Brought to Perfection 

We continue our Easter journey on this Seventh Sunday of Easter, the second to the last Sunday of the season. Next Sunday we will celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. During this Easter season have we prepared ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit? The second of the readings tells us that God dwells in each of us: "If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us" (1 Jn 4:12).

Several years ago I attended a retreat at my favorite retreat center, Holy Family Retreat Center in West Hartford, CT. The theme was, "What is God calling me to do?" At one point during the retreat I went off for silent reflection. I opened up my Bible and read this passage from John. I spent some time in silence reflecting on the reading. Sometimes we look for deep theological meanings and insights; we look for all the hidden clues and specific detailed instructions complete with a list of rules. That day on retreat God's answer to me was very simple. 1 John 4:11-16 told me everything I was called to do. I am called to love every person and creature. I am called to see the face of Jesus in every person I meet regardless of color, nationality, sexual attraction, or faith belief and to have every person I meet see Jesus in me.

It is not as complicated as we make it out to be. If I do not see Jesus in others and they do not see Jesus in me, then I am not living the Gospel. It is very simple: "God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him" (1 Jn 4:16). And "if anyone says 'I love God' but hates his brother he is a liar" (1 Jn 4:20).

So how do we love everyone? It is easy with people that we care about and are close to us. In a few weeks my wife Stella and I will celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. I often tell people that I am more in love with Stella today than the day we got married. But what about someone I have never met? How do I show love for a child in the Congo or an undocumented worker from Mexico?

According to reports there are more than 30 million slaves suffering worldwide including over 200,000 in the United States today. Are we "remaining in God's love" when support this situation? We of course can rationalize and say, "I don't support this," yet we as consumers buy products that are produced through slave labor and human trafficking. In his latest paper, "Franciscans as Consumers: Ethical Responsibilities," Fr. David Couturier, OFM Cap states, "What does all this mean for corporate human trafficking and the supply chains that feed them? I think it means that we will never be truly successful in dismantling the supply chains that feed corporate human trafficking as long as we ourselves are aligned with or beholden to a consumerist mentality that puts economic aspirations above all other values and refuses to acknowledge the primacy of human dignity over and above all other economic interests or 'necessities.' To break the supply chains that lead to slavery we must look at our own desires and what has happened to our desire for the infinity of God and how often we have allowed that desire to be replaced with the primacy of goods."

As we prepare for the end of the Easter season and the coming of the Holy Spirit let us take a few minutes and reflect on whether we as consumers are living the Gospel and if "God's love is brought to perfection in us" (1 Jn 4:12).

Patrick Carolan

Franciscans as Consumers?

Fr. David B. Couturier, OFM Cap. is the research analyst on economic issues for FAN and has published a new paper on "Franciscans as Consumers: Ethical Responsibilities." He has authored two books, The Fraternal Economy: A Pastoral Psychology of Franciscan Economics and The Four Conversions: A Spirituality of Transformation, as well as more than 50 articles on the psychology of justice, organizational development and religious leadership. Fr. David teaches at St. Bonaventure University in New York and at the Pontifical Antonianum University in Rome.

Thank you, Fr. David, for sharing your insights through FAN! 

WEBINAR on GreenFaith Fellowship Program

For the second year, FAN partners with GreenFaith to offer partial tuition scholarships for the GreenFaith Fellowship Program, a unique interfaith environmental education and training program for leaders and members of diverse religious communities nationwide.

You can learn more through an introductory webinar:

Tuesday, May 15

8-9 p.m. ET

REGISTER ONLINE

Please register even if you cannot participate, as a link to the recording will be available to who register.

Through the FAN-GreenFaith partnership, three FAN-affiliated leaders are eligible to receive 50 percent tuition scholarships for the Fellowship, reducing the tuition for the program from $1,500 to $750. The application deadline for the next Fellowship class is June 15. FAN encourages interested individuals to apply for the program. Two FAN members, Sr. Jaquie Keefe, CSSF and Dennis Testerman, OEF, are members of the current Fellowship class.

Celebration Without Exploitation: Prevent Human Trafficking at the London Olympics

Many Franciscan communities are members of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). Along with the Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), the ICCR joined with investors and organizations in the U.S. and U.K. to sent a letter to 32 companies to call on corporations to strengthen their focus against human trafficking and modern slavery in advance of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games taking place in London from July 27 to August 12.

CBIS and ICCR also sent a letter urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to require that all Olympic corporate sponsors, suppliers, contractors and host cities take concrete steps to eliminate commercial sexual exploitation of children and labor trafficking.

FAN members can also visit the Celebration Without Exploitation campaign website with links to fact sheets, anti-trafficking materials to download and bring to hotels, and letter-writing campaigns, as well as tools for investors and companies working to end these human rights abuses.

Honor Mothers by Promoting Safer Chemicals

As we honor all our familial and spiritual mothers, we work for the day when mothers and fathers do not worry about whether their children's toys contain cadmium, whether the living room couch is leaching toxic flame retardants, whether the clothes that they wear home from work have soaked up chemical hazards, or whether the cleaning products used in the schools trigger asthma.

Now is an appropriate time to remind your Senators that you support the Safe Chemicals Act. 

A Personal Reflection on the Work of Catholic Sisters

FAN Executive Director Patrick Carolan shares a reflection on "what Catholic Sisters have meant to me."

Join a Franciscan Call for Prayer and Fasting for Peace and Justice

In an open letter, FAN member Sandra McConnell, OFS, of St. David's fraternity in Washington, Mich., shares "A Franciscan Call for Prayer and Fasting for Peace and Justice." Sandra also suggests that we "use Pope John Paul II's Decalogue of Assisi for Peace ... as a guide for developing these intentions." Sandra's call extends until Easter 2014.

You can read the full text of Sandra's letter and the Decalogue and acknowledge your participation in this spiritual union by signing on at "A Franciscan Call" blog.

Push for Keystone XL Pipeline Still Flows

FAN member Rod Clifton, Director of the U.S. Veterans Clean Energy CoOperative in the Houston area, alerted FAN to the plight of east Texas landowner Julia Trigg Crawford. TransCanada, the company that aims to build the Keystone XL pipeline through east Texas, has invoked Eminent Domain to seize Julia's farmland. In this short video, Julia defends the clean water source and Caddo Indian burial grounds on her farmland. Julia will appeal the ruling against her farm in court on June 13. Please pray for Julia and her family and legal team as they prepare. You can learn more on her website. 

FAN Board President on the House Budget

Sr. Margaret Mary Kimmins, OSF, President of the FAN Board of Directors, wrote an article in The Hill Newspaper on Catholic Social Teaching and the budget that the House of Representatives passed last month.

FAN works with other organizations to promote a Faithful Federal Budget.

Franciscans Stand with Immigrants

Recently, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Arizona's anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, in United States vs. Arizona. The Court's ruling is expected in June. FAN staff, Board Members, Action Commissioners, and other Franciscans participated in a 48-hour prayer vigil at the Supreme Court. Access prayers and other resources on FAN's homepage.

See a short video of FAN Board Member Fr. Peter Lyons, TOR speaking on the steps of the Supreme Court.

FAN signed a faith-based organizations' amicus brief ("Brief for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights") describing the harm that Arizona law S.B. 1070 would cause to immigrants, even U.S. citizens, if implemented. Because the intent of S.B. 1070 has spread to other states, the Court's decision in the Arizona case will shape the fates of residents in states across the country. 

Graciously hear our supplications, O Lord,
so that we, who believe that the Savior of the human race is with you in your glory,
may experience, as he promised,
until the end of the world, 

his abiding presence among us.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Prayer for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter)

Inspired by the Gospel of Jesus, and the example of saints Francis and Clare, the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) is a collective Franciscan voice seeking to transform U.S. public policy related to peacemaking, care for creation, poverty, and human rights.