Monday of the First Week of Lent
February 27th, 2023
Call to Action: 49
49. We call upon all religious denominations and faith groups who have not already done so to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius.
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!
Monday, Feb. 27, 2023
Settlement Agreement Parties and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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.
Today's call to action, no. 49, urges all religious and faith-based groups to denounce harmful doctrines that uphold settler colonialism. This call to action names the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal principle that validated European colonialization of the Americas.
"Legal" in this case doesn't imply secular. One of the most significant texts certifying this principle is the 1493 Papal Bull "Inter Caetera." In this papal decree, Pope Alexander VI formulated a theological justification for the colonialization of the so-called New World. He grants the kings and queens of Spain divine permission to claim the land and waterways between continental Europe and the Americas because Christianity should be spread and glorified across the world. In doing so, the souls of those who already inhabit the Americas must be converted.
This theology, of course, is in direct opposition to the words of Jesus. In today's reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us that we act righteously when we take care of those pushed to the margins—without looking to gain something in return.
As part of your Lenten practice, please consider donating to one or more of the following organizations:
Jesus asks us: Where do you see me?
It's perhaps the simplest question for all of us to ask this Lenten season. As you walk through your neighborhood or go through your daily routine, pay closer attention to those you've ignored or neglected—give them a second look. Where do you see God in them?
It's a reminder that we don't necessarily need to bring God with us, for God is already there.
—Meditation by Indigenous Solidarity Collective member Lauren Barbato