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Objective
OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to:
EXPLAIN and give examples of how migration has impacted their lives.
UNDERSTAND ways our faith calls us to respond in hope to the current realities of migration.
CREATE AND PRESENT a roadmap and name hopes the students have for the world.
ORGANIZE ACTIONS to be in solidarity with migrants as well as encourage awareness.
DEMONSTRATE positive ways to be a sign of hope.
Step 1: Pray
Litany of Saints
PREPARE a prayer space with the photos of the children who have died in detention centers. Add electric candles and other items to make a prayerful environment. Pick four readers to READ the stories of the children and one leader to begin the prayer and guide the Litany.
Leader: Today we remember the lives of the children who have died in detention centers. We pray for them and their families and ask them to pray for us. We invite them to travel with us on a road to hope as we seek to find ways to treat all life as sacred and uphold the dignity of all people.
Reader one: Jakelin turned 7 as she traveled with her daddy and a smuggler into the U.S. She was wearing her first pair of shoes when she died in a detention center from an infection.
Reader two: With no rain in sight and fear of another bad crop, Juan at 16 years old left home alone, hopeful to find a new life. He died from an infection in a detention center.
Reader three: At 8 years old Felipe and his father traveled to the U.S. in order to send money home to their family. He died from the flu in his father’s arms in U.S. Custody. it was Christmas Eve.
Reader four: Carlos loved music and soccer. He was one of nine children; his brother had special needs and the family needed more money. Carlos left home to help support his family. He was in a detention center for seven days when he died at 16 years old from the flu.
|
Leader |
All |
| Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy |
| Christ, have mercy. | Christ, have mercy. |
| Lord, have mercy. | Lord, have mercy. |
| Holy Mary and St. Joseph | pray for us. |
| St. Michael and all angels | pray for us. |
| St.. Juan Diego | pray for us. |
| St. Frances Cabrini | pray for us. |
| St. Oscar Romero | pray for us. |
| All you holy men, women, and children | pray for us. |
| Jakelin | pray for us. |
| Juan | pray for us. |
| Felipe | pray for us. |
| Carlos | pray for us. |
| Mariee | pray for us. |
| Darlyn | pray for us. |
| Wilmer | pray for us. |
| All you holy men, women, and children | pray for us. |
| Lord, be merciful | deliver us we pray. |
| Christ hear us | we pray |
| Amen |
Step 2: Personal Connections
READ the FAITH PERSPECTIVE and NEIGHBORHOOD FOCUS stories.
WATCH Sr. Joji’s video. In small groups REFLECT on the following questions: Where are you on this beautiful planet Earth?
Can you find Panama?
Do you see divisions among us from looking at the map of the Earth?
What are you doing or what can you do to help protect the air for all people and creation?
Once you determine what you are doing or what you can do, CREATE a “selfie video” sharing your work with others and ask a challenging question similar to what Sr. Joji asked you.
Invite others to get involved in making the air we breathe safer for all.
SHARE your video.
Faith Perspective
Ever considered how people from all over the world could affect the air you breathe? In Panama Maryknoll Sister Joji Fenix considers this daily in her ecological work. Rooted in the core values and faith of the Maryknoll Sisters to care for creation, Sr. Joji explains, “We work in reforestation. Because of the destruction of the rainforest, plants and animals are dying. We are answering an invitation to reforest so trees will grow and make a livable habitat for animals again. The trees help us have cleaner air to breathe, which affects the health of the people in Panama and the entire plant.”
Amid their busy healthcare and pastoral work, the sisters’
discovered the importance of the forest not only to Panama but as a source of oxygen and a jewel of biodiversity for the whole planet Earth. The sisters have witnessed the rapid destruction of the forest due to slash and burn agriculture and logging. Panama loses about 49,000 acres each year to deforestation. (National Association for the Conservation of Nature), a Panamanian non-profit. Since humans started cutting down forests, 46% of all the trees in the world have been cut down, which means that they can no longer make a positive impact on clean air. The pollution caused by cars and factories ends up in everyone’s air and impacts the poor the most because they have fewer resources to combat pollution.
In this video Sr. Joji holds up a map of Earth. She invites us all to look at a map of planet Earth and to see if we can find Panama. Now consider where you are on this beautiful planet. Sr. Joji says, “I am planting trees in Panama so you have cleaner air to breathe in the U.S.. What are you doing for the people of Panama or other parts of the world?”
Read the full article on the work to preserve the rainforest in Panama, Maryknoll Magazine, Caring for All Creatures
Neighbor Focus
“When I arrived in Darien, Panama, 29 years ago I did not know how to take care of the land,” explains Auristela Hernandez as she sits on a bench at the Pastoral Center of the Maryknoll Sisters.
Auristela, a member of the Guna Yala people and of the center’s team has learned from Sr. Joji and others how to create a healthy environment and how to do that together while being centered in God’s love.Recently a group was visiting the center after attending World Youth Day in Panama and Auristela had a message for them.
She said, “I tell the young people that we will continue today and into the future, fighting to conserve the land and care for it. This is what’s most important, and to learn from it because we have to do it ourselves. No one else is going to do it.”
Step 3: Explore Scripture and Tradition
READ ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
Old Testament: Genesis 2:4-7
Life of Jesus: John 20: 19-23
Christian Living: Acts 2: 1-4
REFLECT: The Hebrew word ruah means “wind,” “breath” or “spirit.” We know that wind is the movement of air. In these Scriptures we hear how air, breath and wind illustrate the Holy Spirit moving throughout people’s lives. In small groups DESCRIBE what is happening in these passages. EXPLAIN how the Holy Spirit is moving in the lives of the people in the passage. IDENTIFY how the people are changed from the movement of the Holy Spirit.
DESIGN & CONSTRUCT your own kite. (For ideas, go to YouTube or Pinterest.) On the kite write or draw a prayer to the Holy Spirit including where you would like the movement of the Holy Spirit in your own life, i.e., at school, in your family, etc. In small groups DESCRIBE & DISCUSS the design of your kite and the areas you would like God’s Spirit to move in your life. What change would you like or expect by opening yourself up to the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life? As a prayer then GO FLY YOUR KITE!
What does the Church say?
“I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our ‘common home.’ we are living at a critical moment of history. We still have time to make the changes needed to bring about ‘a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change’ (Laudato Si’, 13).” Pope Francis speaking to President Obama 9/23/15
The earth’s atmosphere encompasses all people, creatures and habitats. The melting of ice sheets and glaciers, the destruction of rainforests, and the pollution of water in one place can have environmental impacts elsewhere. As Pope St. John Paul II has said, “We cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of such interference in other areas and to the well-being of future generations.” Responses to global climate change should reflect our interdependence and common responsibility for the future of our planet. (USCCB, 6/15/01)
Step 4: Take Action
Raise your Voice
Engage Your Family
Be a Global Neighbor
