Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
March 11th, 2023
Call to Action: 62
62. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators to:
i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.
ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.
iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms.
iv. Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.
Suggestions for Almsgiving
The 2023 Lenten Calendar is a project of CTA's Indigenous Solidarity Collective, a working group that addresses the Catholic Church's historical and current role in colonialization. To support more projects from working groups like this one, please consider making a contribution!
Saturday, Mar. 11, 2023
Education for Reconciliation
Call To Action's 2023 Lenten Calendar is a collaboration between the Indigenous Solidarity Collective and Anti-Racism Team (ART). This calendar provides more than 40 days of prayer and study to lead members into action and solidarity with Indigenous communities. For holy days and Sundays during Lent, we'll publish a reflection from an ART or Indigenous Solidarity Collective member on why we're committed to undoing racism and Indigenous oppression in our own communities and biases and what it means to do this work as Catholics. Following each meditation or reflection, we will feature a call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Reconciling within families can be one of the most difficult things in life. In today’s gospel, Jesus tells of a son who walked away from the family out of self-love. Out of selfless love, the father let him go. The son’s eventual return is fraught with emotions. The older brother is bitter. The father is relieved and joyful, for the lost is found and returned to a place of honor. It is a story for teaching, with the father figure acting as we all should toward those who are most in need.
Indigenous people in the U.S. and Canada are our family members who were cast out from the national family of citizens. They did not leave but were oppressed and neglected. U.S. and Canadian governments continue practices that keep their stories, culture, and languages lost, dead and buried. Until all tribes and peoples are welcomed back to places of honor, healing can never begin. During this time of Lent, let us actively work in our local schools and communities to ensure Indigenous voices are included in our education and legislation.
What do I know about the history of Indigenous peoples in the U.S.? How can I broaden my understanding? Who has been excluded from my local community family, church family, or actual family? What steps can I take to begin the process of reconciliation?
—Meditation by Executive Director Donna Tarney
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the
following organizations: