Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Archives for February 2018

MSCs in the U.S. Urge Anti-Gun Action from Lawmakers

February 22, 2018

The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the United States express our deepest sympathy and unite our hearts in prayer with the students, parents, and teachers of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the community of Parkland, Florida.

We share their pain.  We stand witness to their outrage.  We support the students in their advocacy for sensible laws on gun control.

No longer can we remain silent as the children and youth of our nation are at great risk of gun violence. We must raise our voices in unison with these courageous young people.

Mother Cabrini was a woman of action, as are these students.  Where there was a need, she sought to respond.  Where there was injustice, she worked to right that wrong.

Today, we live in a world where hate is pervasive and conflicts are not resolved with civility but with guns.  The sanctity of life is forgotten.  And, sadly, we have become desensitized to the on-going violence that surrounds us. 

One wonders how it could possibly be that the citizens of the United States did not demand, and Congress did not act to change gun laws when twenty first-graders and six of their teachers were slaughtered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. What does that say about the moral compass of our nation?

The Missionary Sisters are “bearers of Christ’s love in the world.”  Our charism is antithetical to those who seek to harm others.  We are called to bring the Gospel message to all those whom we encounter. 

As Missionary Sisters, as women religious, children are among our apostolic priorities.  As such, we encourage you to unite with us in demanding action from legislators, state and federal; from corporations and institutions, to establish common-sense gun reform.  Pray.  Speak up.  Call your lawmakers. Support and join gun control advocacy organizations. Vote.

Demand change…for the children.  Their future is in our hands.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Gun law refom, Missionary Sisters Tagged With: Gun law reform, Missionary Sisters

Two CIS students gain their U.S. citizenship

February 21, 2018

Cheers and congratulations filled the air at Cabrini Immigrant Services (CIS), Dobbs Ferry, NY in celebration of two of our students becoming United States citizens!

Sabrina Grant, came to the office with a big smile on her face and announced, “I am an American citizen!”  Sabrina has worked very hard with her tutor, Sr. Damien Ciminera, MSC, for about 3 years.  She not only worked on preparing for her citizenship exam, she also worked on her reading, writing and even improved her skills working with money.

Sabrina is a native of Jamaica and could not wait until the day that she could call America home.  Of course, Jamaica is and always will be close to her heart but now when she visits Jamaica, she will be coming home to the USA.

Sabrina’s smiling face and infectious laugh brings so much joy to CIS.  Congratulations Sabrina!

Our other student, Alina Gajewska, was born in Poland.  She, too, was so excited to pass her citizenship exam after a lot of hard work and study.

Alina has worked with her tutor, Mary Gallagher, for several years.  She worked to improve her conversations in English, her reading and her writingskills, all the skills needed to pass the naturalization exam.  It also took a lot of dedication and effort to learn the 100 questions about US Civics.  Alina’s determination certainly helped her achieve her goal of becoming a US Citizen.

Congratulations Alina!   We are so proud of all that you have accomplished.

Filed Under: Cabrini Immigrant Services, Immigration Tagged With: Cabrini Immigrant Services, immigration

Pope Francis Delivers Lenten Message for 2018

February 15, 2018

False prophets who Pope Francis calls “snake charmers” and “charlatans” lead us astray. They mesmerize God’s children who then mistake true happiness for momentary pleasure ending in slavery to profit or become trapped in loneliness. Many young people enticed by other “swindlers” buy into the “panacea of drugs,” disposable relationships,” “dishonest gain,” or a “virtual” existence. Thus, people are robbed of “what is most precious: dignity, freedom and the ability to love,” he says.

A Cold Heart

After recognizing the false prophets to which each of us has fallen prey the question Pope Francis would like us to reflect on this Lent is: “What are the signs that indicate that our love is beginning to cool?” Above all else, he says, “what destroys charity is greed for money.” Rejection of God follows, and “we prefer our own desolation rather than the comfort found in his word and the sacraments.” As a result, even creation bears “silent witness” to hearts gone cold. Refuse litters the earth, the seas are polluted with the bodies of “countless shipwrecked victims of forces immigration,” and the heavens meant to sing God’s praises “are rent by engines raining down” instruments of death.

What are we to do?

The Church offers us the Lenten practices of prayer, almsgiving and fasting which Pope Francis calls a “soothing remedy”. Prayer allows us to eradicate “secret lies” and “self-deception,” and we find the “consolation God offers,” he says. Almsgiving frees us from greed; it helps us regard others as brothers and sisters. “How I would like almsgiving to become a genuine style of life for each of us!” Fasting “weakens our tendency to violence” reviving “our desire to obey God,” who alone can satisfy our hunger.

24 Hours for the Lord

The Pope reminds us that although the flame of charity may die in our hearts, it never dies in God’s. He invites us to participate in the “24 Hours for the Lord”, on Friday and Saturday, the 9th and 10th of March.

To learn more about the “24 Hours for the Lord” please visit: http://www.pcpne.va/content/pcpne/en.html

To read the full text of Pope Francis’ message: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/02/06/180206c.html

Filed Under: Lent, Pope Francis Tagged With: Lent, Pope Francis, Prayer

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday

February 13, 2018

When Jesus’ disciples were worn out from their ministry and burdened by the cares of their discipleship, Jesus invited them to come to him, to go apart from the crowds and the hustle-bustle of their daily lives and to rest and refresh themselves.

Lent is our time to do the same. We can take the opportunity during this holy season to draw near once again to Jesus through our prayers, our engagement with the Scriptures, our Lenten fasting and abstinence and other practices that draw us closer to Jesus and deepen our commitment to him and his desire to build God’s kingdom of justice and peace for all in our world today. As we turn once again to God this Lent, we will be invigorated and empowered through the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in and through us. Now is the time to “draw near to God and God will draw near to us” (James 4:8).

Almsgiving, Fasting, Prayer

The purpose of the three ancient practices of Lent – almsgiving, fasting and prayer – is to open oneself more fully to the presence of God.

Lenten practice encourages acts of mercy, reading of Scripture, meditation, special devotion and special acts of self-denial. These central Lenten practices function primarily not to limit or to shrink the self, but to concentrate effort on important things, and to remember that humans have a short time to live and that they must, therefore, live it well. According to the faith, this means living in the continual remembrance of God, in the pursuit of the divine mandate for justice and peace and in doing the good things that God has set before God’s people.
~ The Little Black Book and Draw Near to God

Filed Under: Lent Tagged With: Lent

February 8th Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, Patroness of Trafficking Victims

February 8, 2018

As human trafficking continues to be a supremely important issue during Pope Francis’ pontificate, with an estimated 20 million victims worldwide, St. Josephine Bakhita, enslaved during her own childhood, undergoing immense suffering throughout her adolescence before discovering the faith in her early 20s. She was baptized, and after being freed entered the Canossian Sisters in Italy.

February 8th, St. Josephine’s feast day, marks the fourth international day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking.

Born in 1869 in a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan, Bakhita was kidnapped by slave traders at the age of seven. So terrified that she could not even remember her own name, her kidnappers gave her the name, “Bakhita,” which means “fortunate” in Arabic.

This was the last time she saw her natural family, being sold and resold into slavery five different times.

Eventually, she was purchased by the Italian consul Calisto Legnani, who later gave her to a friend of the family, Augusto Michieli, who brought her to Italy as a nanny for his daughter. In the Italian families it was the first time she was not mistreated.

After being freed, and remaining with the Canossian Sisters in Italy, she dedicated her life to assisting her community and teaching others to love God. She died on February 8, 1947. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized in 2000 by St. Pope John Paul II.
~ by Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency

The Missionary Sisters of the Stella Maris Province have a Corporate Stance against human trafficking. The Sisters stand in solidarity with the victims of human trafficking within the territories of the province and around the globe.

“Just as we welcome the immigrant in our midst, we condemn the use of violence, abduction, fraud, deception, coercion, or debt bondage to transport women and children from their homes for prostitution, sexual exploitation, forced labor and/or real or virtual slavery.”

To learn more about the Corporate Stances: http://www.mothercabrini.org/who-we-are/corporate-stances/stop-human-trafficking/

Filed Under: Anti-Human Trafficking, Human Trafficking Tagged With: anti-human trafficking, st. josephine bakhita

Deporting DACA Students Not in Public Interest

February 8, 2018

In a recent edition of the National Catholic Reporter (NCR), the newspaper noted that it had received the following statement for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Conference of Education Deans which was signed by 19 members of that conference which is comprised of deans and professors for schools of education at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States:

“As the education deans of the nation’s Jesuit colleges and universities, we are compelled to join our university presidents and others who have raised their collective voices to support our DACA students. Through our work, we prepare the teachers, principals, and other education support providers for the youth of our nation. The Jesuit education tradition values the right of all peoples to a meaningful and quality education, which is transformative for both the learner and the teacher. Our DACA students are no exception. Through no fault of their own, they came to the United States in search of opportunities. They have been documented and thoroughly vetted, are among our most successful students, and are preparing for positions of leadership and service in various industries in the United States. Deporting these young people just as they are poised to make strong contributions to this country – after investing so many resources to educate them in our public schools – is poor public policy and not in the public interest.

“As education leaders, we are aware of the unintended consequences that deportation, or even the threat of deportation, has on an entire school community. For example, in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) – the second largest in the country – roughly one in four students is undocumented or has a parent who is undocumented. This reality forces the question – what are the unintended consequences for our school communities under a constant threat of deportation?

“DACA students contribute greatly to the common good of American society. The United States of America is their home. They participated in the DACA program in good faith and have much to offer this country through their hard work and talent. We cannot betray them by ending the DACA program and sending them to countries they do not even know. As a society, we cannot afford the unintended educational consequences such policy actions would have. We urge our leaders to find a permanent solution for the DACA program for the benefit of our youth and our country.“

Filed Under: Advocacy, Immigration, Share the Journey Tagged With: DACA, immigration

USCCB Committee on Migration Troubled on Dreamers Proposal

February 1, 2018

In response to the White House framework on immigration released on January 26th, Most Reverend Joe S. Vasquez, Bishop of Austin, and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration stated the following:

“We welcome the Administration’s proposal to include a path to citizenship for Dreamers. However, the proposed cuts to family immigration and elimination of protections to unaccompanied children are deeply troubling. Family immigration is part of the bedrock of our country and of our Church. Pope Francis states: ‘the family is the foundation of co-existence and a remedy against social fragmentation.’ Upholding and protecting the family unit, regardless of its national origins, is vital to our faith. Additionally, in searching for a solution for Dreamers, we must not turn our backs on the vulnerable. We should not, for example, barter the well-being of unaccompanied children for the well-being of the Dreamers. We know them all to be children of God who need our compassion and mercy.

“We urge a bipartisan solution forward that is narrowly-tailored. Time is of the essence. Every day we experience the human consequences of delayed action in the form of young people losing their livelihood and their hope. As pastors and leaders of the Church we see this fear and sadness in our parishes and as such, continue to call for immediate action. Elected officials must show leadership to quickly enact legislation that provides for our security and is humane, proportionate and just.”
~ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB

Filed Under: Advocacy, Immigration, Share the Journey

DACA Youth Worry a Deal for Them Will Unleash Fear for Others

February 1, 2018

Young adults waiting to hear whether lawmakers will grant them the opportunity to stay in the U.S. legally said they don’t want Congress to offer an immigration deal that will help them but in turn produce fear and mass deportations among their parents and neighbors who are in the country illegally.

“What good is it for me to have a pathway to citizenship if I can’t have my parents, my friends, my loved ones…not with me? For us, family is the core of everything. I can’t imagine being in the U.S. without them,” said Laura Peniche, of Colorado, who benefitted from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA, which in 2012 began offering temporary reprieve from deportation and some legal documentation to youth brought to the country illegally as children, as long as they met certain criteria.

Some 800,000 benefitted from the program created by executive order by then – U.S. President Barack Obama, a policy rescinded in September by President Donald Trump, who then asked lawmakers to find a permanent solution before the program ends on March 5.

Peniche and other DACA recipients spoke of their fears, of frustration with lawmakers, of their peers’ trauma and depression, and the uncertainty of what they’ll do if Congress fails to pass any legislation to offer them relief when the program expires. But their biggest worry is over what lawmakers will come up with, who will be sacrificed, they say, as Republicans and Democrats bargain.

Some DACA recipients expressed concerns that they were being used as pawns and, in effect, are being asked to choose between citizenship and being responsible for heavy militarization of the border, as well as the safety of their parents, extended family and neighbors who will be at greater risk of being removed from the country if more immigration agents are deployed.

Carlos Corral, a DACA recipient from New Mexico, said that abundant immigration checkpoints in his region make him worry that the most average of errands could separate him from his mother who is not in the country legally.

“I’m in constant fear that Mom will one day decide to go shopping to the grocery store and run into one of those checkpoints and that’ll be it. I’ll lose her, just like that,” Corral said, “It does happen and its’s our reality…that’s not a way of life. I feel like we’re in a cage.”

The building of a bigger wall along the border with Mexico and the further militarization of the border will affect the way family, friends and communities live, he said. For the young adults to be used as bargaining chips in a deal that would make the lives of others even more difficult is abhorrent, he said.

“We shouldn’t be pushed to choose freedom over family because it’s immoral. Nothing is more valuable than our family,” Corral said. ~ Catholic News Service

Filed Under: Advocacy, Immigration Tagged With: immigration

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