Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
March 28th, 2023
Call to Action: 79
79. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal organizations, and the arts community, to develop a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. This would include, but not be limited to:
i. Amending the Historic Sites and Monuments Act to include First Nations, Inuit, and Métis representation on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and its Secretariat.
ii. Revising the policies, criteria, and practices of the National Program of Historical Commemoration to integrate Indigenous history, heritage values, and memory practices into Canada’s national heritage and history.
iii. Developing and implementing a national heritage plan and strategy for commemorating residential school sites, the history and legacy of residential schools, and the contributions of Aboriginal peoples to Canada’s history.
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!
Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023
Commemoration
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.
Our faith calls us to grapple with mystery and hard questions. Life is full of beauty, blessing, and abundance as well as pain, tragedy, and injustice.
As Catholics, we believe that God is there in all of it.
Let us not be afraid to confront the past, present, and future in all their complexities. The path to reconciliation lies in contemplating the whole truth.
We are not promised that it will be easy—but we have the assurance that we will be loved by God through it all.
—Meditation by Indigenous Solidarity Collective member Tess Thompson
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the
following organizations: