For the third week of Advent, December 15-21 | Thursday, December 12, 2024 | |
Dear Judy,
Each week during Advent this year, we are sharing a Pray-Study-Action piece which focuses on one particular issue of importance to Pax Christi USA. This week, the focus is nuclear disarmament.
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A casual search through headlines or through the internet is likely to bring you to some reference to the ongoing threat of a nuclear missile being launched. The truth is, you probably don’t have to search, as such threats have become commonplace. Yet, the issue of nuclear disarmament is not discussed with the level of seriousness or amount of frequency that it warrants.
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We look upon the political landscape to find increasing levels of violence. Some have highlighted the extremes by creating images of “Christ in the Rubble” suggesting that there is such a lack of regard for human life and dignity that even the presence of Jesus as an infant would not be enough to bring about a ceasefire.
Clearly, we are moving toward the extremes, including the possibility of a nuclear attack. The intent here is not to scare people. What we are seeing is scary enough. On the contrary, the goal is to examine the crisis before us and recognize the call that must be answered. The call that is at the root of our Catholic social justice movement: Human dignity.
More specifically, in keeping with our Pax Christi USA tradition, we are called to pray, study, and act.
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In peace,
Stephen Niamke
National Field Organizer
Pax Christi USA
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The Beginning and the End are in your hands, O Creator of the Universe. And in our hands you have placed the fate of this planet.
We, who are tested by both creative and destructive power in our free will, turn to you in sober fear and intoxicating hope.
We ask for your guidance and to share your imagination in our deliberations about the use of nuclear force.
Help us lift the fog of atomic darkness that hovers so pervasively over our Earth, Your Earth, so that soon all eyes may see life magnified by your pure light.
Bless all of us who wait today for your Presence and who dedicate ourselves to achieve your intended peace and rightful equilibrium on Earth.
In the Name of all that is holy and all that is hoped. Amen
Source: Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
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NEW PRAYER CARD: A prayer for nuclear disarmament | |
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As we prepare to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Pax Christi USA offers this prayer card with a beautiful prayer written by Sr. Diane Smith, CSJ. Nuclear destruction remains an existential threat to all creation, and the abolition of nuclear weapons has long been and continues to be a priority for Pax Christi members across the globe. In addition to the prayer, the card also includes action suggestions for individuals and groups.
The card is 3.5x5.5", and comes shrink-wrapped in packages of 100 for $15. Click here to order from the Pax Christi USA online store.
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>>Join us Monday evenings over Zoom from 8:30-9 pm for an Advent evening prayer service with Pax Christi USA members from around the nation. Click here to register. The service on December 16 will have a special focus on nuclear disarmament.
>>Join Leslye Colvin, author of Pax Christi USA's 2024 Advent booklet, "Seeking Wisdom's Light," for the final session of an online retreat offered by the Cranaleith Spirituality Center, Tuesday, December 17. Sessions are $25; discounts available for students. Ask about scholarships, too. Click here to register.
>>Our final PAX Mass for 2024 will be held on Thursday, December 19 at 8 PM ET, with celebrant Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv. Click here to register, if you have not already. (If you previously registered for PAX Masses in 2024, your registration is saved.)
>>Pax Christi Southern California hosts a Peace and Justice Mass every Sunday at 4 PM Pacific. Join in person at the St. Camillus Center for Spiritual Care, 1911 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles OR via Zoom. Use this link to connect via Zoom.
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Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War: A Scenario examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency.
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The Risk of the Cross: Living Gospel nonviolence in the nuclear age, written by Pax Christi USA 2016 Teacher of Peace Art Laffin. What does it mean to follow Jesus’ way of the Cross and to place our trust in God for our true security, instead of in nuclear weapons that can destroy all life on earth? How do we find hope and courage to stand for God’s reign of love, justice, and nonviolence in a world threatened by nuclear weapons and other perils? The Risk of the Cross will inspire Christians seeking answers to these questions today. Each small-group session focuses on Jesus’ call to discipleship in Mark’s gospel—and links to information and inspiration for embracing the way of Gospel nonviolence and taking action to avert nuclear annihilation and abolish nuclear weapons.
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Living in the light of Christ's peace, written by Santa Fe, NM's Archbishop John Wester, is a powerful and prophetic pastoral letter on the urgent need for nuclear disarmament and avoiding a new nuclear arms race. Pope Francis has made clear statements about the immorality of possessing nuclear weapons, moving the Church from past conditional acceptance of “deterrence” to the moral imperative of abolition. Archbishop Wester invites “us to have a conversation together about what it means to follow the risen, nonviolent Jesus who calls us to be peacemakers, put down the sword, and love everyone, even the enemies of our nation.”
The Day After (1983), available on YouTube: In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.
Oppenheimer is a 2023 biographical drama film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. It follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film dramatizes Oppenheimer's studies, his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory and his 1954 security hearing. The movie is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Building a world without nuclear weapons: An urgent imperative: This online forum, presented in January 2024 with panelists Ira Helfand, Archbishop John Wester, and Marie Dennis, was organized by the Pax Christi New England Task Force on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Watch the recording on the Pax Christi USA YouTube channel.
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>>Consider working with others to replicate the Billboard Project initiated by Denny Duffell and Rodney Brunnell of Pax Christi Northwest in concert with the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action. Use this link to read more.
>>Share the new Pax Christi USA prayer card for nuclear disarmament in your community.
>>The fourth anniversary of the Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons (TPNW) will be January 22, 2025 -- plan now to host or organize an educational event.
>>Share information through your own relationships and networks.
- Talk with a family member
- Send an email to friends, family, and neighbors.
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Make an address at your local town or city council meeting - find resources at Back from the Brink.
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Pax Christi USA
Weaving threads of peace for more than 50 years
202-635-2741 | 415 Michigan Ave NE, Suite 340, Washington, DC 20017
www.paxchristiusa.org
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