The Stations of the Cross the Stations of the Cross for Victims of Human Trafficking

Transcription

1 The Stations of the Cross the Stations of the Cross for Victims of Human Trafficking Theme: We face a complexity of issues today: challenges at work, rising materialism, families breaking up, an increasing divide between rich and poor, climate change and the list goes on. Each day raises more questions than we care to reflect on. Tonight we pray for an international global issue that exists at an alarming rate in our world and in the United States. It is tearing at the fabric of global society. It is tearing at the fabric of our local geographic Congregation of St. Joseph neighborhoods: Japan, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Texas, and Nebraska. Introduction: As we pray these Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross for Victims of Human Trafficking we raise our voices in anguished prayer for our sisters and brothers, women and girls, men and boys, who are modern day slaves. And we proclaim audibly and intentionally the words of Pope Francis, EVANGELII GAUDIUM, The Joy of the Gospel, How I wish that all of us would hear God s cry: Where is your brother and sister? (Gen. 4:9). Where is your brother or sister who is enslaved? Where are the brother and sister whom you are killing each day in clandestine warehouses, in rings of prostitution, in children used for begging, in exploiting undocumented labor? Let us not look the other way. As women and men dedicated to healing and oneness in all creation we cannot look the other way. Our Generous Promises call us to work for transformation to take the risk to surrender our lives and resources to work for specific systemic change in collaboration with others so that the hungers of the world might be fed.

2 Let Your God Love You Be silent. Be still. Alone. Empty Before your God. Say nothing. Ask nothing. Poem: Edwina Gateley Be silent. Be still. Let your God look upon you. That is all. God knows. God understands. God loves you with an enormous love, And only wants To look upon you With that love.. Still. Be. Let your God Love you Community Prayer: Psalm 46 ALL God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations; I am exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

3 The First Station Jesus calls us to educate ourselves and others on the issues of human slavery. (Jesus is condemned to death). Scripture: Are you not aware that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God s temple, God will destroy him. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (New American Bible) Reflection: The trafficked men, women and children are the temple of God. We need to learn and be aware of the issues involved in human trafficking. Second Station: Jesus calls us to eliminate the root causes of trafficking within systems. (Jesus carries his cross) Scripture: There was a man named Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector and a wealthy man. He climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. When Jesus came to the spot he said, Zacchaeus, hurry down. I mean to stay at your house today. Luke 19: 5-7 (New American Bible) Reflection: Greed, sex, and power run the lucrative business of trafficking. Only Jesus can change hearts.

4 Third Station: Jesus calls us to assist victims in their escape from slavery in whatever way we can. (Jesus falls the first time) Scripture: The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I ve seen for myself how cruelly they are being treated by the Egyptians. It s time for you to go back: I m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel out of Egypt Moses answered God, but why me?...god said, I ll be with you. Exodus 3: 9-12 (The Message) Reflection: It is an enormous task to end this horrible slavery. God reminds us that we are the ones we are waiting for. Can we accept His trusting invitation to do our part? Fourth Station: Jesus calls us to support those who minister directly or indirectly with victims. (Jesus meets his mother) Scripture: So, friends, choose seven from among you whom everyone trusts, people full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God s Word: Acts. 6: 3-4 (The Message) Reflection: Many gifts and skills are needed to eradicate this slavery. It is important to invite and support those who can also help in this effort such as law enforcement, legislators, restaurant employees, truckers, reporters, teachers, nurses, cab drivers, hotel staff and others.

5 Fifth Station: Jesus calls us to use our strength as consumers and investors to promote a society that addresses the incentives for human trafficking. (Simon helps Jesus carry his cross) Scripture: Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Bring me a coin and let me look at it. They handed him one. This engraving who does it look like? And whose name is on it? Caesar, they said. Jesus said, Give to Caesar what is his, and give God what is His. Matthew 22: (The Message) Reflection: Business was originally set up to serve the consumers grocery stores, shoe stores, gas stations, etc. Our experience now is that business is here to make money for shareholders. As consumers we can talk with managers of businesses about our concerns. Service and customer well- being? Or extraordinary profit? Sixth Station: Jesus calls us to make our voices heard in legislative bodies to pass laws that eliminate human trafficking. (Veronica wipes Jesus face) Scripture: Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying "Whom Shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8 (The Message) Reflection: Those being trafficked need us to be alert and to report any suspicions of exploitation. Through the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Protection Act of 2000, victims are guaranteed access to supportive services. This hotline * will help victims safely and securely rebuild their lives by connecting them to basic services. *(888) )

6 Seventh Station: Jesus calls us to pray for victims of human trafficking that their freedom from slavery may move them toward healing of heart, spirit and body. (Jesus falls the second time) Scripture: For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 (The Message) Reflection: During this penitential season of Lent may our prayer, fasting and alms lead us to act with wisdom and courage, to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters to find freedom, God s gift to all. Eighth Station: Jesus calls us to seek and join with others to change societal systems that cause and perpetuate injustice, oppression, and poverty. (Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem) Scripture: Learn to do good: seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow s cause. Isaiah 1:17 (New American Bible) Reflection: Victims are controlled through fear and lies into thinking they can never leave. Traffickers control all money and typically confiscate the identification documents of their victims. With no money, no I.D., and the threat of violence ever present, most victims believe they cannot escape. It s up to us to make it clear that this is unacceptable.

7 Ninth Station: Jesus calls us to engage with others to ensure that victims of human trafficking are protected. (Jesus falls the third time) Touch our hearts with compassion and courage to respond Scripture: If we don t know how or what to pray, it doesn t matter. The Spirit does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. Romans 8:27 (The Message) Reflection: Some runaway groups estimate that 1 in 3 young people is solicited for sex within 48 hours of running away or becoming homeless in the U.S. (UNICEF) Tenth Station: Jesus calls us to keep before our eyes those enslaved in domestic servitude, sex trafficking, forced labor, bonded labor, child labor, forced marriage. (Jesus is stripped of his garments) Scripture: This is the kind of fast day I m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitations in the workplaces, free the oppressed. Isaiah 58:6 (The Message) Reflection: Human trafficking is extremely profitable, generating an estimated $150 billion in yearly profits. The high demand for cheap goods and commercial sex puts children around the world at risk of becoming the supply. (UNICEF)

8 Eleventh Station: Jesus calls us to remember that labor and sex trafficking happen every day across the country, even in small cities and the suburbs. (Jesus is nailed to the cross) Scripture: Heart-shattered lives ready for love, don t for a moment escape God s notice. Psalm 51:17 (The Message) Reflection: If sex-trafficking can happen in little Elwood, Indiana, and it has, it can happen anywhere. Our local police department is an advocate against human trafficking. Twelfth Station: Jesus calls us to proclaim that the God of great love is with us now and forever: "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope". Jeremiah 29 (New American Bible) (Jesus dies on the cross) Scripture: Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, Woman there is your son. In turn he said to the disciple, There is your mother. From that hour onward the disciple took her into his care. After that Jesus, realizing that everything was now finished to bring the scripture to fulfillment said, I am thirsty. There was a jar there. They stuck a sponge soaked in this wine on some hyssop and raised it to his lips. When Jesus took the wine, he said, Now it is finished. Then he bowed his head and delivered over his spirit. John 19:27-30 (New American Bible) Reflection: How does a girl realize she might have greater purpose than being trafficked? For some girls it is an inexplicable belief in God s love at a critical moment that sustains them over the next few months, and ultimately the next decade. It doesn t make leaving easy but it does make her leave.

9 Thirteenth Station: Jesus calls us to remember that it is almost impossible for trafficked persons to escape from the life unless they are rescued. (Jesus is taken down from the cross) Scripture: Very truly I tell you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice, you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. John 16:20 (New American Bible) The Lord is close to the broken hearted, and those crushed in spirit he saves. Psalm 34:18 (New American) With great tenderness I will take you back say the Lord, your Redeemer. Is.54:7-8 (New American Bible) Reflection: Locating victims and extracting them quickly is paramount. When a child is prostituted their life expectancy is only seven years if not recovered. Most sex trafficking victims are young runaway girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years old. Every child should have five people who are crazy about them. Kalamazoo Diocese, the Good News, Fourteenth Station: Jesus calls us to combat sex trafficking and labor trafficking by advocating for strong legislation and technology initiatives to disrupt trafficking networks on line. (Jesus is laid in the tomb) Scripture: They began to gather in great numbers. There was no longer any room for them. Some people arrived bring a paralyzed man to him. They were unable to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they began to open up the roof over the spot where Jesus was. Mark 2: 1-5 (New American Bible) Reflection: Just as the men had to find a different way to get to Jesus, we must find new and creative ways to find the trafficked and prosecute the traffickers.

10 Fifteenth Station: Jesus calls us to renew our attention, commitment and efforts in the struggle to end this modern day slavery. (Jesus is raised from the dead) Scripture: Know that I am with you always even until the end of the world. Matthew 28:20 (The Inclusive Bible) Reflection: The rising of our Lord Jesus gives hope to the world. With this hope we can fill the hearts of those effected by the evils of human trafficking and slavery. We can open their eyes with the hope of a brighter future, for a future with dignity, respect, safety and comfort for all. Concluding Prayer: ALL A Prayer for end of Human Trafficking God of freedom, beauty and truth we believe that your deepest desire, your most powerful energy, is that all creation might know abundant life. We raise our voices in anguished prayer for our sisters and brothers, women and girls, men and boys, who are modern day slaves; They are your beloved daughters and sons, exploited sexually or forced to work because of human violence and greed. Fill us with your holy anger and your sacred passion that those who are trafficked might know healing and justice;

11 that traffickers will come to repentance and conversion; that all of us might live in such a way that others are not made to pay the price for our comfort and convenience. Hasten the coming of the day when all people and our precious Earth itself will be treated, not as a commodity, but as radiant images of your freedom, beauty and truth. Amen. May it be so. (Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J.) (permission granted) Stations of the Cross in Light of Trafficking were created by some members of the Congregation of St. Joseph Antitrafficking Committee and include the following: Rosie Coughlin, CSJ, Katrina Davis CSJ Initiatives; Mary Ellen Gondeck, CSJ; Sara Morley-Lacroix, Kalamazoo Anti- Trafficking Coalition; Germaine Tackett, CSJ Associate; Rita Ann Teichman, CSJ ( 2016, Congregation of St. Joseph)