We see the gap between rich and poor widen across the world and we hear weekly reports of hundreds perishing as they try to reach a new home. Political leaders have kindled hatred and erected walls between rich and poor, young and old, those at home and those who have to migrate. The reality of children who have been abused, physically or sexually, is also painfully and personally present to us.
Jesus suffers and is crucified in and with His people, especially the little ones. He takes the hands of the excluded, abused and vulnerable. He says to them “Come, inherit the Kingdom”. We are all God’s children.
“Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.”
Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth: “...to bring Good new to the poor, liberty to the captives and to the blind new sight”.
We desire, first and foremost, a conversion in our own hearts, that makes us alive and sensitive to the suffering Christ in our midst. Our communities desire to be more hospitable and open, learning how to live more deeply in the Spirit of Jesus, a Spirit that welcomes.
Our Social Centres and universities, working together and with others, want to develop the capacity to engage in a profound study of the world’s economic and social problems.
Our work in education at all levels will make people aware of the burning need for reconciliation, of the many who are estranged, vulnerable, alienated. We want those who are part of our educational mission to dream of and to build, step by step, a new culture based on Gospel values.
We commit to promoting a healthy and safe environment for children and young people and to stand against abuse of all kinds.
In all our work, we want to unite people where they are separated, to heal them where they are wounded. We want to work collaboratively in this field hospital of our world, witnessing to a faith that promotes reconciliation based on justice. We want to bring hope to our world, to imagine new roads and to walk these roads to the end.
• Listen to God calling through the prayer in tab How can I pray?
• Become a volunteer of Jesuit Refugee Service in your country.
• Look around you. Is there anyone you could support in your neighbourhood, parish or family?
• Vote for politicians, who represent pro-humanitarian and human rights agenda.
• Donate pro-humanitarian and human rights organizations, for example JRS.
• Inspire others by sharing this site with your friends.
Matthew 5: 3-10. The Beatitudes.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right”
Luke 10:25-29. The parable of the Good Samaritan.
“Go and Do Likewise”
Matthew 8:1-4. The healing of the Leper.
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 53
“Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.
Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a “throw away” culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”.
Pope Francis speaking in Philadelphia of the Sexual Abuse of minors
“The people who had the responsibility to take care of these tender ones violated that trust and caused them great pain...
Those who have survived this abuse have become true heralds of mercy. Humbly we owe each of them our gratitude...”
Sudan, located in north-eastern Africa, has been a hotbed for a deepening socio-political crisis since fighting broke out in the country last year. So far, international organizations estimate that about 25.6 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population – face acute hunger...
A reflection arising from the experience of the Coordinator for Ecology of the South Asian Jesuit Conference.
Manresa Spirituality Centre: Father General met with 60 people from the various Ignatian spirituality groups of different ages and experiences. JRS Romania: Father General visited the Jesuit Refugee Service team. After a presentation of the services offered...
Fr General visits the Works of the Maltese Jesuits: Paulo Freire Institute, Loyola House, St Aloysius College, JRS Malta, ‘Dar Manwel Magri’ Residence, University Chaplaincy...
Labre ministry offers Loyola University Chicago students, and me, Jesuit scholastic, a weekly opportunity to form relationships with individuals experiencing homelessness in the heart of our city. In our last encounter...
Fr. Tim McCabe is the Director of the Pope Francis Center in Detroit, Michigan. His apostolate serves the poor and homeless of the city. The Center was one of the works of the United States Midwest Province (UMI) visited by Fr. General Arturo Sosa in early April.
