Saturday after Ash Wednesday
February 25th, 2023
Call to Action: 47
47. We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous peoples and lands, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius, and to reform those laws, government policies, and litigation strategies that continue to rely on such concepts.
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, Feb. 25, 2023
Royal Proclamation and Covenant
of 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.
During Jesus' time, the humanity of those who lived on the margins was neither recognized nor respected by the dominant groups. People were labeled "sinful" and "evil" based on their profession, physical condition, or social status.
Jesus, of course, felt differently. He walked with those on the margins.
Villainizing the Other continues in this contemporary world. We know this well in the Americas, where settlers declared the land's original inhabitants "sinful" simply for being here.
As we continue our discernment of anti-racist work, we must ask ourselves:
Who do we judge based solely on outward appearances? Which prejudices do we hold about the Other? What happens when we view the Other as ourselves?
—Meditation by Executive Director Donna Tarney
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the following organizations: