Longing for the Light: Merry Christmas!
Call To Action's 2022 Advent Calendar, planned and written by the Indigenous Solidarity Collective, provides 27 days of prayer and study to lead into action and solidarity with Indigenous communities. For each Sunday of Advent, we'll publish a reflection from a CTA member on the day's scripture passages, why we're committed to working toward Indigenous solidarity, and what it means to do this work. Following the reflection, we feature a call to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Christmas: Dec. 25, 2022
Cycling through time, we celebrate the birth of Christ year after year. Advent arrives, we prepare our hearts, we work for justice, and we pray for peace.
There is so much broken in this world. Over the past several weeks, as I helped prepare Call To Action’s 2022 Advent Calendar with the Indigenous Solidarity Collective, I have deepened my knowledge and sorrow for the disenfranchisement and desolation of Indigenous peoples, past and present.
Faith forbids me from hopelessness, it directs me to believe another world is possible. Beyond reason and against formidable odds, in Advent, I hope.
I hope that Indigenous culture will continue to survive, Indigenous peoples will continue to thrive, and that appropriate health resources, education access, and strong communities will ensure many further Indigenous generations to come. That the full truth of the boarding school system will become known, and that restitution will be unconditionally made. That the most cruelly impacted Indigenous people – women and girls, LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people, disabled, poor, and non-Christian Indigenous people – will show us the way. That there will be no more Indigenous prisoners. That Indigenous people may regain autonomy and stewardship over their own land, and that Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike may re-enter a caring and sacred relationship with the Earth.
Make straight the path. Colonialism and capitalism are not natural. The marginalization of Indigenous peoples is not inevitable. I recall Arundhati Roy’s bold declaration in her 2014 elegy to the destruction of the Occupy movement: “Another world is not only possible, but she is also on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
Indeed, Christ is born, showing us the way to salvation. Let’s use our strength, courage, and wisdom to follow him, and do the work to co-create a loving, just world with abundance for all.
-Tess Thompson, Indigenous Solidarity Collective and CTA member.
Thank you for joining us on this journey toward Indigenous solidarity this Advent season!
If you missed any meditations, visit the complete Advent calendar on the CTA website.
We will be continuing our reflections on the TRC Calls to Action during the 2023 Lenten season. Make sure you're connected with Call To Action so you can continue receiving our udpdates!
The watercolor paintings featured on this calendar were created by Duane Yazzie, an artist of Hopi and Navajo ancestry. Yazzie creates artwork that reflects his Indigenous heritage and his childhood spent in the Southwest.
The 2022 Advent 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.
