Christ the King Parish

Dear friends,
 
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger attracted national attention last week when he suggested “canonical penalties” for Catholics involved in separating children from families at the border. I am not proponent of penalties, but I think the greatest challenge we face in the midst of unjust policies and inhuman treatment of children and their parents lies the difficulty of opening minds and hearts of our people especially some of our own to the plight of immigrants fleeing from places of violence and war.
 
On June 20th, the world observed “World refugee day,” which honors the strength and courage of refugees and encourages public awareness and support of the refugees, people who have had to flee their homelands because of conflict or national disaster. More than 65 million people had been displaced from their homes because of factors such as war, threats from gangs, natural disasters, and lack of economic opportunities at the end of 2016, the highest number of displaced since the aftermath of World War II. Of those, the United Nations considered 22.5 million to be refugees: people forced to leave their countries because of persecution, war, or violence.
 
What is happening at our borders is no different. During my 30-day retreat in Spain last year, I was inspired by the attention the Jesuits had given to the plight of refugees. In the beautiful park behind the Shrine of St. Ignatius in Loyola, they had replaced the Stations of the Cross with images of refugees from different parts of the world including two of them from the U.S. Border. The message to those in prayer was to see Jesus in those on the move, a plight He himself had endured in Egypt. Denise Coghlan, Jesuit Refugee Services Cambodia Director stated, “If you are helping people who have been injured by landmines, justice demands that you also advocate that the cause of the suffering be stopped; that you ban landmines and call producers to account.” We must move out of our comfort zones and be advocates who stand on street corners or march with those who deeply care. We must stay concerned about the globalization of indifference to the plight of our vulnerable brothers and sisters especially children.

I would like to introduce you to one of our interesting one-man Ministry known as “Weed abatement Ministry” that helps us maintain our landscape around the Church. Andy comes multiple times during the week keeping the flowerbeds beautifully maintained. Thank you Andy! There are ongoing opportunities to help - Spring planting, Fall Cleanup, and maintenance throughout the seasons. Nestled behind the school awaits a beautiful, prayerful surprise. The Prayer Garden, featuring Stations of the Cross, benches and landscaping is a space for prayer and reflection. This space however is now in a terrible shape as no one goes there to pray and no one maintains it. If some of us are willing to volunteer and maintain it, I would be happy to remind parishioners from time to time about this Garden and our School children will be happy.


Paulson