P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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INTENTION : |
That our society should, with concrete acts of Christian and brotherly love, come to the aid of the millions of refugees who live in extreme need and abandonment.
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"Every situation in which human persons or groups are obliged to flee their own land to seek refuge elsewhere stands out as a serious offence to God" (John Paul II). Nobody leaves home and familiar places in which he/she is rooted without serious reasons. Such a radical move to leave for an unknown destiny is normally the last option. Flight then seems the only solution for surviving or caring for their families in the midst of the most despicable inhuman conditions. They will even do desperate things to escape. Refugees simply want to have a decent and secure human life, just as we all do.
Each of us is invited to respond to their presence. As Christians we know that the Church is a community of believers from different nations and ethnic backgrounds. We have to face this enormous challenge. Refugees need more than food and shelter; they need to be considered as fellow human beings. They need our attentive eyes and ears to listen, recognize and treat them as persons. This is the attitude of hospitality that needs to become a culture by which "we recognize in every person, a brother and a sister with whom we can together walk the path of solidarity and peace" (John Paul II).
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