Items filtered by date: April 2025

Dear Fathers and Brothers,   The month of September is a time to recall the merciful apparition of our blessed mother and to be reminded as La Salette Missionaries that we are called to be reconcilers to the world. This year we celebrate the 168th year of the apparition of our Blessed Mother. The year becomes important to us and our joy doubles as we celebrate the silver jubilee of our first house in India. The first house of the La Salette community in India named ‘La Salette Bhavan’ at Parakadavu was blessed on August 17, 1990.  

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Dear Confreres,

Fraternal greetings !

Once more we’re inviting you to visit our Elenchus - registered part of our site. We try to make changes according to the data that we receive from the Provincial Secretaries. Send us all the corrections and updates we have in the Elenchus of your Province. We try to collect on the web  some of the important documents for us to be downloaded, if you need them, from these site, such as Rule of Life, Capitulars Decisions and so on. We want also to share with you photos, which can help you in the mutual knowledge of our entire community and you can see some of our religious houses. Also, If you want, your photos may be available from this site for other missionaries. Access to the photo page can be obtained by writing personally to the e-mail of Fr. Henry Przezdziecki MS. There are so many good things, don’t miss it!

"My father" - is the motto of the Jubilee X Youth Event in Łanowice, Ukraine. It took place on 20-24 August. The meeting ended on Sunday, August 24th with Mass in Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. Participants accompanied La Salette fathers working in parishes in Busko, Łanowicach, Krivoy Rog, Nikopol and Zaporizhia, a diocesan priest and a Carmelite father, as well as the Franciscan Sisters Missionaries of Mary. This year's meeting brought together more than 100 young people from different parts of Ukraine.

This is my personal testimony as a pastoral agent working for Peace and Social Justice. As I write I am remembering many people who have been with me on this journey and have given me the privilege of sharing their stories, dreams, struggles and desires. I thank those who, in particular, have experienced the painfulness of living with a broken heart because of the lack of justice and have had the courage to share their lives and stories. But not only that, also their commitment in the struggle for the truth and for a more just society. I believe that it is in their tears and their faithful commitment to the search for justice that we find the hope that “another world is possible”. Also they help us to commit ourselves to the struggle for justice and the restoration of the relationship between God, the people of the Kingdom and the Earth. Thinking of all these people and their precious gifts that I have received in my Lifetime, I remember a poem by Pedro Casaldaliga: “At the end of the road I will be asked: Have you lived? Have you loved? And I, not saying anything, will open my heart full of names.”

Perhaps it is also a good definition for those Religious who work defending human dignity and the dignity of all living beings. We are not called to serve the creators of history but to the service of those who suffer it. To do this we must know the reality of the victims, we need to listen to human history and the history of every being that is threatened or in danger of extinction.

I invite you to take a moment to get in contact with the human histories or the histories of other living beings whose dignity has been violated which has impressed you and maybe encouraged you to struggle for Justice, or at least admire the witness of those who stand with the victims of injustice.

It would have been impossible for me to work in defense of life and dignity without the support of the Word of God. There are many texts that inspire me, texts that I contemplate over and over again. For example Miqueas 6: 8.

 “You have already been told what is right and what Yahweh wants of you. Only this, to do what is right, to love loyalty and to walk humbly with your God”

Jesus goes further than this text with the Beatitudes

Mathew: 5: 1-12.

Seeing the crowds, he went onto the mountain. And when he was seated his disciples came to him.

Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

How blessed are the poor: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance.

Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice: they shall have their fill.

Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.

Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

The text that most inspires me at this time is the letter to the:

 Galatians 3:26-28:

But now that faith has come you are no longer under a slave looking after you; for all of you are the children of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus, since every one of you that has been baptized has been clothed in Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female -- for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And simply by being Christ's, you are that progeny of Abraham, the heirs named in the promise.

I believe that we the religious of our time are called to be prophets, with those who are fragile, to share the struggles and work to defend life, dignity, inclusion, and respect, especially for those who are different, for true liberty and democracy. It is a big challenge and involves much more than a call to us as individuals, it is a call to the whole community, to the whole Congregation, to every disciple of Jesus today, the same Jesus who declared: “I have come so that you may have life and life in abundance”. I believe now more than ever that the promise of life and life in abundance is not only for us but for every living being.

My experience tells me that all the above must first be lived by us and among us. Are we capable of looking at these texts and others, as individuals, communities and also as a Congregation? Can we share the fruit of our reflection, our pain, our hopes and dreams while we share, for example, what strikes us in the Letter of Saint Paul to the Church of Galatia, from our personal experiences, community experiences, in the lives of the poor and also in the life of our mother earth?

To work for the Rights and Dignity of another living being means that in the first place one must have a personal conversion, taking a profound look at one’s own life, my way of living, my attitudes, my own racism, discrimination, sexism, oppression and everything that does not help that life be produced and in abundance. To be a very fruitful experience it must be a community experience so that as a community we can together assume the commitment with Justice as such.

As I write I think of the Charisma of the Congregation, that of Reconciliation which offers the Church a treasure for all those who wish to work for Peace, Justice, Reconciliation, the Dignity and the Protection of Life wherever it is threatened.

I believe the cry of the poor and of the earth are intimately connected. If we want to be more sensitive to the deep pain suffered by our brothers and sisters and the pain of our planet, mother earth, we are called to study and reflect in depth about these two realities.

“If it had not been for my companions, for the poor people with whom I had already committed myself, I surely would have given up. One does not dare to continue when alone and isolated, but is able to do so if one is so deeply inserted in the reality of others that there is no going back.” Ernesto Sábato

It prompts us to look at our own pain, our need for healing, for reconciliation. All of this is very important because we are called to accompany very vulnerable people, in very vulnerable situations. For that reason I believe it is very important that there be a process of healing along with those who suffer most, but first it is important to confront and embrace with courage our own histories as individuals, as communities, as a Congregation, with honesty, transparence and compassion.

Table of Activities

(Proposal by the JPIC Commission)

The basic goal of JPIC school is to bring to our consciousness the cases of injustice, the lack of peace, and the lack of respect for nature . There are many things that we still do not know or even that we are conscious of or our understanding comes only from the media. The goal of the school of JPIC is to teach us to think according to the Gospel, with courage, and without any prejudice and to confront our opinions with the teaching of the Church.

The participant in the JPIC School can be any adult person, who wants to be live and share catholic faith.

The program of the JPIC school is not only limited to theoretical courses . If it is limited only to theory, it will become only ideology. So the most important part of preparation will be a practical involvement. As a practical implementation , we are suggesting, prayer for a peace of any conflict, pro ecological actions, concrete aid for the poor.

It is very important for those who will lead this school of JPIC. Those who will have to know about this program, which individuals they will invite to this school and what other organization or movements are already involved in JPIC and to collaborate with them. The school has to show a Catholic vision about the needs and problems of the modern world and has to give a concrete response to these problems. The school has to lead the students to a practical involvement of the extension of Jesus’ mission.

The social teaching of the Church should be divided in to at least four major presentations. It is not a question of completing the entire program at once, but you have to be careful not treat these matters superficially. In this program there should be a place for each individuals study, a place for discussion, and working in common.

The practical involvement should take at least three of these different actions ,prayer, reflection on the Word of God, protection of God’s creation , touching the reality of poverty, then giving aid to the poor.

The school should be organized in a weekly, monthly, or yearly cycle. The school is not just simply a series of conferences about JPIC. Each student should know from the beginning what the program is and what it will evolve. The school should end with certificates for each one, but the purpose is to create an attitude of JPIC. It is hoped that the students will continue to meet and share their ongoing experiences.

The items covered in the School will most likely vary from Province to Province, because each country has its own pressing issues. However, as an international Congregation we may also want to be particularly sensitive to those issues that affect people across national boundaries, like human trafficking, the migration of peoples and environmental damage that has a wide-ranging impact.

As an introduction to this program we propose a lecture on Fuellenbach’s article “the Kingdom of God”, on the website www.lasalette.info.

We just concluded our annual Province Retreat in the Attleboro Retreat Center and Shrine. The Director, Rev. Thomas Looney, CSC, did a splendid task of joining parts of our La Salette Constitutions and Rule of Life with his retreat themes in an outstanding manner. As I listened to his conferences I knew that he had studied and reflected on our documents with great interest and knowledge.

Phil (Skip) Negley, MS

Provincial Superior

If you are looking for information concerning JPIC here you have a links to the internet

Jeśli szukasz informacji dotyczących JPIC tutaj znajdziesz linki do stron internetowych.

Se siete alla ricerca di informazioni riguardanti GPIC qui avete le link a internet

Si vous cherchez des informations concernant JPIC ici vous avez un des liens à l'Internet

Se você estiver procurando por informações sobre JPIC, aqui você tem uma ligação à internet.

Pontifical Council Justice and Peace [English, French, Italian, Spanish]

Caritas Internationalis

or Caritas in local language.

SEDOS

Church in Need

International Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need’s mission is to help suffering and persecuted faithful worldwide.

AED

Œuvre internationale de l’Église, l’AED a été fondée en 1947 par le Père Werenfried, religieux prémontré hollandais, décédé en janvier 2003. L’AED est aujourd’hui une fondation internationale de droit pontifical et ne vit que de dons.

Pomoc Kościołowi w Potrzebie

Głównym hasłem Pomocy Kościołowi w Potrzebie jest: Pojednanie i solidarność na świecie. Po wojnie ojciec Werenfried wykazał się determinacją w realizowaniu z pozoru niemożliwego Dzieła wybaczania i solidarności. Jego wiara w ludzi wyraziła się w spektakularnej akcji humanitarnej niesienia pomocy egzystencjalnej dla Niemców jaką przeprowadził w 1947 roku z sukcesem w Belgii i w Holandii.

JPIC ROMA [English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish]

FAO [English, Français, Русский, Español]

Peace

Pax Christi [English, French, Spanish]

Initiative for a UN Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace

The long-term vision of a United Nations Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace is for a genuine and lasting peace that will be deeply rooted in diverse people’s spiritual beliefs and cultures as well as in the hearts of all human beings.

www.faithdecadeforpeace.net

Development

CIDSE [English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish]

Against Trafficking in Person/ Przeciwko handlu ludźmi /Contrela traite des personnes/Contro la Tratta di Persone/

Thalita Kum [English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish]

Powerty

CATHOLICS CONFRONT GLOBAL POVERTY (CCGP) IS AN INITIATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS AND CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES. IT REPRESENTS THE OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES ON POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO IMPROVING THE LIVES OF POOR AND VULNERABLE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE.

Sudan

Migrants

ORDO FRATRUM MINORUM OFM

SOCJETAS JESU SJ

MISSIONARY OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE OMI

ORDO PREDICATORUM OP

TOWARZYSTWO POMOCY IM. ŚW. BRATA ALBERTA

Persecution of Christians - Prześladowania Chrześcijan - Persecuzione dei cristiani.

Persécution des chrétiens - Perseguição dos cristãos

Open Doors 22 Languages

Głos Prześladowanych

Voice of the Martyrs

International Christian Concern (ICC)

is a human rights organization for religious freedom and for assisting Christians who are victims of persecution

What is The Social Teaching of the Church [STC]?

Faced with the "great drama" of the modern world caused by the many threats that often accompany human progress, "no one can remain indifferent." (RH, 16) The church, when addressing this area, is aware of her limitations. She does not take on the role of providing solutions to all the problems that confront the world; especially since there are great differences in the degree of development between individual countries, and there are very different situations in which committed Christians find themselves. The Church, however, can and should present, in “the light drawn from the Gospel,” the principles and guidelines necessary for society’s proper organization for the protection of human dignity and the common good.

We must always distinguish between the official Social Teaching of the Church and the views of different schools that deal with the systematic explanation, development and organization of the social thought contained in papal documents. The essential elements that define and describe the nature of STC follow:
- STC was born from the encounter of the Gospel with the specific problems occurring in society.

- The issues referred to by STC come from moral reflection on research, but they are also drawn from the experience of the Christian community which daily experiences various manifestations of poverty, and problems associated with an industrialized society.

To understand the evolution of STC it is necessary to refer to the theology and philosophy which form its foundation, as well as the human and social sciences.

STC has its own identity with a particular theological profile.

            The theological sources of STC are Scripture, the teaching of the Fathers and theologians of the Church, and the Magisterium.

Its fundamental and primary subject is the dignity of the human person with his inalienable rights, which constitute the essence of "the truth about man." The object is the whole Christian community, in union with and under the leadership of legitimate pastors, whose real collaborators are laypeople with their own experience of Christianity.

The content of the STC includes the study of the human person, as an individual and in society, thereby addressing the whole man, as a specific entity and the fundamental reality of Christian anthropology.

The purpose of STC is that of pastoral ministry to the world, which aims to foster an integral human development through the practice of Christian liberation in the perspective of life here and hereafter.

This is not only about the proclamation of some "pure knowledge," but presumes both a theoretical and a practical knowledge, which have a pastoral orientation, consistent with the evangelizing mission of the Church in the service of the whole person, of each human being and of humanity in general.

In every age and in every situation the Church again and again takes on this ministry, fulfilling a triple role in society:
- she proclaims the truth about the dignity of the human being and his rights;
- she exposes injustice; and
- she contributes to positive change in society and to true human progress.

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF STC

            In STC we can distinguish three dimensions: theoretical, historical and practical. There is, first and foremost, the theoretical dimension, because the Magisterium of the Church has directly formulated its social doctrine in many documents in an organic and systematic way. In this the Church indicates a path leading to the establishment of relationships among people, based on universal principles acceptable to all.

            We are describing a sustainable ethical policy, and are not so much concerned with views changing over time, nor of "matters of socio-economic development, because for this [the Magisterium] has neither adequate resources nor the vocation."

The social doctrine of the Church also has a "historical dimension," because the application of immutable principles is carried out in the context of a particular vision of society and is inspired by a reflection on its current problems.

            Finally, there is the "practical dimension" because social teaching is not limited only to proclaiming the foundational principles nor to interpreting historically specific social phenomena, but it also suggests the effective application of these principles in practice, applying them to concrete situations as much as is possible and necessary in the circumstances.

            METHODOLOGY OF SOCIAL TEACHING

            The methodology involves three phases: see, judge, act.

Seeing is to notice and investigate real problems and their causes, the analysis of which, however, properly belongs to the human and social sciences.

Judgemeans to interpret this reality in the light of methods of social science meant to evaluate social phenomena and their ethical implications.

Acting is directed toward the choices made. It requires a true conversion, that is, the inner transformation which allows a person to pass through the purifying light of God, and be open to his directives and ready to fulfill them.

METHOD OF DISCERNMENT

It is not the Church’s goal to make a scientific analysis of social reality. Christian discernment – understood as the search for truth and the evaluation of the accuracy of judgments – permits us to explore the essential causes of social ills, especially injustice, and at the same time benefit from a proven, but non-ideological application of the human sciences. The aim is to formulate an objective assessment of social reality in the light of permanent principles and to name specific, appropriate solutions - those possible and available in the circumstances - to remove injustice and foster the necessary political, economic and cultural change.

EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL TEACHING

The social doctrine of the Church, because of its role as a bridge between the Gospel and the concrete reality of man and society, must be constantly updated and adapted to new situations emerging in the world.
HP

We present a table of Contents of Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. It can be used as an aid in organizing the School of JPIC.

Decision No. 8 of the last General Chapter recommends that each Province should organize the School of Justice and Peace. the International JPIC Commission is trying to explain: How to organize it, to whom, and for what purpose.

The program of JPIC (justice, peace, integrity of creation)School.

(Proposal by the JPIC Commission)

The basic goal of JPIC school is to bring to our consciousness the cases of injustice, the lack of peace, and the lack of respect for nature . There are many things that we still do not know or even that we are conscious of or our understanding comes only from the media. The goal of the school of JPIC is to teach us to think according to the Gospel, with courage, and without any prejudice and to confront our opinions with the teaching of the Church.

The participant in the JPIC School can be any adult person, who wants to be live and share catholic faith.

The program of the JPIC school is not only limited to theoretical courses . If it is limited only to theory, it will become only ideology. So the most important part of preparation will be a practical involvement. As a practical implementation , we are suggesting, prayer for a peace of any conflict, pro ecological actions, concrete aid for the poor.

It is very important for those who will lead this school of JPIC. Those who will have to know about this program, which individuals they will invite to this school and what other organization or movements are already involved in JPIC and to collaborate with them. The school has to show a Catholic vision about the needs and problems of the modern world and has to give a concrete response to these problems. The school has to lead the students to a practical involvement of the extension of Jesus’ mission.

The social teaching of the Church should be divided in to at least four major presentations. It is not a question of completing the entire program at once, but you have to be careful not treat these matters superficially. In this program there should be a place for each individuals study, a place for discussion, and working in common.

The practical involvement should take at least three of these different actions ,prayer, reflection on the Word of God, protection of God’s creation , touching the reality of poverty, then giving aid to the poor.

The school should be organized in a weekly, monthly, or yearly cycle. The school is not just simply a series of conferences about JPIC. Each student should know from the beginning what the program is and what it will evolve. The school should end with certificates for each one, but the purpose is to create an attitude of JPIC. It is hoped that the students will continue to meet and share their ongoing experiences.

The items covered in the School will most likely vary from Province to Province, because each country has its own pressing issues. However, as an international Congregation we may also want to be particularly sensitive to those issues that affect people across national boundaries, like human trafficking, the migration of peoples and environmental damage that has a wide-ranging impact.