My Calendar
Week of Nov 17th
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Diwali - the festival of light! Diwali - the festival of light!
12/11/2020 – 16/11/2020Diwali is the four- to five-day long Festival of Lights celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists.
One of the most popular dates on the Hindu calendar, Diwali symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, and takes place each year between October and November after the conclusion of harvest and to coincide with the new moon.
During the celebration, streets, homes, offices and shops are illuminated with light, which acts as a metaphor for knowledge and consciousness. Over the five-day period of the festival, people prepare by cleaning and decorating their homes. The festivities reach their peak on the third day, Diwali, which falls on the darkest day of the Hindu lunar month, Kartik.
On this day, revellers dress up, light up their homes with oil lamps and candles (diyas) and worship Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth. They also light fireworks and enjoy a feast with their family, sharing mithai (sweets) and gifts.Here's a video of how different this festival might be in time of COVID-19!A PRAYER FOR DIWALILight shines in darkness. Light takes away darkness. Light brings hope.God of light, when things seem difficult
or when we’re frightened or sad,
help us to remember that light is stronger than darkness,and good is stronger than bad.
AMEN
Transgender Awareness Week Transgender Awareness Week
13/11/2020 – 19/11/2020Anniversary of the murder of 6 Jesuits and their 2 companions in El Salvador Anniversary of the murder of 6 Jesuits and their 2 companions in El Salvador
16/11/2020On the morning of November 16, 1989, an elite battalion of the Salvadoran Army entered the grounds of the Jesuit University of Central America, with orders to kill Father Ignacio Ellacuría—an outspoken critic of the Salvadoran military dictatorship—and leave no witnesses.
When it was all over, the soldiers had killed six Jesuit priests, a housekeeper and her 16 year old daughter in cold blood. The Jesuits Massacre is one of most notorious crimes of El Salvador’s 12-year civil war, which left over 75,000 people dead including most famously Archbishop (now Saint) Oscar Romero.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
God, Creator of life and human dignity,
we celebrate the witness of your martyrs
for faith, for peace, and for justice.
Have mercy on the souls of these departed ones and grant them peace.
May the memory of the Jesuits and the members of the Ramos family
who died in El Salvador in 1989
help us move to a deeper understanding of the demands of justice
and guide us to speak your truth to those in power.
Give us the courage to raise our voices for those who suffer oppression and violence.
Grant us your joy as we work to bring your kingdom to this world. Amen.
© Education For Justice www.educationforjustice.org
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Transgender Awareness Week Transgender Awareness Week
13/11/2020 – 19/11/2020 -
Transgender Awareness Week Transgender Awareness Week
13/11/2020 – 19/11/2020 -
Transgender Awareness Week Transgender Awareness Week
13/11/2020 – 19/11/2020 -
Transgender Day of Remembrance Transgender Day of Remembrance
20/11/2020 -
Feast of Christ the King Feast of Christ the King
22/11/2020Feast of St. Cecilia - patron saint of music Feast of St. Cecilia - patron saint of music
22/11/2020The patron saint of musicians! Who's your favourite?
Here's a mini-bio of St. Cecilia (2 mins 20 secs).
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Loving God,
we thank you for the gift of music.
Help us find our own voice that we might express ourselves with truth, joy and passion.
We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
Youth Day Youth Day
22/11/2020The next world gathering for World Youth Day is in 2023 in Lisbon! Hear some words of the Holy Father, Pope Francis directed at young people!