Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Readings of the Day 

In today’s reading, Isaiah reassures us that God grasps our hand and stands with us no matter what. God provides us with what we need to create a loving, just and peaceful world where human dignity is prioritized and respected. God gives us a bountiful world in which we can grow and for which we must care and share with all of our brothers and sisters.

Wise words to consider as we celebrate International Human Rights Day. We are reminded that these same values formed the foundation for the creation of the United Nations. The peoples of the United Nations in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and were determined to promote social progress and better standards of life.

Pope Francis powerfully and prophetically addresses these age-old and sacred values in his recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti. He emphasizes God’s great love for each and every one of us, reminding us that we are one large family despite any borders that physically separate us. He calls us to universal fraternity, exhorting us to open our hearts and to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants and all those on the margins. Francis urges us to recognize that together we are all saved or no one is saved. In recommending the need for reform at the United Nations and international finance institutions, he exhorts us to create a global, juridical, political and economic order that favors the development of all peoples in solidarity. While our family of nations recognized the need for universal fraternity and respect for human dignity after the devastation of World War II, we have fallen on the wayside. As Francis instructs, we must put human dignity back at the center upon which to build the alternate social structures we need for a truly just world.

As we consider today’s readings in light of Francis’ call for universal fraternity, what steps can you take locally to live more closely in solidarity with those on the margins in your community?

Anna Gallagher is the Executive Director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC).  CLINIC promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants and refugees in partnership with a committed network of Catholic and community-based organizations which provide immigration legal services to immigrants and refugees throughout the United States and at the southern border.   

View this message in your browser. 
Forward this message.
Update your email preferences.