Prayer
Rooted in Faith
"The Coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect of God’s gift of creation. -- Pope Francis message for the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pilgrims of Hope, May 9, 2024).
“We can't talk about the poor. We must be poor with the poor and then there is no doubt how to act." -- Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN
Knowledge
This past Saturday, the Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN – A Pilgrimage of Hope and Courage experience brought together community members, students, and sisters to honor Sister Dorothy Stang's enduring legacy. It is widely known - Dorothy wasn’t buried. She was planted - in her community in Brazil. Twenty years after her martyrdom, her seeds of passion, hope, and inspiration continue to grow through books, films, and community action, in Brazil, in the United States, and around the world.
In between the morning and afternoon pilgrimages, participants listened to presentations from Molly Bardine, a teacher at CJ and recipient of the Spirit of Sister Dorothy Stang Award, as well as from Sr Leanne Jablonski, PhD., FMI, Director of the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC). Molly shared how CJ's Capstone Project, designed alongside Sister Nicole Trahan, FMI, and Kelly Kinnear, transforms students understanding of service from charity to justice. The program builds progressively throughout the high school years, culminating in the Stang Symposium where seniors present their community impact projects.
Sister Leanne offered native plants for attendees, including sedges representing the Amazon wetlands, New England Asters from the sunflower family (connecting to St. Julie), and Hairy Mountain Mint which "holds its ground" just as Dorothy held hers. She invited all to the June native plant sale and explained how reducing meat consumption, especially beef, can help protect the rainforests that Dorothy defended.
Teresa Phillips gifted a reusable canvas bag on behalf of the SNDdeNs. It was ethically produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Sister Dorothy’s martyrdom. Our hope is that it will serve as a reminder to each one of the destruction of plastic on the world, and to eliminate the use of plastic as much as possible – starting with plastic shopping bags.
Action
Check out MEEC!
Plant native species to support local ecosystems. Find native plants specifically for your area: https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/plants.
Reduce meat consumption to protect rainforests. If you have to have red meat, a better alternative is to consume things that are more sustainable, such as bison meat.
Share Dorothy's story and submit a reflection on how Dorothy influenced your life.
As Dorothy said, "I don't want to flee, nor do I want to abandon the battle of these farmers... They have the sacrosanct right to aspire to a better life on land where they can live and work with dignity while respecting the environment."