Created for Relationship
OPENING PRAYER
Namasté
Namasté is sometimes interpreted as “I greet the Holy One in You,” but it can be expanded to mean “I greet the totality of who you are, your deepest self where your true being resides, and I greet the part of you with its flaws and incompleteness, that is still in the process of becoming whole.”
I greet the Enduring Love in you.
I greet the Compassionate One in you
I greet the kindness in you.
I greet the spirit of ancestors in you.
I greet the strength to endure in you.
I greet the gift of laughter in you.
I greet the dancing muse of creativity in you.
I greet the listening heart in you.
I greet the radiant light in you.
I greet the deep peace in you.
I greet the gift of hope in you.
I greet the Holy One’s strength in you.
I greet the divine beauty in you.
I greet the playful child in you.
I greet the strength to surrender in you.
I greet the Beloved One in you.
Amen
Source: Joyce Rupp, Prayer Seeds, pp. x, xi.
"CREATED FOR RELATIONSHIP"
"As a gift from God, every human life is sacred from conception to natural death. The life and dignity of every person must be respected and protected at every stage and in every condition. The right to life is the first and most fundamental principle of human rights that leads Catholics to actively work for a world of greater respect for human life and greater commitment to justice and peace." — USCCB
Who or what do you depend on?We are not born to live in isolation. Beginning at birth and in order to survive, we are totally dependent on the care of others. We need to be held, comforted, given attention, protected, fed, clothed, and our diapers changed. We start becoming more independent as we begin to age. We can walk, talk, think, and recognize that we are physically distinct from others. Yet, we also begin to recognize our need for relationship and cooperation with others. As adults we are called to grow in relationship with God, others, our self, and our world.
Early in human history, the only human contact people had was with those persons who they lived with in very small groups in isolated locations, separate and apart from others. Over many thousands of years, relationships between humans have developed to the point where today, due to globalization and the rapid advances in technology, we can personally or virtually experience others throughout the world through travel, television, radio, videos, music, art, books, newspapers, magazines, mail, the internet, cell phones, text messaging, social media, and other networks that bring us into constant contact with others. We are not alone. Rockets, satellites, and telescopes even allow us to visually view other worlds and galaxies far beyond our own.
Unless we are stranded alone on an uninhabited desert island, we cannot avoid social interactions, either directly or indirectly, with others—our spouse, children, parents, siblings and other family members, friends, neighbors, co-employees, parishioners, and those who live in our community, state, nation, and the world. We all participate in a web of many different kinds of relationships and cultures that can affect the way we think, see, feel, experience, and respond to God, others, our self, and our world.
We are interdependent with others whether we realize it or not. Almost everything we use, consume or dispose of was grown, harvested, manufactured, assembled, packaged, produced, provided, transported, or supplied through the labor of many other people, including those who live in other countries, some even in countries located on the opposite side of the world from us. Think about these people the next time you eat food, use your cell phone, or throw some thing into the garbage.
One of the major questions we face is how we view other humans. Do we consider other humans to be merely objects and means to fulfill our desires? Or, as our Catholic faith tradition teaches us, do we accept that all humans are created in the image of God—imago dei (Gn 1:26-27), that all human life is sacred, and that human dignity is the foundation of a moral vision for society?
Please read this week The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Nos. 108–114,
VIDEOS
"Life and Dignity of the Human Person"
"Rights and Responsibilities" (CST 101)
“Globalization Easily Explained"
"Globalization"
MUSIC
“Make Me A Channel of Your Peace"
"Be Thou My Vision"
"These Alone are Enough"
OTHER RESOURCES
"Life and Dignity of the Human Person" (USCCB)
"Love God, Love Others, Serve the World"
"Love God, Love Others, Serve the World"