 | by Andrew Conradi, ofs Laudato Si’ Animator |
against BLACK FRIDAY
“In Assisi, Catholics will lead a climate strike around the green hills that St. Francis walked,” says a statement on their website. “And around the world, we’ll walk with them in spirit,” referring to the global School Strike for Climate movement.
According to Tomás Insua, executive director of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, an international network of over 800 Catholic organizations, the event - which began with a prayer led by Franciscan friars - is to denounce Black Friday.
According to Tomás Insua, executive director of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, an international network of over 800 Catholic organizations, the event - which began with a prayer led by Franciscan friars - is to denounce Black Friday.
To read more and hear the friars singing go to @CathClimateMvmt.
Tomás Insua @tomasinsua
Pre-#ClimateStrike prayer in Assisi!
Denouncing #BlackFriday & celebrating 40th anniversary of #StFrancis declared patron saint of Ecology. By Franciscans & @CathClimateMvmt.
1:36 AM - Nov 29, 2019
For the poor, every day is Black Friday
because they seek deals just to survive –
for them it is about their needs not wants
Read more: Spanish cardinal denounces spread of Black Friday sales to Europe
Tomás Insua @tomasinsua
Pre-#ClimateStrike prayer in Assisi!
Denouncing #BlackFriday & celebrating 40th anniversary of #StFrancis declared patron saint of Ecology. By Franciscans & @CathClimateMvmt.
1:36 AM - Nov 29, 2019
For the poor, every day is Black Friday
because they seek deals just to survive –
for them it is about their needs not wants
Read more: Spanish cardinal denounces spread of Black Friday sales to Europe
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE TO CONSIDER WHAT FOLLOWS AS APPROPRIATE FOR
REFLECTION NOT JUST ABOUT CHRISTMAS
BUT THE EVERYDAY INTERCONNECTION OF
MATERIAL & SPIRITUAL LIFE &
INTEGRAL ECOLOGY
REFLECTION NOT JUST ABOUT CHRISTMAS
BUT THE EVERYDAY INTERCONNECTION OF
MATERIAL & SPIRITUAL LIFE &
INTEGRAL ECOLOGY
From Gospel to life
Thanks to Sherrill Guimond, ofs for bringing this to my attention
I Timothy 6:6-10
Thanks to Sherrill Guimond, ofs for bringing this to my attention
I Timothy 6:6-10
6. But godliness with contentment is great gain,
7. for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
8. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
9. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
7. for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
8. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
9. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
How does the following reflect
our approach to
Christmas consumerism?
our approach to
Christmas consumerism?
Black Friday began in the USA in the 1960s and spread to many other countries around the world, pushed by retailers keen to encourage consumers to start their Christmas shopping early, the day after American Thanksgiving. This is, of course, at least a month later than Canadian Thanksgiving and ours has nothing to do with Pilgrims or Puritans.
Consumerism’s focus is on having the latest, buying the best, and discarding last year’s model in favor of the newest, fanciest, and shiniest. A consumerist mentality thrives on chronic dissatisfaction with what is presently possessed regardless of the fact that human (and other species) extinction is bad for the economy (as one protester’s sign puts it)!
Pope Francis warned against this consumerist greedy selfishness in Laudato Si’, n 50: “ … extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. It is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized …” and he points to a contributing factor: “The myopia of power politics delays the inclusion of a far-sighted environmental agenda within the overall agenda of governments.” (n 178).
But “Luckily, the exodus from a consumer, globalized culture into a neighborly, localized communal and cooperative culture has begun.” (Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation: Departing the Consumer Culture, 26 November 2019)
Opponents came up with International Buy Nothing Day, or Buy Nowt, a protest against consumerism that spread under the banner “Escape the shopocalypse.” (Read more at the Guardian)
It encouraged consumers to resist the “absurd dystopian phenomenon” and the “rabid free-for-all” that had created shoppers who will trample and fight each other to get their hands on stuff.
Black Friday sucks the life out of small businesses, who cannot compete against this ruthless price cutting. If you really need to shop on Buy Nothing Day, ignore the big retailers with their aisles of organised landfill and make a commitment to support local independent shops and businesses.
For the fourth time since the first Global Climate Strike in March 2019, youth and adult allies gathered in the millions in cities and towns around the world 29 November 2019 sounding the alarm on rising greenhouse gas emissions and calling for immediate and rapid action to end fossil-fuel extraction and eliminate carbon emissions.
The Climate Strikers and others have raised their voices against Black Friday and in fact all consumerism and waste etc. because of the effect on the environment. Thousands of young people across Canada skipped school 29 November to take part in climate strikes , part of a world wide Fridays for Future school climate strike joined by Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and others prior to the UN’s COP25 climate meeting in Madrid in early December but they did so in front of a slightly different backdrop. 29 November’s strike fell on the same day that thousands of shoppers were cashing in on big savings through Black Friday events.
“So many people go shopping,” said Kaya Mckergow, 13, from Halifax, NS (in photo below left) “It takes a lot of fuel to import the clothing and everybody in their car. It’s just really [harming] the environment.”
Kendra Ridgely, 18, (photo below right) said she participated in the climate strike because “we need to take action before it’s too late.” (Sabrina Fabian/CBC)
Consumerism’s focus is on having the latest, buying the best, and discarding last year’s model in favor of the newest, fanciest, and shiniest. A consumerist mentality thrives on chronic dissatisfaction with what is presently possessed regardless of the fact that human (and other species) extinction is bad for the economy (as one protester’s sign puts it)!
Pope Francis warned against this consumerist greedy selfishness in Laudato Si’, n 50: “ … extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. It is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized …” and he points to a contributing factor: “The myopia of power politics delays the inclusion of a far-sighted environmental agenda within the overall agenda of governments.” (n 178).
But “Luckily, the exodus from a consumer, globalized culture into a neighborly, localized communal and cooperative culture has begun.” (Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation: Departing the Consumer Culture, 26 November 2019)
Opponents came up with International Buy Nothing Day, or Buy Nowt, a protest against consumerism that spread under the banner “Escape the shopocalypse.” (Read more at the Guardian)
It encouraged consumers to resist the “absurd dystopian phenomenon” and the “rabid free-for-all” that had created shoppers who will trample and fight each other to get their hands on stuff.
Black Friday sucks the life out of small businesses, who cannot compete against this ruthless price cutting. If you really need to shop on Buy Nothing Day, ignore the big retailers with their aisles of organised landfill and make a commitment to support local independent shops and businesses.
For the fourth time since the first Global Climate Strike in March 2019, youth and adult allies gathered in the millions in cities and towns around the world 29 November 2019 sounding the alarm on rising greenhouse gas emissions and calling for immediate and rapid action to end fossil-fuel extraction and eliminate carbon emissions.
The Climate Strikers and others have raised their voices against Black Friday and in fact all consumerism and waste etc. because of the effect on the environment. Thousands of young people across Canada skipped school 29 November to take part in climate strikes , part of a world wide Fridays for Future school climate strike joined by Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and others prior to the UN’s COP25 climate meeting in Madrid in early December but they did so in front of a slightly different backdrop. 29 November’s strike fell on the same day that thousands of shoppers were cashing in on big savings through Black Friday events.
“So many people go shopping,” said Kaya Mckergow, 13, from Halifax, NS (in photo below left) “It takes a lot of fuel to import the clothing and everybody in their car. It’s just really [harming] the environment.”
Kendra Ridgely, 18, (photo below right) said she participated in the climate strike because “we need to take action before it’s too late.” (Sabrina Fabian/CBC)
 |  |
CBC Kids News
And in Vancouver, BC police arrested six climate change protesters holding a “funeral procession” in downtown Vancouver on Black Friday 29 Nov 2019 global climate strike.
Photo Dan Toulgoet, Vancouver Courier
XR’s funeral CHANGE OR DIE casket 29 Nov 2019, Vancouver, BC
XR’s funeral CHANGE OR DIE casket 29 Nov 2019, Vancouver, BC
Extinction Rebellion Vancouver says it has three demands of government: “telling the truth” about the urgency of climate change, cutting greenhouse gases to net-zero by 2025, and creating a citizens’ assembly to lead climate action.
 |  |
You may be interested to know that in England, Catholics (and Anglican Franciscans like Br Finnian shown above) have been active in Christian Climate Action, the Christian arm of Extinction Rebellion.
Read more at the Tablet.
About 1,000 climate strikers gathered in Victoria, BC stopping at BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources – blocking traffic for half an hour. Block Friday indeed!
Black Friday is bad for the planet say French politicians
“Black Friday is bad for the planet and should be banned, say French MPs” “France's parliament is to debate banning Black Friday on the grounds that it is bad for the planet, promotes "overconsumption" and flouts strict French rules on sales periods.”
Read more at the Tablet.
About 1,000 climate strikers gathered in Victoria, BC stopping at BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources – blocking traffic for half an hour. Block Friday indeed!
Black Friday is bad for the planet say French politicians
“Black Friday is bad for the planet and should be banned, say French MPs” “France's parliament is to debate banning Black Friday on the grounds that it is bad for the planet, promotes "overconsumption" and flouts strict French rules on sales periods.”
Climate Strike Canada says
DON’T BUY INTO BLACK FRIDAY.
Black Friday is a day of consumerism that reflects the larger culture of disposability, capitalism, and consumption. The transactions between corporations, our government, industries, and political parties put our futures and the planet's health at risk.
OUR FUTURES ARE NOT FOR SALE.
Each city in Canada will be organizing actions, strikes, and protests to draw the attention of the masses. We demand that our futures — and the climate crisis — be taken seriously. Check in with your local group to get the details of your city’s events.
DON’T BUY INTO BLACK FRIDAY.
Black Friday is a day of consumerism that reflects the larger culture of disposability, capitalism, and consumption. The transactions between corporations, our government, industries, and political parties put our futures and the planet's health at risk.
OUR FUTURES ARE NOT FOR SALE.
Each city in Canada will be organizing actions, strikes, and protests to draw the attention of the masses. We demand that our futures — and the climate crisis — be taken seriously. Check in with your local group to get the details of your city’s events.
Go to this site https://climatestrikecanada.org/english
to see how you can cut down on waste
in electronics, food, clothing etc.
to see how you can cut down on waste
in electronics, food, clothing etc.
Pope Francis issued a letter the first Sunday of Advent 2019, entitled ‘Admirabile Signum’, on the meaning and importance of the Nativity Scene where St. Francis of Assisi had the first ever Nativity Scene made in Greccio.
Some excerpts from the Pope’s letter follow: “As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman.”(1) “Why does the Christmas crèche arouse such wonder and move us so deeply? First, because it shows God’s tender love: the Creator of the universe lowered himself to take up our littleness.”(3) “Jesus, “gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29), was born in poverty and led a simple life in order to teach us to recognize what is essential and to act accordingly. The nativity scene clearly teaches that we cannot let ourselves be fooled by wealth and fleeting promises of happiness. … From the manger, Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized.”(6)
....Read more
Christmas is a time to remember the humility of God through the humble birth of Jesus and the fact that the Holy Family led by St Joseph, Patron of Canada, were refugees who had to flee to save their lives; like so many today. This is a time to relish the mysterious and seeming inconsistencies in Christ’s example e.g. the humility of the manger can be seen in contrast to the Feast of Christ the King but only if Christ the King is mistaken for an Earthly rather than a Spiritual King; and Servant King who washed his disciples’ feet. But we Franciscans celebrate the close link between the material and the spiritual; after all “This world is pregnant with God” as St Angela of Foligno, TOSF famously said and she was echoed by Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”
I pray a grace before meals (whose opening sentence comes from the Talmud) that goes: “Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the Universe by whose word all exists.” Followed by the second sentence inspired by the Canticle of the Creatures: “All praise be yours my Lord through our Sister Mother Earth by whom you care for all our needs.”
Some words on humility from Ilia Delio, OSF
from The Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective, 2005:
“The humility of God is really about God’s relationship to the world and God’s fidelity to the world, even when everything in the world seems to fail.”(p 1) “What we see through the lens of Francis is that Christian life requires active engagement; to be attentive to the humility of God who hides in ordinary fragile human flesh, tiny creatures and the natural elements of creation.” (p 9) “It is up to us as Christians to live in the freedom of God’s humble love. Only by living in the freedom of love can we help transform the world into the fullness of Christ. It is possible. Francis did it in his own way and in his own time. Now we, too, must do the same.” (p 12)
And I would add, as Albert Einstein said: “You never fail until you give up trying.”
....Read more
Christmas is a time to remember the humility of God through the humble birth of Jesus and the fact that the Holy Family led by St Joseph, Patron of Canada, were refugees who had to flee to save their lives; like so many today. This is a time to relish the mysterious and seeming inconsistencies in Christ’s example e.g. the humility of the manger can be seen in contrast to the Feast of Christ the King but only if Christ the King is mistaken for an Earthly rather than a Spiritual King; and Servant King who washed his disciples’ feet. But we Franciscans celebrate the close link between the material and the spiritual; after all “This world is pregnant with God” as St Angela of Foligno, TOSF famously said and she was echoed by Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”
I pray a grace before meals (whose opening sentence comes from the Talmud) that goes: “Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the Universe by whose word all exists.” Followed by the second sentence inspired by the Canticle of the Creatures: “All praise be yours my Lord through our Sister Mother Earth by whom you care for all our needs.”
Some words on humility from Ilia Delio, OSF
from The Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective, 2005:
“The humility of God is really about God’s relationship to the world and God’s fidelity to the world, even when everything in the world seems to fail.”(p 1) “What we see through the lens of Francis is that Christian life requires active engagement; to be attentive to the humility of God who hides in ordinary fragile human flesh, tiny creatures and the natural elements of creation.” (p 9) “It is up to us as Christians to live in the freedom of God’s humble love. Only by living in the freedom of love can we help transform the world into the fullness of Christ. It is possible. Francis did it in his own way and in his own time. Now we, too, must do the same.” (p 12)
And I would add, as Albert Einstein said: “You never fail until you give up trying.”
 | to the world! |
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
filled with peace, love, joy and hope!
And energy for those actively engaged!
(Thanks to Fr. Manoj Xalxo, OFM; OLOTA (Western Canada) Regional Spiritual Assistant for the joy image)
filled with peace, love, joy and hope!
And energy for those actively engaged!
(Thanks to Fr. Manoj Xalxo, OFM; OLOTA (Western Canada) Regional Spiritual Assistant for the joy image)
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