May 16 - International Day of Living Together in Peace

The International Day of Living Together in Peace (May 16th) captured my interest.  Thinking about our world at this time – where scenes of violence are regularly shown on our TV screen or are the headlines in our newspapers. Reports bring many emotions forward but are not on the side of peace. News of ongoing atrocities in Sudan; gang violence in Haiti; starvation and destruction of villages in Gaza; devastation of the people, land and structures in Ukraine. Unbearable news that breaks one’s heart and leaves one feeling helpless.

Most recently is the unrest seen at many University campuses both in the U.S. and in parts of our own country.  Young students standing on behalf of those who have literally lost their voice. Students ‘wanting a peaceful world’ risk being jailed on behalf of their Palestinian brothers and sisters.

How are each one of us being called at this moment to respond?  Knowing that we are not called ‘to the front lines’ in any of the above situations, what is ours to do?

I recently came across the following quote adapted by Mirabai Starr which has become a daily invitation as I go about the work of the day.

Joshua Sukoff/Unsplash

“Our task is to mend the broken world.  We do this through every act of loving kindness we offer others in a spirit of generosity, and hospitality.  It is an offering of each of us as we are…with no strings attached. ”

As I said earlier ‘we will not be asked to go to the front lines to serve the dear neighbor’ yet, who is the neighbour nearby to whom I can offer kind words or gestures of generous hospitality? On this International Day of Living in Peace, how can I live peace that will make a difference? Our actions, large or small, and our thoughts make a difference, and they can help mend this broken world. 

-Sister Ann MacDonald, CSJ

Sisters of St Joseph mark International Day of Peace

September 21^st is the UN’s International Day of Peace.  The theme this year is “Climate Action for Peace.” 

The link between climate action and peace may not be immediately obvious but, as the UN explains, there are many critical links between climate action and the key justice and peace issues of our day:  “Natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts, forcing millions to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere. The salinization of water and crops is endangering food security, and the impact on public health is escalating. The growing tensions over resources and mass movements of people are affecting every country on every continent.”

The main weakness of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is the voluntary nature of the promised emissions cuts.  Not surprisingly, global emissions have continued to increase since 2015.  If humanity maintains our current trends, earth’s temperature will rise by 3 – 5 degrees centigrade.  This data prompted the UN Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change to warn that such a rise in temperature would be enough to devastate communities and bio-regions all over the world, destroying habitats, wiping out species and leaving millions of people, particularly in the low-income countries, to face deeper poverty, hunger and death.  The scientists insisted that the world needs to slash emissions by 45% by 2030 in order to hit the target of no more than a 1.5 degree rise in temperature. 

This year’s Climate Action Day of Peace will be followed two days later by the UN Climate Action Summit.  At this meeting, it once again will become clear that the necessary cuts to greenhouse gas emissions will require a profound transformation of the global economy, with initial focus on the energy, forestry, agriculture and transportation sectors.  We no longer have time for a slow and steady transition.  We must move with tremendous speed and scale. 

So far, the proposed Green New Deal is the clearest framework which has risen to meet this challenge.  It can help countries take the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and fashion them into a coherent national plan.  As such, it has become a pathway to peace and justice.  It will be up to civil society to insist that our governments around the world pick up this plan and begin implementation.

To mark the UN Climate Action Day of Peace and the UN Climate Action Summit, our congregation is taking additional climate action by committing to an energy audit with follow-up action, financial support for Indigenous-led conservation, and financial support for girls’ education in the Global South.  We will use our actions to hold our governments accountable for effective climate action.

Sue Wilson, CSJ

Office for Systemic Justice

Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada

Weekly Pause & Ponder

This Saturday, September 21st marks the International day of peace. Today we remember the words of Nelson Mandela,

No one is born hating another person because of the color of their skin or his background, or religion.  People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

-Nelson Mandela