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Are you restless or hungry for more in your life? Are you seeking wisdom or looking for inspiration? The gospel gave guidance to Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi as they followed the footprints of Jesus some 800 years ago. The witness of their lives and values continue to inspire those of us on a spiritual journey today. Join Sister Michelle L’Allier and her guests for a time of shared reflection and conversation.

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  2. Creating a Community of Belonging - Episode 5

Creating a Community of Belonging - Episode 5

Nov 17, 2020

Join Sister Jan Kilian in a probing conversation about the incisive wisdom and call to action in Fratelli Tutti, a recent encyclical from Pope Francis.

Selected Excerpts:

“The common good is what affects every level of our population. What affects the poor; it's housing, food, jobs and wages, the neighborhoods....Just that word, common. God made all of us. We are brothers and sisters. God did not separate us. We are one in Jesus, his son, and we separate ourselves when we don't care for the poor. We live in a common home, just as a family does, which are brothers and sisters. Some who are poor and disabled these days are readily sacrificed because they're a burden and Pope Francis and Jesus didn't see anybody that way.”

 

“We are to create a community of belonging and a community of solidarity, really of our time and our energy and our resources.”

 

“We are truly brothers and sisters to each other. I like this image of a melody from Saint Irenaeus. Francis quotes that the notes and the melody are not created separately and apart from each other. But they're composed by the same person in one melody. And it's not the same melody if we leave some notes out, it has to contain every note.”

 

“True love of neighbor comes from the realization that God sent his son, Jesus, to unite us with himself and with each other. If we are Christian, we believe that we are one in Jesus. And with Jesus, one in the Father, loved by God's Holy Spirit of love. If we believe that, our hearts must identify with others, without worrying about where they were born or where they come from. Sharing what we have, not worrying about what they're going to take away from us. What can we give them? ...they're amazing gifts to us.  They bring us news of other cultures, expand our own worlds, show us places where we're not able to go.”

 

References:

 

--What is an encyclical? It is a circular letter from the Pope; addressed to Catholic clergy and laity, it contains the Pope’s views on church teachings and doctrine in a particular area.

 

--Rerum Novarum: On the Condition of Labor (On the Rights of Workers) is an encyclical written by Pope Pious XIII in 1891. See: http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html.

 

--Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship: A short summary, including a link to the entire document: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-10/fratelli-tutti-pope-fraternity-social-friendship-short-summary.html.

 

--Encyclicals are part of the Catholic Social Teachings (CST): Here are the key principles of CST: https://www.cctwincities.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Key-10-Principles-of-CST_1-pager.pdf. These short videos bring the CST principles/themes “to life and inspire us to put our faith into action”: https://www.crs.org/resource-center/CST-101.

 

--What is the common good? A short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6oSJg6wuBg. “Every person should have sufficient access to the goods and resources of society so that they can completely and easily live fulfilling lives. The rights of the individual to personal possessions and community resources must be balanced with the needs of the disadvantaged and dispossessed.” Cited from: https://www.caritas.org.au/about/catholic-social-teaching-values#:~:text=The%20common%20good,of%20the%20disadvantaged%20and%20dispossessed.

 

--Story of the Good Samaritan: This story is found in the New Testament of the Bible; see Luke 10:25-37. In the encyclical, Pope Francis breaks open this parable in its implications for us today.                                                                                                                                                          

 

--Hands Across the World: Franciscan Associate Brianda Cediel is co-founder of this non-profit, a first learning experience of language and living skills for newly arrived immigrants and refugees in the St. Cloud area of Central Minnesota: https://www.handsacrosstheworldmn.org/. Co-founder Franciscan Sister Tonie Rausch died in 2016.

 

--Saint Gregory the Great: “When we provide the needy with their basic needs, we are giving them what belongs to them, not to us”.

      -As quoted in Fratelli Tuttis; from Regula Pastoralis, III, 21: PL 77, 87.

 

--Franciscan Morning and Evening Praise: This beautiful prayer book is filled with Scripture, Franciscan readings, songs, and a full liturgical year of morning and evening prayer. Many Third Order Regular congregations in the United States, including our own, pray with this book twice daily. Unfortunately, it is mostly out of stock. If you are interested, there are some copies of the two-volume edition available: https://www.leafletonline.com/franciscan-morning-and-evening-praise.