July 23, 2020
no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark…
Dear Friends:
Are you reading this from home? Do you feel safe there? If you are not at home right now, are you looking forward to being there later? Of course! The word “home” usually evokes images of safety, rest, acceptance and love.
That we can safely stay in our homes and remain in them may be such a given that we do not even think about it. Some of us have lost that sense of security through a burglary or a death. Some have even experienced loss of home – due to flooding, repossession, mental illness, abuse – but for most of us home and security are synonymous.
People seeking to enter the US illegally have been forced out of their homes for reasons so far from our experience that we cannot begin to imagine them. Maybe we need to listen to their experiences before we choose to ignore, dismiss or condemn them. It is time to do more to welcome the stranger, as Jesus, who himself was a refugee as a small child, charges us to do. It is time to make sure that immigrants and refugees have a safe home too.
Please know we keep you in our thoughts and prayers!
The Cranaleith Staff
no one leaves home until home is a sweaty
voice in your ear
saying
leave,
run away from me now
i don’t know what i've become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here
~Warsan Shire~
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Join us on Thursday, July 30, 2020, 7-8:30 p.m
., for
Stories From the Border
. Sister LaVerne, RSM will discuss her experiences working with families seeking asylum at the border city of El Paso Texas. Since March, the administration has taken at least four dozen executive actions ― in the name of the COVID-19 pandemic ― to restrict legal and illegal immigration, including all but eliminating asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and rapidly expelling undocumented migrants.
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Seeing God in the Face of Others
Watching asylum-seeking women crying and praying as they gather around the cross in the former chapel of Nazareth Shelter in El Paso, Texas,
Sister LaVerne King, RSM
, felt that she saw the face of God.Using her Spanish-speaking skills, Sister LaVerne recently volunteered for 15 days at the shelter helping men, women and children seeking asylum who had just been released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reunite with their families in the United States.
Read more
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Reflect From Home
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
READINGS:
Jesus’ life work was setting captives free. That involved bucking systems, running risks, being tortured and abandoned and dying on a cross, convicted by the government and rejected by religious leaders. Unwilling to make the same sacrifices, we tell ourselves we do not have time to get involved in making our society more just or in healing ourselves, the planet and each other. The dragnet reminds us that we can only delay so long. At some point, “the angels will… separate the wicked from the righteous.” Maybe it is time for us to commit ourselves to one of the truest things we can do with our lives. Maybe it is time to act like we really want the treasure we have found in Christ.
FOR REFLECTION:
- What messages of the gospel do you treasure? How do they challenge you to change?
- What good works or acts of kindness have you been delaying?
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Retreat From Home
In this time of COVID-19, when physical distancing is the order of the day, Cranaleith is offering new programs online via Zoom.
Sunday, July 26, 1-2:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 30, 7-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 5, 12 and 19, 7-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 6, 7-9:00 p.m
Saturday, August 15, 10 a.m.-3 p.m
.
Tuesday, August 25, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
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Resources From Home
Community Support
Fresh Produce - Visit our Farm Table at Cranaleith
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Saturday, July 25, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Learn from Home
Spiritual Direction
Connect With Us Online
Get daily prayers, reflections, blog posts and images from our beautiful property via our website and social media channels.
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Give From Home
Did you know that when you make a purchase on Amazon you can choose a charity?
Make your Amazon purchases through AmazonSmile and select Cranaleith Spiritual Center as your charity of choice – At no additional cost!
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Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Cranaleith offers a contemplative space for all those seeking wholeness and transformation for themselves and society. We are committed to making Cranaleith accessible to all, especially to persons who are poor and those who work in solidarity with them. We invite those at the center of need and those at the center of influence to reflection, reverent dialogue and meaningful partnerships.
Please help us support our work.
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Cranaleith Spiritual Center | 13475 Proctor Road | Phila., PA 19116
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