For the second week of Advent, December 8-14

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Dear Judy,

Advent greetings!

As we continue our Advent journey of pausing, preparing, and waiting, we remember that this second week contains several feasts days and memorials: the feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime (December 9), International Human Rights Day (December 10), the feast of Our Lady of Loreto (December 10), and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12).

The daily Mass readings this week reflect more of the Advent themes of God dwelling with us, the willingness of Mary to bring Jesus into the world, and the prophetic calls of the “voice crying out in the wilderness to prepare the way!”

On December 10, Human Rights Day, the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations. For decades, this community of hibakusha has supported survivors of the bombings and victims’ families and worked for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. Months ago when the announcement was made that they would be receiving the award, Nihon Hidankyo repeatedly used their interviews to draw attention to the need for a ceasefire in Palestine and warned of the ongoing nuclear threat in Ukraine.

At Pax Christi USA, we believe it is dangerous to hold a false security based on stockpiling instruments of war. It is antithetical to the witness of Jesus and to the story of the Incarnation which we celebrate in this liturgical season. This email contains prayer, study, and action resources that reflect these important days and the ways that they are connected, especially in the areas of consumerism, climate justice, and militarism (with war as the epitome of environmental destruction).

We hope that you feel the community and solidarity of the Pax Christi USA family, partners, and friends around the world as we continue to pray, study, and act together for peace with justice.

Thank you for your support and witness!

Dear God, our Creator,

You revealed your love to us and creation once and for all through the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. By the grace of Your Creator Spirit, teach us to celebrate our faith in the Incarnation that took place in creation.

Dear Jesus, Savior of creation,

We ask that You may be born in us once again as we seek to cultivate hope for our common home. As Your followers, teach us to care for the dignity of all human beings and all creation, now and in the future.

In a season too often marked by overconsumption and excess,

Let us give thanks and honor the goodness of all your gifts in the natural world.

Help us to contemplate the mystery of creation as we celebrate the mystery of incarnation.

We pray for today’s victims of global warming, both human and nonhuman.

We pray for more ambition in the energy transition, in this country and globally.

We pray for our governments to negotiate a global and fair phase-out of fossil fuels.

And, finally, we pray for the courage to be prophets of our time,

calling upon our leaders to bear fruits of ecological justice.

Come Emmanuel!

Make us ever more hopeful people for a hopeful planet.

Let us be part of Your light of hope to the world.

Amen

>>Advent Not Arms, from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) -- One of the practical ways we in the US can contribute to peace and security in Israel-Palestine is by calling on the US government to suspend arms sales to Israel. Use this link to send a message to Congress to suspend arms sales to Israel.