Kangiq&iniq News

16/11/2022

I Sacrificed My Own Needs and Wants, for The Love of My Son!

01/07/2022

Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
First Century

June 29—Solemnity
Liturgical Color: Red

Holy Mass at 7pm.

Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. The Pope is the head of the churches. The invisible, heavenly Church, mystically depicted by the Book of Revelation and described by Saint Paul as “our mother,” is the “Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26). This perfect, inner, Church of God has theological priority over all earthly churches, which are its shadow. The first Christian congregation, in Jerusalem, anticipated and grew into the universal Church. For a short period, the Jerusalem Church was the universal church. And from this original whole, smaller parts formed, until the one Church became present throughout the world.

Rome, the two-Apostle city, continues to draw pilgrims. If a plumb line were dropped hundreds of feet from the apex of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica it would come to rest directly over the tomb of the Apostle himself in the necropolis below the Basilica’s main altar. A few miles away, under the main altar of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, lies the mortal remains of the great Apostle to the Gentiles. The inscription naming Saint Paul on an ancient marble cover for his tomb leaves no doubt whose bones were placed there. The cover even has small holes through which pilgrims could lower ribbons to touch Saint Paul’s bones and thus complete their pilgrimage to Rome with a third class relic. It is a recent phenomenon to go to Rome to see the reigning pope. Traditionally, pilgrims went specifically to pray at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul.
Our beautiful Church is a miracle. Theologically perfect but humanly flawed. Mystical and historical. All soul and all body. The Church reflects mankind. Capable of so much, yet limited by her imperfections. The Church is founded upon a perfect God and two very different, great, and imperfect men whom God chose—Peter and Paul.
Saints Peter and Paul, deepen our filial devotion to our Mother the Church, who gives us life through the sacraments and who preserves our hope of attending the eternal banquet of God in heaven. Protect our Mother from corruption to be a more perfect spouse of Christ.

01/06/2022

15/04/2022

April 15, 2022

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Lectionary: 40

Reading I
Is 52:13—53:12

See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him--
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man--
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he surrendered himself to death
and was counted among the wicked;
and he shall take away the sins of many,
and win pardon for their offenses.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25

R (Lk 23:46) Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
For all my foes I am an object of reproach,
a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends;
they who see me abroad flee from me.
I am forgotten like the unremembered dead;
I am like a dish that is broken.
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.”
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Reading II
Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

In the days when Christ was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Verse Before the Gospel
Phil 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.

Gospel
Jn 18:1—19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley
to where there was a garden,
into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards
from the chief priests and the Pharisees
and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,
went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”
They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
He said to them, “I AM.”
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, “I AM, “
they turned away and fell to the ground.
So he again asked them,
“Whom are you looking for?”
They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
Jesus answered,
“I told you that I AM.
So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”
This was to fulfill what he had said,
“I have not lost any of those you gave me.”
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it,
struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.
The slave’s name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword into its scabbard.
Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus,
bound him, and brought him to Annas first.
He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews
that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus.
Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,
and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.
So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest,
went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.
Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter,
“You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”
He said, “I am not.”
Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire
that they had made, because it was cold,
and were warming themselves.
Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus
about his disciples and about his doctrine.
Jesus answered him,
“I have spoken publicly to the world.
I have always taught in a synagogue
or in the temple area where all the Jews gather,
and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them.
They know what I said.”
When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said,
“Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong;
but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm.
And they said to him,
“You are not one of his disciples, are you?”
He denied it and said,
“I am not.”
One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”
Again Peter denied it.
And immediately the c**k crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium.
It was morning.
And they themselves did not enter the praetorium,
in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.
So Pilate came out to them and said,
“What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him,
“If he were not a criminal,
we would not have handed him over to you.”
At this, Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”
The Jews answered him,
“We do not have the right to execute anyone, “
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled
that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.
So Pilate went back into the praetorium
and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?”
Jesus answered,
“Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?”
Pilate answered,
“I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?”
Jesus answered,
“My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”
So Pilate said to him,
“Then you are a king?”
Jesus answered,
“You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

When he had said this,
he again went out to the Jews and said to them,
“I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover.
Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
They cried out again,
“Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head,
and clothed him in a purple cloak,
and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
And they struck him repeatedly.
Once more Pilate went out and said to them,
“Look, I am bringing him out to you,
so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak.
And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”
When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Take him yourselves and crucify him.
I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered,
“We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God.”
Now when Pilate heard this statement,
he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,
“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him.
So Pilate said to him,
“Do you not speak to me?
Do you not know that I have power to release you
and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me
if it had not been given to you from above.
For this reason the one who handed me over to you
has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out
and seated him on the judge’s bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon.
And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!”
They cried out,
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them,
“Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered,
“We have no king but Caesar.”
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.

14/04/2022

Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7 pm

Holy Thursday is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, when he established the sacrament of Holy Communion prior to his arrest and crucifixion. It also commemorates His institution of the priesthood. The holy day falls on the Thursday before Easter and is part of Holy Week. Jesus celebrated the dinner as a Passover feast. Christ would fulfill His role as the Christian victim of the Passover for all to be saved by His final sacrifice.
The Last Supper was the final meal Jesus shared with his Disciples in Jerusalem. During the meal, Jesus predicts his betrayal.

The central observance of Holy Thursday is the ritual reenactment of the Last Supper at Mass. This event is celebrated at every Mass, as party of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but it is specially commemorated on Holy Thursday.
He also establishes the special priesthood for his disciples, which is distinct from the "priesthood of all believers." Christ washed the feet of his Disciples, who would become the first priests.
This establishment of the priesthood reenacted at Mass with the priest washing the feet of several parishioners.
During the Passover meal, Jesus breaks bread and gives it to his Disciples, uttering the words, "This is my body, which is given for you." Subsequently, he passes a cup filled with wine. He then says, "This is my blood..." It is believed those who eat of Christ's flesh and blood shall have eternal life.

04/02/2022

February 4
First Friday of the month,
Holy Mass at 5:30 pm followed with devotion to The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The heart has always been seen as the "center" or essence a person ("the heart of the matter," "you are my heart," "take it to heart," etc.) and the wellspring of our emotional lives and love ("you break my heart," "my heart sings," etc.) Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is devotion to Jesus Christ Himself, but in the particular ways of meditating on his interior life and on His threefold love. His divine love, His burning love that fed His human will, and His sensible love that affects His interior life.
Pope Pius XII of blessed memory writes on this topic in his 1956 encyclical, Haurietis Aquas (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart).
The Friday that follows the Second Sunday in Time After Pentecost is the Feast of the Sacred Heart which brings to mind all the attributes of His Divine Heart mentioned above. Many Catholics prepare for this Feast by beginning a Novena to the Sacred Heart on the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is the Thursday of the week before. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart itself, we can gain a plenary indulgence by making an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart.

From the earliest days of the Church, "Christ's open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side, the wound in the Heart was gradually reached, and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of love." (Catholic Encyclopedia)

This general devotion arose first in Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries of that time, especially in response to the devotion of St. Gertrude the Great, but specific devotions became popularized when St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a Visitation nun, had a personal revelation involving a series of visions of Christ as she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote, "He disclosed to me the marvels of his Love and the inexplicable secrets of his Sacred Heart." Christ emphasized to her His love -- and His woundedness caused by Man's indifference to this love.

He promised that, in response to those who consecrate themselves and make reparations to His Sacred Heart, that:
* He will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
* He will establish peace in their homes.
* He will comfort them in all their afflictions.
* He will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
* He will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
* Sinners will find in His Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
* Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
* Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
* He will bless every place in which an image of His Heart is exposed and honored.
* He will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
* Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in His Heart.
* In the excessive mercy of His Heart that His all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in His disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. His divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

29/01/2022

Session 20

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
Protecting the Dignity of the Human Person

“Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain's question to God after the murder of his brother Abel often echoes in our own hearts. Am I the keeper of the addict on the street? The u***d mother? The homeless veteran on the corner? The widow on my block? The elderly in the nursing home? The Gospel tells us, Yes, we are responsible for them; we are responsible for all in need. We are our brother's keeper because we are all part of the one human family:"
This solidarity with every other person lies at the heart of Catholic social teaching. Despite our modern individualistic attitude and general indifference to the plights of those who are suffering, the Church tells us that we have the responsibility to carry on Jesus's mission which involves serving the sick, the poor, and the needy, and defending the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death.
In fact, how we treat the "least of these" will be the ultimate standard by which we are judged at the end of our lives, for Jesus tells us whatever we do to the poor and needy we do to him. The bottom line of Catholic social teaching is that when we
encounter those in need, we encounter the Lord himself.
That's why Catholic social teaching isn't just for Catholics; it's for the entire world.
It is a way to think about and act on the issues that face all of us in order to bring about a greater flourishing and happiness of every human person. It's a way to help all people live in accord with basic human dignity and to bring about true and lasting peace in the world. As Pope Paul VI said, "If you want peace, work for justice."

- Catholic social teaching is beneficial for all persons, not just Catholics. It's a vision for building a society that promotes the flourishing and happiness of all persons because it is built on the essential dignity of each person (CCC 1929).

- "Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature" (CCC 1930).

- Human dignity is protected when basic human rights are protected. This begins with a fundamental right to life and protection for that life from conception to natural death (CCC 2258, 2270, 2277-2279).

- A just society respects the dignity of every human person, considering the other person as "another self" (CCC 1944).

- Jesus showed a special love for the poor. The Church continues this preferential love for those who are most in need, whether those suffering from unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness, and various forms of poverty such
as material poverty, a poverty of love and relationships, and the spiritual poverty of those who do not know Christ's saving love. Our love for the poor is shown primarily through the corporal works of mercy (feeding the hungry, sheltering
the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead) and the spiritual works of mercy (instructing, advising, consoling, comforting, forgiving, and bearing wrongs patiently). Among these, giving alms to
the poor is the chief witness to charity (CCC 2447).

- The family is the basic cell of society. It is the sanctuary in which people are nurtured and educated and formed. This is why it is crucial to promote strong family life, which in turn helps build a society with virtuous citizens who contribute to the common good (CCC 2207).

- Subsidiarity: This is a personal responsibility. "either the state nor any larger society should substitute itself for the initiative and responsibility of individuals and intermediary bodies," especially the family (CCC 1894).

- Catholic social teaching also inspires the proper attitudes toward earthly possessions and social and economic relationships. It offers principles and guidelines that protect human dignity, build a just society, and promote human
flourishing (CCC 240).

- Economic life should be ordered not just to production and profit but first of all to the good of the whole person and the entire human community. (CCC 2426).
A society, therefore, should safeguard that its economic activity truly serves the common good, ensuring that "goods created by God for everyone should in fact reach everyone in accordance with justice and with the help of charity" (2459).

- Solidarity: Our solidarity with the human family challenges us to be responsible for other people, communities, and nations. It seeks a more just social order and peace and harmony within the human family. This solidarity with others ensures the just distribution of goods and just remuneration for work and a more just social order. (CCC 1939-194).

- Justice and Solidarity Among Nations: On the global level, there must be solidarity among nations. Nations must work toward "a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural and economic development" in their own countries and throughout the world. Wealthier nations have a grave responsibility to assist those who are unable to foster human development on their own (CCC 2438).

DIGGING DEEPER

- The Dignity of the Human Person
"In a world warped by materialism and declining respect for human life, the Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and assisted su***de.
The value of human life is being threatened by increasing use of the death penalty. The dignity of life is undermined when the creation of human life is reduced to the manufacture of a product, as in human cloning or proposals for genetic engineering to create perfect human beings. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person."

Closing Prayer:

Lord, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and stand:
you understand my thoughts from afar.
You sift through my travels and my rest;
with all my ways you are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
Lord, you know it all...
You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you know.
My bones are not hidden from you.
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down;
to be.
my days were shaped, before one came
Psalm 139

28/01/2022

Session 19

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
Building a Civilization of Love

Have you ever heard the expression "Actions speak louder than words"?
Christians have believed that since the very beginning. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how Jesus's disciples served the poor, aided the sick, tended to the widows and orphans, confronted the evils of the day, and generally went about building a civilization of love.
Then, as the Faith spread and became more accepted, people began to reflect more on the reasons behind their actions to discuss what makes Christian living so different from the rest of the world. Over the next 2,000 years, this combination of
practical action and contemplation have formed the basis of what is called Catholic social teaching. This tradition has much to offer the world today as it faces a wide range of social, economic, and cultural issues such as abortion, poverty, immigration, healthcare, and marriage in the family.
Catholic social teaching affects the way we act every day in our families, our places of work, our communities, and ultimately in the entire world. What's more, Catholic social teaching isn't just for Catholics. It embodies Christ's message to serve and is meant for the entire world. It is the love of neighbor in concrete action, united to build a civilization of love.

- The vocation of humanity: Human persons are made to show forth the image of God and to live in unity together, reflecting the unity of the Trinity
(CCC 1887-1889).

- Love of neighbor cannot be separated from love of God (CCC 1878).

- The human person...is and ought to be the principle, the subject, and the object of every social organization" (CCC I892).

- We are called to treat each person as our "neighbor" (CCC I931).

- Catholic social doctrine: The Gospel of Jesus Christ promotes a deeper understanding of how to live together in society. From this revelation of Christ, the Church offers principles, criteria, and guidelines for ordering a just society that fosters the flourishing of all human persons. This teaching is known as the
social doctrine of the Church (CCC 2419-2422).

- Social justice: A just society respects the dignity of every human person, considering the other person as "another self" (CCC 1931).

- Social justice allows each person to obtain what is rightfully theirs according to their nature and vocation (CCC 1928).

- Participation and responsibility: Individuals participate in the common good of society first by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal responsibility (one's family, work, etc) and secondly by actively taking part in public life to ensure institutions promote the common good and dignity of the
human person (CCC 1913-1915).

- Promotion of virtue and spiritual values: Society through its social, economic, and political practices and institutions, should promote the exercise of virtue and the priority of spiritual values, which point to what is truly most important in life
(CCC 1886-1888, 1895).

DIGGING DEEPER

- Catholic Social Teaching
"Catholic social teaching is a central and essential element of our faith. Its roots are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice. It is a teaching founded on the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came to bring glad tidings to the poor... liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind' (Luke 4:18-19), and who identified himself with the least of these, 'the hungry and the stranger (cf. Matthew 25:45). Catholic social teaching is built on a commitment to the poor. This commitment arises from our experiences of Christ in the Eucharist

Closing Prayer:

Come, O Holy Spirit!
Come, open us to the wonder, beauty, and dignity of the diversity found in each
culture, in each face, and in each experience we have of the other among us.
Come, fill us with generosity as we are challenged to let go and allow others to
share with us the goods and beauty of earth.
Come, heal the divisions that keep us from seeing the face of Christ in all men,
women, and children.
Come, free us to stand with and for those who must leave their own lands in order
to find work, security, and welcome in a new land, one that has enough to share.
Come, bring us understanding, inspiration, wisdom, and the courage needed to
embrace change and stay on the journey.
Come, O Holy Spirit,
Show us the way.