Margaret's Blog

Climb Your Mt. La Verna During COVID 19

4/4/2020

In 1224, St. Francis of Assisi withdrew to Mt. La Verna with his companion Brother Leo for a 40-day fast and to contemplate on Christ’s Passion. He prayed fervently to share in Christ’s suffering. His prayers were answered and he came to know Christ so intimately that he shared the marks of the crucifixion (the stigmata).

Image by Michael O'Brien

As we live through these days of self-isolation and physical distancing during the COVID 19 pandemic, we can climb our own metaphorical Mt. La Verna. What better time than now, during this Holy Week, to contemplate on Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.

We too can pray to share in Christ’s suffering – to come to know Him so deeply that we begin to understand God’s great love for us. Together we can rise out of our greed for more and our lust for power, and live God’s true desire for us

- to simply love Him and to love one another as Christ did. We are being asked to listen with open hearts to the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor. What we have done to God’s creation and to one another, all justified with the need for security, growth, and advancement is a sin.

Francis saw God revealed to us in human form through Christ our Lord and in non-human form in all of God’s creation. The wonder and awe that we feel when we spend time and contemplate on God’s creation is because creation is revealing God Himself to us in a multitude of diverse ways. To destroy that diversity through our reckless search for more consumables is to dishonour God. I believe that St.

Francis would weep if saw the destruction of God’s creation in all its forms because of our greed, avarice, and lust for more, more and more.

My dear 86-year-old Franciscan friend, June Harris, sent me this video: (or Click on the title)

Sigh of Relief of the World
which you can use for your time on Mt. La Verna so that you might find The Way to a more just, and peaceful world.

How has your life changed for the better since COVID 19 restrictions were put in place? Have you become more aware of how you have willingly embraced the consumeristic economy that Pope Francis tells us we must change? Do we really need more? Do we really need fossil fuels to provide us with energy to heat our homes and power our transportation systems or can we use the sun and wind and the earth’s geothermal sources? Can we live ‘with’ rather than ‘in’ God’s creation? Can we truly live a relationship ‘with’ God?

Pray the Canticle of the Creatures as St. Francis would.

Know that you can make changes and take actions (personally, politically, and economically) that can prevent catastrophic weather events (affecting mainly the poor and vulnerable of this earth) due to a changing climate or wars and oppression because of humans’ ‘selfish need’ to own, hoard, and conquer.

Our life here on this earth is short and NOW is the time to express our love for the Lord in our actions.

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Personal Discernment for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

3/9/2020

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I live in the beautiful province of British Columbia. I thank God every day for this precious land and especially for my home on this land overlooking the mighty Fraser River and the magnificent Coast Mountain Range.

"Integral ecology"

Here in New Westminster, I have plenty of fresh water to drink. I do not live in fear of drought or the destructive forces of wildfires. And from my perch on a hill high above the Fraser River, spring floods or rising sea levels are not in the forefront of my every day worry for survival. Even though I am in the middle of the Metro Vancouver area, I am blessed to live within walking distance of the Brunette River which is a corridor for bears

and coyotes, home to salmon, and birds and other creatures that feed upon that salmon. I do live in a paradise here on earth.

Filled with gratitude, I am still aware and do understand that my choices, in my comfortable home, in my thriving city, in the beautiful province of British Columbia can affect the lives of those around the world. We are all part of God’s creation and are so intricately connected.

In Development and Peace Share Lent Resources 2020, a reflection on integral ecology, reminds us that God is in all Creation. “When you step out onto the pavement in the morning, do you ever consider what is beneath your feet? Is it possible that under the layers of concrete, we can feel the beating heart of the land? The land which gives life to the trees which provide the oxygen we breathe, that nourishes the gardens that provide our food, and which sustains the homes that give us shelter? Is it possible to see the face of God, Creator of the land, air, water, moon and sun, and of all the universal elements that connect us to each of our sisters and brothers living in our common home? In today’s modern world, we can easily forget that the car we are driving, the cell phone we are using and the sneakers we are wearing all derive from the natural resources that God created. Too often, however, these natural resources are taken from the lands of others and not shared equitably. In addition, the unsustainable use of these resources — spurred by our overconsumption — has triggered our current climate

crisis. As a consequence, millions of people live in poverty, experience hunger and climate disasters, have their ancestral lands stolen and desecrated, and are denied their integral human development.

With this reflection, we invite you to begin the journey towards an integral ecology, which “calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what it is to be human.” (Laudato Si’, 11)
Together, let us experience the ecological conversion that incites us all to care for our common home.”

I understand that burning natural gas to heat my home, my church, and my office building is adding CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. The gasoline I use to fuel my hybrid car also contributes to CO2 emissions. Those emissions are adding to the greenhouse gasses that are stoking climate change which is having the greatest adverse effect on the poorer countries and peoples on the earth.

How can I reconcile – restore right relationship with God’s creation and God’s people? Again, in response to the understanding that we are all connected, I want to engage with my brothers and sisters in care for our common home.

A Multi-Faith Discussion on the Climate Emergency
On Sunday March 15th, I will be a table facilitator in a Multi-Faith Dialogue on the Climate Emergency at Temple Sholom, in partnership with the City of Vancouver’s Sustainability Team.

The event will begin with small-group discussions exploring various faiths’ texts related to our responsibility to tend to nature and the planet. The topic will then be explored further in a panel discussion moderated by CBC Radio’s Stephen Quinn and featuring Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, Imam Mohammad Shujaath Ali, Sister Maria Serra Garcia, FSE, and Dr. Suresh Kurl (from the Hindu community).

Finally, attendees will be given the opportunity, again in small group discussions, to provide feedback to help shape the City of Vancouver’s proposed bold actions to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, and at the same time, learn about actions individuals can take to lessen their own impact. Feedback collected will help shape the Climate Emergency Action Plan that will be presented to Vancouver City Council in October 2020. I am very excited to meet with peoples of all faiths in this action to care for our creation.

Dear Lord, I pray

for the grace to undergo the ‘ecological conversion’ needed to overcome consumerism and heal my relationship with creation and the poor;

for the strength and wisdom to make necessary lifestyle changes that place others before myself;

for the courage to raise my voice in the public sphere and to support advocacy efforts that are responding to the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor, and

for encouragement for all peoples who struggle for justice, love and peace.

Amen.

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 6: Prayer)

2/20/2020

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The Development & Peace 2016 campaign prayer sums up my understanding for our call as Secular Franciscans to serve justice, promote peace and care for the integrity of creation.

Loving God, You who created everything that is good; You who stretch out the heavens like a tent.
You have made us for each other.
You call us from our isolation into one community of love.
Your voice is sure and strong.
We come from many places, and yet we are woven together in Your Spirit.
Together, we hear the cry of the poor, bearing the weight of injustice.
Together, we see the pain of the Earth as her beauty is destroyed.
Together, we hear your voice most clearly:
Calling us to join in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in need;
Calling us to commit ourselves,
as Ruth to Naomi saying,
“Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay.”
O Lord, stretch the canvas of our hearts that we might make room for the suffering of all humanity, and of all creation.
Today, by your grace, we join our lives to those who labour in the fields – those who are weighed down by injustice and those who work to build the world according to your way.
Lead us in the way of discipleship – the way of love, of faith, of justice, and of peace – the way that has always been yours. Amen.
- Development & Peace 2016 Campaign Prayer

"Prayer"

So I hope by running through my ‘life’ Examen, you have a sense of the Examen prayer and how it can be used to move you from your time of contemplation into your time of action. The Examen is to:

begin with an attitude of gratitude,
review a period of time (normally the present day) in your life,
notice the things that jump out at you (notice what you notice),
reflect on those highlighted moments so you might come to an understanding of God’s personal message for you,
take this to heart & respond to God’s call (create a plan of action),
and finally rest so that you might give praise to God for the gift of His creation.

This JPIC Examen can be used to purposefully set aside a time each day to ask God for His help and guidance in your mission to care for His creation (human and non-human) and the most vulnerable among us. Together might we be strengthened in our common pursuit for ecological and social justice.

Offer your prayer for the earth and the vulnerable in our society……..

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 5: Reconciliation)

2/11/2020

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This is the fifth of a 6 part series on discernment. To view the previous postings scroll down.

"Reconciliation"

I ask for the grace to reconcile my relationship with God, creation and humanity, and to stand in solidarity through my actions. Each of us is to reconcile or to take action according to the cry that has reached our ears, the story that propels us into action. I personally have heard, loud and clear, the cry of the Earth. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

We might say as Secular Franciscans, “You must be the change that will praise God in the world.”

The cry loudest in my ears was from God’s creation. Global Catholic Climate Movement (among others) reported on the damage being done by the burning of fossil fuels in the world.

So in 2014, I made the leap, took money from my retirement fund and purchased a hybrid car. I would have bought an entirely electric car but unfortunately that was not possible at that time. I consider myself the Carpooling Queen and use my car to take as many people as I can to wherever I go thus building community and relishing many opportunities for encounter.

I am still investigating the possibility of installing solar panels on my home to provide electricity and converting to a heat pump so that I can use solar rather than gas for all energy needs. Another option for access to renewable energy, I am happy to report, has been provided by my City of New Westminster. The City has built a solar garden which I can invest in so that eventually accessible, renewable energy can be delivered to all its residents.

I will continue to vote for leaders who come up with plans that help all to access such renewable energy sources and petition government and corporations to encourage the action needed.

In 2015, Development & Peace ran a “Create a Climate of Change” campaign, and thousands of Canadians committed to reducing their carbon footprint and asked the Government of Canada to take action against climate change and to support communities in the Global South who are most affected by it. I signed on and brought D&P to my parish.

In 2016, D&P ran a campaign “At the Heart of the Action” which acknowledged there are many ways to respond to climate change, but agriculture must be at the heart of the solutions. Small family farmers feed the world with less than one-quarter of all farmland. D&P asked that we support an agricultural model that enables these stewards of the earth, here at home and around the world, to live in dignity and feed our communities in a way that respects our common home.

Small family farmers feed the world with less than one-quarter of all farmland.

So, here at home, I committed to be a distributor of community- supported-agricultural (CSA) shares from A Rocha, a Christian environmental stewardship organization that has a vegetable farm in South Surrey.

For twenty weeks, I drive out to south Surrey every Tuesday afternoon between June and October to pick up shares and deliver them to a drop zone in our parish priest’s backyard. The farm runs an agricultural internship program among other programs to teach young people from around the world how to sustainably grow organic vegetables. Those of us participating in CSA learn to eat seasonally and create community through connection.

Even closer to home, I had a man from my parish build garden boxes in my back yard so I might grow some of my own produce. My husband and I try to buy in season and local when possible and when not possible, we consider fair trade products.

One year I volunteered at the national conference of the Canadian Fair Trade Network here in Vancouver and met wonderful people committed to making change – to creating markets and connecting people who grow products in sustainable ways. We can all support them by our purchases. Personal action and advocacy help to create change.

In 2019, I took a permaculture course which looks at living for the good of all – living to thrive, to create bounty to share with all and to provide for future generations. I am learning to live my life immersed in the belief that God’s gift of creation is to be gently tended.

Action can be taken on both a personal level and a structural level. Vote. Write letters to policy makers. Do what you are called to do.

Prompt the change that brings God’s goodness into the world.

Living in community with all and for all, God calls us to use the Earth’s bounty to praise, reverence and serve Him. Pope Francis calls us to help heal a broken world, to embrace a culture of solidarity and encounter; to embrace a new sustainable path forward that puts God’s creation at the center.

Ask for the grace to reconcile your relationship with God,
creation and humanity.

What actions can I take to help repair my relationship with God, creation and humanity, and make choices consistent with my desire for reconciliation?

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 4: Conversion)

2/4/2020

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This is the fourth of a 6 part series on discernment. To view the previous postings scroll down.

"Conversion"
I came to acknowledge the ways in which I personally have chosen convenience (i.e., buying packaged foods preserved with palm oil rather than preparing meals from fresh whole foods), selfishness (i.e., buying the cheapest product as opposed to those that are traded fairly which would ensure the

livelihood of many as opposed to lining the pockets of a few) and greed (i.e., buying more than I need of food or clothing, and throwing away or wasting what I don’t use) over ecological and social justice.

I came to acknowledge the ways that my society’s structures, patterns and culture (i.e. wanting the best, the biggest, the most comfortable, etc.) impacted my life, the earth, and the lives of people on the margins.

I do pray for a conversion of heart.
I ask for the grace

to become someone who chooses to see

the world through the eyes of the marginalized and acts to contribute to a more socially and ecologically just society. I ask to be the hands and feet of the Lord so I might do God’s work in the Kingdom of justice, peace and the integrity of creation.

My need to reconcile with God and with Creation is becoming clear.

I suggest we all acknowledge the ways in which we have personally chosen convenience, selfishness and greed over ecological and social justice; and the ways that our societal structures, patterns and culture impact us, creation and humanity. Also look for “signs of God’s work, of the great ministry of reconciliation God has begun in Christ, for justice, peace and integrity of creation”.

Ask for the grace of conversion towards ecological and social justice and reconciliation.

Where have you fallen short in caring for creation and your brothers and sisters?
How do you ask for a conversion of heart?

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 3: Understanding)

1/29/2020

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This is the third of a 6 part series on discernment. To view the previous posting scroll down.

St. Francis was calling me to a deeper understanding of my part in the Body of Christ. In 2006, I was professed as a Secular Franciscan.

"Understanding"

The thing that most attracted me to St. Francis was his understanding that all of God’s creation is ONE – we are intimately connected with one and all – we depend on each other in life and so each and every one of us has a part to play in sustaining life.

The story of the wolf who was terrorizing the townsfolk in Gubbio represents this concept of interconnectedness for me. St. Francis listened with compassion to both parties (the townsfolk and the wolf) and understood - he saw the suffering of both the wolf who had been injured and left behind by his pack to die alone, and the terror of the townsfolk who had been viciously attacked by the wolf in his

attempt to find food to survive. Francis found A WAY through insight and forgiveness for all to co-exist in peace. The townsfolk could feed the wolf from their plentiful resources and the wolf, in turn,

Francis found A WAY through insight and forgiveness

would stop killing the livestock and people. God’s bounty was enough. There was food for the wolf and for the townspeople. All could be provided for and live in harmony.

I began to look at my life choices, being very aware that I live in a 21st century consumeristic society. Was I oblivious to the plight of the other in my desire to protect what is ‘rightfully’ mine? Was I one of the townsfolk? Was I oblivious to the plight of the other in my desire to protect what is ‘rightfully’ mine?

...world suffering because of my lack of compassion...

Were Brothers and Sisters in other parts of the world suffering because of my lack of compassion for them in their daily struggles and my need to amass more? Was I contributing to the depletion of their water sources, the reaping of their land or the pollution of their air so commodities could be manufactured for my pleasure and comfort?

Here are some questions you might consider:

How are you present in the world?
Are you a participant in the throw away culture?
Do you use more than you need of energy and food?
Where do the things you consume come from and how does it get to you?
Is someone suffering because of the choices you make?

Ask for the grace to see how your life choices impact creation,
the poor and the vulnerable.

What challenges and joys do you experience as you recall how you care for creation?
How can you, stand better, in solidarity with creation and the poor?

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 2: Awareness)

1/21/2020

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In my first blog posting dated January 4th, I introduced you to a JPIC Discernment Tool – a Franciscan JPIC Examen. In the second posting, on January 15th, I presented the first step of the Examen, gratitude, which encourages us to live with and pray out of an ‘attitude of gratitude’. The second step of the Examen moves us outward to an awareness of our world so that we will know where to bring justice, promote peace and care for creation.

"awareness"

My journey into awareness began when I was eighteen years old. That is when I left home and attended the University of Victoria to study biology - specifically ecology.

Knowledge grew into an awareness that God is everywhere – If God is everywhere, then all things spring from God’s love. In effect, we are enveloped in God’s loving embrace.

The interconnectedness of all things and all people - the diversity seen in creation intricately woven together as a web of life – was so awesome to behold.

And at the same time, the fragility of that web was made apparent. Everything that we do has an effect on
something
someone
somewhere.
We do not live in a vacuum.

Photo:T.J. Watt

Moving to a bigger city, I was introduced to homelessness and poverty. I could see how greed, and our human desire to accumulate as much as possible as fast as possible, destroyed God’s creation and left people reeling. Our current economic structures appeared to be designed to encourage us to accumulate more, to own the biggest, the best, and the newest commodity, to be efficient without consideration for how our energy

systems, for example, might detrimentally affect people’s wellbeing or the health of the environment. If you could not keep up with the ‘race to own and accumulate’ because of your limitations (mental and physical health) or your status in life (colour, creed or sex), then you would be left behind perhaps even abandoned on the street. Advertising suggested we could not live well without a particular car, gadget, vacation, etc. I did not hear the message that God’s bounty is enough – that if we live in a system built on caring and cooperation, on equitable distribution of needed resources with the understanding that all people and all systems are interconnected then we would thrive.

Time passed.

Eventually, I married and had two children. Being a parent in a nuclear family in the country of Canada, in the province of British Columbia in the city of New Westminster in a local church community increased my awareness of the interconnectedness of people and all creation – the need to care for one another and for all that we have been given.

God looks at the Earth and sees the great diversity of the world, the goodness of all creation and the different people who live in the world today.

Ask for the grace to look at the world as God does
– to see the world in its infinite goodness,
diversity and interconnectedness.

Do you see the beauty of creation and hear the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor?

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 1: Gratitude)

1/15/2020

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In the last blog posting dated January 4th (see below), I introduced you to a JPIC Discernment Tool – a Franciscan JPIC Examen – so that you might be moved from prayer into action – to actively fight for justice, promote peace and care for creation. The first step of the Examen is to encourage living with gratitude and praying from gratitude.

"gratitude"
How could I not have had ‘an attitude of gratitude’ being born and raised in (what I think) is one of the most beautiful places on Earth – the small City of Fernie BC. Fernie nestles tightly in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia close to the borders with Alberta and Montana.

As a child, I knew all the names of all the peaks. I knew that beavers lived at the end of 4th Avenue where it ran into the Elk River. I knew that when you went out to pick huckleberries at the end of the summer chances, chances of meeting a bear were pretty high.

I knew that Dad and I could turn rocks over on the banks of the Elk River to find little insects Dad called ‘scratchers’ that we collected, which Dad then used to catch the trout in the river. I knew that the snow melt filled our reservoirs in the spring. That my mom had to plant her large vegetable garden on the...

...May long weekend (not before in case of frost and no later or there would not be enough time for the food to grow), that mushrooms were harvested in the fall, that only apples grew in our climate and we had to make a trek to my Aunt’s home in Creston for fruits like peaches and cherries.

I grew up a cradle Catholic and received my sacraments at Holy Family Church. On my first day in catechism, we were handed the Baltimore Catechism. At six years of age, all I needed was the answer to the first question: “Where is God?” The answer: God is everywhere. I closed the book. That is all that I needed to know. God is everywhere. Life is simple. Thank you God.

Recognize that all that you are, the person you are now and the person you are becoming, the possessions you have and the earth you inhabit are gifts from a loving Creator.

Give thanks to God for creation and for being wonderfully made.

Where did you feel God’s presence in creation today?

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JPIC Discernment Tool (Intro)

1/4/2020

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As Secular Franciscans, we live a Rule of Life that moves us from Gospel to Life, Life to Gospel, Contemplation to Action, Action to Contemplation. Contemplation takes many forms (Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, Devotional Prayer, Centering Prayer). Our Action takes form in JPIC. So I ask myself, “How can I live my Rule to the fullest and make JPIC an integral part of my every day?” An important question for all of us.

Instead of giving you facts and checklists and instruction on what you should or should not do, I am going to introduce you to a method or a process for daily discernment – a way to hear how you are personally being called by God as a Secular Franciscan to bring justice into the world, to promote peace always, and to ensure integrity of God’s creation everywhere.

What is our response to be? How are we called into this beautiful life that God has gifted us? This is where my fellow Secular Franciscans often flounder and become overwhelmed. There are innumerable instances of injustice in the world, many violent uprisings in nations and among peoples, and unimaginable devastation to God’s beautiful creation. I am often asked by my Brothers and Sisters, “What can I do?” “Where do I begin?” “What does God want of me?”

First, remember to ‘breathe’! You, and you alone, are not responsible for settling every injustice, war or destructive act in the world. You are a part of the Body of Christ, one of many parts, bringing God’s light into the world. Trust that your times of contemplation will inform your times of action. During those times of prayer, what do you notice? You can then respond to God’s invitation to be the hands and feet of Christ among us.

There is A WAY.

As Franciscans, we can look to our Father Francis to guide us on THE WAY. When I think of St. Francis, I think of simplicity or singularity of purpose – he saw God in all things and all people, and he loved God in all things and in all people. Simplicity does not mean an easy, comfortable life but it promises an uncluttered life – a life devoted to finding and praising God’s goodness in all things.

Simple living is an ongoing process. That process, which itself can be considered a form of prayer, involves: dialogue with the Lord, examination, re-evaluation, and encounter with all of God’s creation (both human and non-human) over and over again. Today I introduce to you a simple JPIC discernment tool that will give you the guidance you seek to answer your call to action.

I have taken material from a Jesuit Ecological Daily Examen and modified it into a Franciscan JPIC Daily Examen. It is a tool for prayer, reflection and action that you can use to deepen your call to right injustice, create peace and care for creation. Hear the Cry of the Poor! Hear the Cry of the Earth! The Examen is a prayer that was first taught by Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. A fellow Franciscan once quipped, “Jesuits are just Franciscans with a PhD!” We are all one family. So here we go…

There are six movements in this Examen:

Gratitude;
Awareness;
Understanding;
Conversion;
Reconciliation; and
Prayer.

Normally the Examen is prayed daily (usually at the end of the day) or even twice daily (mid-day & end-of-day) and so leads to that ongoing daily conversion that we as Franciscans speak of… but for for the purposes of this teaching, I am doing something a little different. Over the next six weeks, I will give witness to a ‘life’ Examen (one movement per week) rather than a daily Examen, in the hopes of demonstrating how this can work as our Secular Franciscan JPIC discernment tool. Then over the second 6-week set, I will walk you through your own personal daily JPIC Examen.

Stay tuned…. Margaret

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Climb Your Mt. La Verna During COVID 19

Personal Discernment for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 6: Prayer)

JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 5: Reconciliation)

JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 4: Conversion)

JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 3: Understanding)

JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 2: Awareness)

JPIC Discernment Tool (Step 1: Gratitude)

JPIC Discernment Tool (Intro)

Margaret Ross, ofs - Blogger

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