96. Jesus took up the biblical faith in God the Creator, emphasizing a fundamental truth: God is Father (cf. Mt 11:25). In talking with his disciples, Jesus would invite them to recognize the paternal relationship God has with all his creatures. With moving tenderness he would remind them that each one of them is important in God’s eyes: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God” (Lk 12:6). “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Mt 6:26).
Reflection: Consider your own faith in God as Creator, a God who has created all things and cares for all things. We are reminded in this passage that God has God’s eye on the sparrow, not one of them or us forgotten. Listen to this recording of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and contemplate how the words call you to relationship. Journal your prayer and reflection.
Action: Learn more about sparrows and other birds of the air! Increase your awareness of the birds of the air around you, especially as migration patterns shift due to climate change. Share what you learned with someone else.
Spaces of Hope
“This is what Jesus meant when he said you cannot serve both God and money. In our lives, just as in our societies, if you put money at the center, you enter the pattern of sacrifice: whatever the human cost or the damage to the environment, the tower must go higher and higher. But when you put people’s dignity at the center, you create a new logic of mercy and of care. Then what is truly of value is restored to its rightful place. Either a society is geared to a culture of sacrifice-the triumph of the fittest and the throwaway culture-or to mercy and care. People or bricks: it is time to choose.” Pope Francis, Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, 2020 (117).
Reflect on this photo taken by SSND Associate Susan Austin on her hike in north Coyote Buttes in the Vermilion Cliffs, part of the Paria Canyon in Northern Arizona/southern Utah. Oh my, God of all creation. Used with permission.
Eucharist urges us to lay down our lives so that deeper communion among ourselves and among all humanity be realized. In Jesus’ gift of his life to the Father for all of us, we experience and are called to radical discipleship in word and action. In memory of Jesus and following his example, we are impelled to extend Eucharist into our daily lives, giving ourselves totally for others, gratefully receiving from them. (You Are Sent 34)
Justice for Immigrants
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated October 31-November 2. Learn about this holiday/holyday from Margarita Silva, SSND associate and co-chair of the Justice for Immigrants Committee. Share it with someone who will learn from you!
Open Prayer below or click here to save or print to share
All Souls Prayer
Click Here for All Souls Day Prayer
Merciful God,
On this day, we are called to remember those who have died,
particularly those who have died in the past year,
and pray for their joyful reunion with you, their loving creator.
Your Son taught us to call the stranger neighbor, so our fallen are many—
names we will never know, voices we have never heard,
in lands we may never visit, yet brothers and sisters all.
And so we pray.
For victims of war,
caught in the crossfires of conflicts we could not quell,
for soldiers and civilians, adults and children, we pray …
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
For those migrants who have died seeking a
haven where they hoped to find safety
and opportunity for themselves and for their families, we pray …
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of hunger, denied their share in the
bounty you have placed before us, we pray …
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of AIDS, Malaria, Ebola, Covid,
and other infectious diseases,
who died before adequate care could reach them, we pray …
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
For those refugees seeking asylum from war,
who died in a land that was not their home, we pray …
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of emergencies and calamities everywhere,
who died amid chaos and confusion, we pray …
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
For our sisters, relatives, friends and benefactors,
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.
You raised your Son from the dead that all may share in his joyful resurrection.
In Jesus' name, we pray…
Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
Amen.
-adapted from Jesuit Refugee Services
Ending Human Trafficking
Read this month’s newsletter from the US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking on sex trafficking throughout the world. Share it with others. Consider the candy you are giving out on Halloween by choosing fair trade chocolates – and keep this going through the holidays!
Dismantling Racism
Be challenged, be inspired, be changed by remembering all that Sr. Thea Bowman, FSPA was in life and continues to be in the cloud of witnesses. Watch the new one hour documentary about her life, “Going Home Like A Shooting Star: Thea Bowman’s Journey to Sainthood”. Watch and remember her incredible encounter with the US Bishops in 1989; how have we been moved to change - personally, as a congregation, as a Church since then, 33 years later?
Climate Change
The Nature Conservancy suggests that these are some of the topics expected to be discussed at COP27 in Egypt (November 6-18): adapting to climate change, loss and damage funds, hope for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Learn more here about COP27. Here’s a great video explaining Climate Adaptation.
Consider participation in this online webinar sponsored by the Charity Earth Network: “Called by God to Work on a Masterpiece: Conversations on Climate Across Divides” on November 9, 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern.
Partnership with Haiti
Consider learning more about this action on behalf of the Haitian people and what it represents in terms of US policies towards Haiti. Beyond Borders, our partner in the work in Haiti, was a sponsor of the action. SSND partnership between the AMSSND and Beyond Borders in Haiti represents a deep commitment to justice for the people of Haiti. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and staff members of Beyond Borders who are in Haiti. Commit to continue learning about the current situation in Haiti. Commit to learning the long US/Haiti history that influences the current time as well. May peace and justice be found in the spaces of hope our partnership provides.
