Friday of the Third Week of Lent
March 17th, 2023
Call to Action: 68
68. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, and the Canadian Museums Association to mark the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 2017 by establishing a dedicated national funding program for commemoration projects on the theme of reconciliation.
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!
Friday, Mar. 17, 2023
Museums and Archives
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.
We've already reflected together in a previous meditation that forgiveness doesn't equal forgetting. When history is recounted accurately, it can offer pathways for healing. Providing avenues to process the past through memorials can be extensions of trust, collaboration, and accountability. We can truly co-memorate–remember the past together and in its entirety, the good and the bad.
While the Canadian government did not establish dedicated funding for Indigenous projects with the theme of reconciliation, it did allocate a portion of its finances to fund Indigenous projects, a few of which were dedicated to reconciliation. There is no consensus as to whether or not this call to action is considered complete. Regardless of its status, we must remember that reconciliation is not a checklist. Rather, it is a process that continues long after our "to-do list" of accountability is complete. It is constant remembering and perpetual action.
Our Lenten journey doesn't end on Easter. We are called to remain steadfast on the path of penitence and reconciliation at all times.
—Meditation by Indigenous Solidarity Collective member Revalon Wesson
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the
following organizations: