Catholic Commission for Social Justice
Recently I attended two events that highlight the challenges we face in our Region as we seek to move forward collaboratively.
From May 21 – 23, Ministers of Social and Sustainable Development of the Caribbean met in T&T for the second UNESCO Management of Social Transformation (MOST) to discuss the theme: Promoting Equity and Social Inclusion: Pathways to Prosperity for All. There were more than 30 speakers. Intro and background
God imprinted a moral order in our hearts and it is this order that should influence how we live our lives. In today’s Gospel (John 15:26-27; 16:12-15), Jesus tells His Disciples that “when the Spirit of truth comes” (the Holy Spirit) he will lead them “to the complete truth.” Sadly, in today’s world moral relativism is rampant; people think they can “make up” their own “truth”.
“Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.” (St Augustine)
Today on the feast of Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven let’s be joyful that He came so that we might have life. If we have truly risen in Christ we must act; we must motivate all people of goodwill to join us in our efforts to build God’s Kingdom on earth.
Not to promote the interests of prisoners would be to make imprisonment a mere act of vengeance on the part of society…For all to play their part in building the common good they must work, in the measure of their competence, to ensure that prisoners have the means to redeem themselves, both as individuals and in their relations to society.” (Blessed John Paul II, July 2000 – Message for the Jubilee on Prisons)
“There is something shifting in our value system and we must do something about it.”
These words were uttered by Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, founder and director of the Elpis Centre, as she addressed more than 200 persons at the opening of last week’s two-day Caribbean Conference entitled: “Life and Family Values: Stabilizing Our Future”.
The Elpis Centre, a Christian organisation which opened in 2009 in Freeport, T&T, is a pregnancy and family resource Centre.