Furthering our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and joining forces with Trócaire in their Lenten Campaign to we hosted a meeting on the 2nd March for our lay colleagues in schools, our Friends of Nano and our Sisters.
The morning began with a warm welcome and a power point reflection on ‘Will you let me be your Servant.”
Sr Mary Hoare presented the Tercentenary Quilt made up of patches done by every Unit in the Congregation and put together by the Killavullen Quilting Group. It was an extraordinary piece of work which was rich in symbolism and content.
The Justice Desk Coordinator, Brian O’Toole, gave a presentation on what has changed and how we are doing since we signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals, along with 192 other countries in 2015.
This initiated much soul searching, reflection and discussion.
As part of Our Way of Life, we renewed our commitment to do our part to achieve sustainability.
From a social justice stance, Janet Twomey from Trócaire, fired us up when she spoke about Land Rights which is very much the focus of the Lenten Campaign this year. She gave heart-rendering accounts of children in war torn countries who have been driven from their home and live in appalling conditions in nearby countries in make shift camps which are not fit for humans.
We continued our reflection on displaced people through praying the Trócaire Stations of the Cross.
Brian O’Toole then explained how we can use our voices to bring about change and to monitor the Irish Government’s compliance as a signatory to the SDG’s through Lobbying and Advocacy.
An update on developments on our Raised Bog at Lixnaw, Co Kerry, was jointly given by Brian O’Toole and Sr Mary Kelliher. A decision was taken a number of years ago to ‘rest’ the bog in the interest of the environment and to return it to its natural state.
It was sheer joy to view the pictures of the flora in the regenerated bog.
The entire meeting was situated in the context of Laudato Si – Our Care for our Common Home – where Pope Francis reminds us that “the issue of environmental degradation challenges us to examine our lifestyle.”
