Twenty Sixth Sunday of the Year

Wherever we look, we see and experience inequity and injustice motivated by greed for land, money, and resources. We hear the UN Secretary General refer to our world as ‘boiling.’ We see mass migration and destruction. Today’s psalm raises the cry of a burdened people who throw themselves on God’s compassion and guidance. But are we listening? In Australia, the Philippines, and in the Amazon region, there is impoverishment, displacement. There is death for peasants, Indigenous people and environmental defenders. This is the ‘vineyard’ – our ‘Common Home’ –we are called to cherish, care for and nurture. 

This webinar was jointly organized by Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education and Caritas Australia. Guest speakers Mr Maina Talia (Tuvalu Climate Action Network Secretary) and Mr Joseph Sikulu (Pacific Managing Director for 350.org) discussed candidly about the recent community-driven efforts on Kioa island, Fiji, as well as the challenges faced by the community organizations to advance the climate justice agenda.

The webinar was facilitated by Pacific Calling Partnership Coordinator Corinne Fagueret and Edmund Rice Centre intern from Tuvalu Mrs Teresa Lifuka Drecala-Peyster. 

Twenty Fifth Sunday of the Year

There is a saying attributed to Attila the Hun (5^th century): ‘For me to be happy, it’s not just important that I succeed; it’s also important that everyone else fails.’  For many, success is measured by one’s job, one’s earnings, wealth, even the people who may subscribe to Facebook. Today, as ever, we are being called by the gospel to a different mindset that involves generosity, service, and responding to generosity offered. This is true with the October Voice to Parliament referendum as often with trade unions. A word often appearing is ‘unfair’ where a marginalised people for over 230 years might finally get a voice and be listened to is deemed unfair.