Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Advent, Christmas 2014
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| Photo by lednichenkoolga from foter.com |
Sister Marguerite, a
volunteer with JRS, reflects on joy and suffering at this special time of
Christmas.
Today
is Gaudete Sunday, a day of rejoicing,
of joy as we await the birth of
Jesus. So many thoughts run through my mind as I write. Pope Francis’ Apostolic
Encyclical, ‘Evangelli Gaudium’, the Joy
of the Gospel, the Joy of the Good News, calls me and challenges us to
be people of joy. But how can there
be joy when there is so much suffering
and conflict in our beautiful but broken world right now? One has only to
turn on the TV or read the newspapers about Syria ,
Iraq
Paradox
of suffering suffused with joy, of joy embracing suffering. It
is just over two years now since I started volunteering with the Jesuit Refugee
Service. Only yesterday the person I had been visiting at the detention center was
deported, the pain of walking with
him in his suffering. But I need to
balance it with the wonderful surprise of a phone call last week from another
who was given permission to stay, her refugee status granted and inviting her
home for a meal to celebrate and share in her joy. Another courageous young man with astounding faith is still
in a detention centre. Paradoxically, instead of draining my energy, visiting
him gives me life. A terrific life example of one suffering intensely but with such faith and courage that brings a
deep joy in embracing his cross.
They,
each one, edify and challenge me and give me much, much more than what I am or
try to do for them. And yet, so many are still smiling amidst their suffering,
some for long years and wow! Their faith and courage are amazing. I would
probably have crumbled if I were in their shoes. ‘I see better now and my eyes hurt.’ (Audre Lorde). To keep believing
that God has become human, He knows, He understands and He is in everything,
both our joys and our sufferings. To learn again the great
paradox that the deeper the pain carved,
the more radiant the joy. In today’s
reading at Mass, the prophet Isaiah is also speaking to me and all of us, ‘He
has sent me to bring good news to the
poor, to bind up hearts that are broken…I
exult for joy in the Lord.’ Meister
Eckhart said, ‘What good is it to me for our Creator to give birth to His Son,
if I do not also give birth to Him in my place, my time, my culture?’
As
Christians prepare to mark Christ’s birth we can find ways to be more aware of
God’s presence in our world and our own lives right here and now! May God grant
us the grace to learn to be more aware of Her/His incarnate presence in
everyone and every experience, in joy and
in suffering. Let us pray earnestly
for peace which our world is in such need of today. May the Prince of Peace
give me, you, all people, peace in our hearts and homes, which will flow out to
our communities and the whole world. A Peace which only God can give, peace in
times of joy and especially in times of suffering. Joy to the world, the Prince
of Peace has come!
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Advent Together
Kate and Rosemary both took part in Pax Christi’s annual Advent Service at St Aloysius church near Euston in London this week. Kate shares what she enjoyed about the occasion.
Jesuit Refugee Service UK was invited to offer a testimony and focus for prayer for a gathering of people who work for justice all the way through the year. We were together to listen to stories, reflect on scripture and sing. The event was both intercession for people who all year round struggle in impossible circumstances and a festive celebration at the same time.
This service was particularly important to me. It was beautifully designed and presented with a lot of thought and love - whether through the choir, Westminster Deaf Service interpreters or the different creative stations for prayer. It is not often that I feel my worship truly reflects my work and commitment to working for peace. So I am grateful that on occasion we were able to honour refugees, those caught up in the troubles in the Holy Land, women who suffer from violence and those who seek to transform conflict throughout the world.
Each theme had a scripture verse, a personal story, a prayer from Pope Francis or a litany and a song. During the service we were all invited to make a pilgrimage around the church to each area, by way of accompanying people throughout the world who find themselves in situations of flight, discrimination, trafficking or isolation. We sang in English, Arabic and Hebrew and made a commitment to instil in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. It meant a lot to me to share those words with a mix of people who I know do that in their daily lives.
After the service, we all went downstairs to share a mince pie and glass of wine. JRS had a stall with crafts made by refugees in Kenya (www.jrsea.org/mikono) and sold more than £100 of products. Thank you to everyone who bought something from us.
Read more about Pax Christi’s work: www. paxchristi.org.uk
Read more about JRS’ work in Syria: http://en.jrs.net/campaigns_
The collection was taken for Pax Christi and JRS Syria. You can donate here: https://en.jrs.net/donate
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Victoria, volunteer at JRS-UK, writes about our Mikono crafts for Christmas
Our delivery of handmade crafts from Kenya arrived in a big box just 2 weeks ago!
Inside, there were some handmade crucifixes, beaded spiral bracelets, some wooden holy family carvings, animal design key rings…
They come from the Mikono craft gift shop in Nairobi. They are made by refugees who have come to Kenya. The money raised helps support the crafts people and can be the only source of income to feed their family.
For example, Rwandese refugees make the sisal baskets with lid that comes in a set of 5 packed inside the big set. This is a traditional basket back in Rwanda. It is made from natural sisal which is originally white in colour. To get variety in colours, the sisal can be dyed in differently depending on the artist, clients or popular colours on the market. The baskets are crafted in a traditional weaving style from the centre going out in a spiral manner. To hold the sisal together, a needle and a thread are used. The different coloured sisal are added in the course of the weaving at specific points to form a pattern or a shape as the product gets a complete face. The artist stretches the main sisal to form a narrow opening or wide basket cover. The lid is made in the same manner with the size of the basket opening in mind.
We approach parishes within the London area to have a craft stand on Sundays leading up to Christmas or during Lent. A lot of the smaller items are between £2 to £5 and some of the larger items are £15 to £20, so a good range of prices. The benefits of contributing towards refugees’ livelihood actually provides them within an income and for us there are also some excellent stocking fillers! My favourite item is double tie between the colourful beaded key rings and the angel banana leaf tree decorations.
For more information visit our website and see our mini-catalogue to see what’s available and how to order.
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