others by
inheritance or gift, does not do away with the original gift of
the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of
goods
remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good
requires respect for the right to private property and its
exercise."
Now is the time to open our
eyes to see the sins against just community that occur daily.
Merciless and corrupt governments and international
agencies encourage the exploitation of the powerless for unjust
gain. Globalization, enforced by the World Bank, International
Monetary Fund,
and the WTO, is making the poorest of the poor even more
miserable and wretched and hopeless. Thousands die every day
from the
consequences of chronic hunger, many of them in countries where
large corporate farms grow food that can't be eaten by the
locals for export.
War destroys resources and creates poverty and misery. Billions
are at risk. A just
community respects both property rights and the social
mortgage on the property. Yet, too often the property rights of
the poor are accorded scant protection. Traditional lands are
appropriated
for the enrichment of others, making the original owners tenants
on their ancestral farms. (Think about this when you buy a
banana.) Sometimes
the poor are killed for their land. In the past 30 years,
millions of units of low income housing have been destroyed in
the US by politicized
eminent domain pogroms against which the poor neighborhoods have
no defense. When a powerful government agency wants a cross-town
freeway, or a new upscale mall or condo development, the nearest
poor neighborhood will do just fine.
Sts. Vincent de Paul and
Louise Marillac are two of the patron saints of justice in the
distribution of earthly goods. They lived 350 years ago,
but their influence continues today in the many lay and
consecrated religious movements that grow from their ministry.
The Vincentian
apostolates are primary agents of fulfilling the Gospel's call
to justice in the distribution of the bounty of creation. They
show us that the path
towards reconciliation is illuminated by justice.
July 31
- August 8
Our Lady Queen of Peace and St. Joseph
+ Let us pray together in peace,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen
the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor,
peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples.
Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl
about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Open our eyes to see
the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through
obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope
for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.
Our Lady Queen of Peace, mystical rose, Bless those who create and sustain a culture of life and love with endurance, hope, and abundance. May the candles we light glow bright with hospitality and hope, respect and love, peace and justice. Help us to turn away from war and embrace peace.
Holy St. Joseph,
Worker and Father, In faith you welcomed our Lord when He was
yet within his Mother's womb. You opened your heart
in obedience to the Word of God. You protected Jesus and Mary
and provided a home for them of peace, safety, and holiness. We
honor
you as patron of the Poor, and all who serve them, of Workers
and Carpenters and Builders. Your heroic example shows us the
way that
we should go and we trust in you for protection in our time of
need. Holy St. Joseph, Guide and Protector, Open the minds and
hearts of all
who by their actions give power to structures of sin that enable
oppression. Help us to understand the consequences of sins
against justice,
charity, and the care of Creation. Turn oppressors from ways of
darkness, and help them to embrace the light of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Holy St. Joseph, help the helpless, comfort the dying, bring
justice to the poor, and peace to all nations. Amen.
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on
behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts for the
journey. Here we are, 11 years into a series of
unjust wars in the Middle East to protect our so-called "right"
to oil.
Hundreds of thousands have died. Violence rules the day. The US
Empire is presently at the top of the world heap, but like all
empires,
we have no place to go but down. Ash heap of history here we
come! Our national bloodlust for war drives us toward that
abyss.
The US Catholic Bishops are guilty of material cooperation with
these unjust wars, thus gravely harming the Church's witness to
the
protection of life from the moment of conception to the time of
natural death.
Peace is the fruit of
justice, as Pope Paul VI reminded us. All people are connected,
rich and poor. The Gospel and these times call us
therefore to the work of justice, to the celebration of life,
goodness, beauty, virtue, responsibility, and joy. As we
practice peace,
non-violence, servant leadership, harmony, community, voluntary
cooperation, and the proper stewardship of God's creation, we
may
eventually get good at it, especially if we pray without
ceasing.
In the May 1977 edition of
the Catholic Worker newspaper, Dorothy Day wrote about events in
the first years of the movement. . .
"When bills piled up and creditors came, we used to go to church
and pray, all of us taking turns, and we called this "the
picketing
of St. Joseph." Once when I asked an unemployed chambermaid if
she would take a half-hour of "picketing Saint Joseph" over at
Precious Blood Church, she asked me if she was to carry a sign." There's been a lot of picketing
of St. Joseph since those days.
St. Joseph is our protector and guide. Each time I witness a
blessing of a St. Joseph's Table, I am always moved to tears at
these words
of that blessing. . . "All-provident God, the good things that
grace this table remind us of your many good gifts.
Bless this food, and may the prayers of Saint Joseph, who
provided bread for your Son and food for the poor, sustain us
and all our
brothers and sisters on our journey towards your heavenly
kingdom."
Our Lady of the
Assumption and Sts. Isidore and Maria
General Intention: + For the creation of
structures of beauty and goodness. 7th Work of Justice and Peace:
Ensure fair distribution,
subsidiarity, economic
opportunity, justice, and food security for everyone everywhere.
Act of Caring for
Creation: Reduce your
energy consumption by 20% over
the next 12 months.
+ Let us pray together
in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God,
help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the
sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and
solidarity
among all peoples. Give us strength to stand against the
demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of
souls.
Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness
which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord.
Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by
injustice and violence.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, your Assumption into heaven is a sign of the triumph of good over evil and the coming renewal of all Creation. Help us to be visible signs of hope and comfort for all we meet and give us strength and inspiration to do the works of healing and renewal.
Saints
Isidore and Maria, Teach us that creation is good and bears the
imprint of Christ from beginning to end. Reveal to us the
full expression of God's generosity and blessings that are found
through oneness in the Mystical Body of Christ. Instruct us
regarding the dignity of work, the necessity of charity, and our
vocational call to care for people, care for Creation, and to
have a care for the future. Amen.
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on
behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
"Being green is not
something you can buy. Green is a way of life. Think
permaculturally. Reduce waste. Strive to live sustainably in all
ways. Make it, grow it, build it yourself. Do all you can with
what you have." (Found on the internet.) One of the most
important ways that we can care for Creation is to raise some of
our own food, even if it is only a few herbs or tomato plants in
containers. For centuries, the Church has blessed the fruits of
the soil on the Feast of the Assumption.
Here are the traditional blessings for this purpose.
Let us pray. Almighty
everlasting God, who by your word alone brought into being the
heavens, earth, sea, things seen and things unseen,
and garnished the earth with plants and trees for the use of man
and beast; who appointed each species to bring forth fruit in
its kind, not
only for the food of living creatures, but for the healing of
sick bodies as well; with mind and word we urgently call on you
in your great
kindness to bless + these various herbs and fruits, thus
increasing their natural powers with the newly given grace of
your blessing. May they
keep away disease and adversity from men and beasts who use them
in your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray. God, who
through Moses, your servant, directed the children of Israel to
carry their sheaves of new grain to the priests for
a blessing, to pluck the finest fruits of the orchard, and to
make merry before you, the Lord their God; hear our
supplications, and shower
blessings + in abundance upon us and upon these bundles of new
grain, new herbs, and this assortment of produce which we
gratefully
present to you on this festival, blessing + them in your name. Grant
that men, cattle, flocks, and beasts of burden find in them a
remedy
against sickness, pestilence, sores, injuries, spells, against
the fangs of serpents or poisonous creatures. May these blessed
objects be a
protection against diabolical mockery, cunning, and deception
wherever they are kept, carried, or otherwise used. Lastly,
through the
merits of the blessed Virgin Mary, whose Assumption we are
celebrating, may we all, laden with the sheaves of good works,
deserve to
be taken up to heaven; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Lady of Charity and Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange
+ Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples. Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.
Our Lady of Charity, who
came to us as a messenger of peace across the sea, we know you
hear the cry of all who are at the mercy of others who are
stronger than they. Give your gift of comfort and courage in our
time of grave need.
To your motherly heart, we entrust our desires and hopes, our
work and our prayers. We pray for our families, that they may
live in fidelity and love. We pray for our children, that they
may grow strong in spirit and in body. We pray for our young
people, that their faith may increase, as well as their
attachment to the truth. We pray for the sick, the homeless, the
lonely, the exiled, and for all suffering souls.
We pray for the triumph of love, mercy, and justice throughout
the world.
Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange,
your holy example of courage and faith in the face of injustice
and oppression is a great blessing for
all people. We ask you to intercede before the Throne of Grace
for all who stand today against the demons who prowl about the
world seeking the ruin of souls. Walk with us as we journey
towards peace and justice. Amen.
Thoughts for the Journey. In the early 1600s, a
statue with an inscription "Our Lady of Charity" was found
floating in a bay after a
storm by two Indians (Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos) and a young slave (Juan Moreno).
As at Guadalupe, this revelation came not to the
rich and the powerful, but instead to the poor and outcast. The
same call to charity, fidelity, and service comes to us today -
from
"across the sea". Will we respond in faith, prayer, and action?
First we must feel the sufferings of others in true solidarity.
Then, having the
desire to help, we must actually do something practical! If you
have food for five people, then feed five hungry people and be
grateful for
the opportunities. If you have food for five, and fifty ask you
for food, feed whoever you can and then start asking questions -
why are
there all these hungry people in my community? Then you can
start creating structures so that there is enough food (and
justice!)
for 
all. It's not complicated. You don't need a
foundation, an endowment, insurance, or anything other than eyes
that are open to see,
and hearts that are open, and hands that are busy doing
goodness, beauty, and love. Don't let anyone tell you that you
don't
have the authority to do this, because your baptism is all the
authority that you need.
Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange founded the first religious order in the United States for women of African descent, the Oblate Sisters of Providence on July 2, 1829. She was born a slave on the island of Santo Domingo, but came to the United States after the Haitian revolution of 1791 and settled in Baltimore. She and her sisters started a school, widows' home, and orphanage; they provided vocational training and taught adults to read and write. They endured many hardships, including opposition from a racist bishop. Her order today ministers in inner cities, Africa, and several countries in the Carribean. Her faith and hope gave her the determination necessary to realize her vision and create new opportunities in the midst of injustice and oppression for the victims of racism and slavery. Her example inspires us today to follow her path of service and justice, and in these words of the Oblate Sisters, refuse to "tolerate any expression of racism, prejudice, discrimination, violence or injustice that violates the sanctity of life, demeans the dignity of the human person and desecrates family life."
Our Lady of the Streets and Dorothy Day and Peter
Maurin
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant From this day all generations shall call me blessed. The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. He has shown the strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.
Dorothy
Day, friend and partner of the poor, guiding spirit for the
Catholic Worker, home always open to the unwanted,
early, often lonely, witness in the cause of peace and
conscience, eloquent pattern of gospel simplicity, Dorothy Day,
disciple of the Lord, may we continue your gift of self to the
needy and your untiring work for peace. Help us to follow your
example and dedicate our lives to the creation of structures of
beauty and goodness, wisdom and mercy.
Peter Maurin, Holy Fool,
teach us to give and not to take, to serve and not to rule, to
help and not to crush, to nourish and
not to devour, and if
need be,
to die and not to live. As we create a new society within the
shell of the old, remind us that ideals and not deals, creed and
not greed, are what makes humanity humane.
Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on
behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
Thoughts for the
journey. Dorothy Day was an early advocate of
women's rights who wrote for radical leftist newspapers in the
early years of this century.
She was a bohemian as they said in those days -- but when she
looked in her heart of hearts, she found it empty. By the grace
and providence of God,
she found our Lord and was baptized into the Catholic Church.
Thus began a journey which led to the founding of the Catholic
Worker movement,
together with Peter Maurin and the other first Workers.
Peter Maurin, a French
peasant who came to the United States via Canada, taught that it
was a great blessing to assist the rich in coming
to the assistance of the poor. Too often, "never the twain shall
meet," and certainly, in this day and age, communication between
the poor and
the rich is as bad as it has ever been. Communication requires
that each person who wants to be heard and understood must see
and hear the
"Other" as a human person. It's not easy, and it takes practice.
The program that Peter and
Dorothy offered to the world was direct, personal involvement
with other human beings. They called us to open
houses of hospitality, to engage in clarification of thought,
and to found agricultural communities as the seeds of new
villages. They were suspicious
of the imperial State, and wanted the Catholic Worker movement
to be an organism, not an organization. As the empire entered a
time of
great triumph, they called for establishing the seeds of a new
society within the old. They taught that the poor should be fed
by Christians,
not by large government bureaucracies. Peter wrote many "Easy
Essays" -- short little works, almost poetry in their
simplicity, each one
packed with intense theological concepts about the human person
and how we relate to one another in community. He also reminded
us of the
nobility -- and the necessity -- of manual labor (something we'd
often like to forget in this day of convenience and instant
gratification).
Dorothy and Peter worked to
create and live structures of beauty and goodness. In the midst
of the slums of New York, they provided
hospitality to the poor while working for social justice. They
learned that the works of mercy and the works of justice and
peace are one
and the same, different aspects of the same journey, all going
the same direction. Long before it was a theological mantra, the
"preferential option for the poor" was a living reality in the
life and work of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. There were
informed critics
of current events, prophetically looking for the truth in the
signs of their times, and finding Jesus in the poor, rejected,
and marginalized.
Their example inspires us
today to consider how we can ensure fair distribution,
subsidiarity, economic opportunity, justice, and food
security for everyone everywhere. First we must see the
structures of sin that bind us in poverty and war, and name the
demons which
oppress us. As we open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to
the Spirit's guidance, we can discern our response to the signs
of these times.
We can buy farms and dedicate them for the purpose of raising
food for the hungry. We can organize microenterprise
co-operatives in
every city to provide opportunity for the poor. We can look at
our own individual situations, and adopt lifestyles of
simplicity and frugality,
rejecting the culture of materialistic conspicuous consumption
in favor of a life of living simply, that others may simply
live. We can minimize
our use of fossil fuels, to remove one of the major causes of
war. We can buy our food directly from farmers, and stop funding
the
destruction of the family farm community. We can discern the cry
of the widow and orphan in our own neighborhoods, and be the
hands and feet of God in relieving distress and creating
justice. Dorothy Day used to quote St. Catherine of Sienna --
"All the way to heaven
is heaven." May this be our prayer, in Jesus' holy name.
Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House + 1524 NW 21st + Oklahoma City, OK 73106 + 405-557-0436
www.justpeace.org + www.energyconservationinfo.org
+ www.bettertimesinfo.org
+ www.okie.coop