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CAFOD
Advent calendar 2023 - 12 December

A Lampedusa cross, made from the wreckage of a boat which was carrying refugees.

Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

Matthew 18:14

In Jesus’ beautiful story of a shepherd searching for his lost sheep, the message is clear: no one is unimportant, no one is expendable or forgettable.  

Yet so many people today do not have their basic human dignity and rights recognised. In the past decade, the global refugee crisis has almost doubled in scope. Conflict, persecution, the climate crisis and poverty have forced over 100 million people from their homes. Rather than finding welcome and safety elsewhere, they are often greeted with mistrust and rejection.  

As Pope Francis writes in Fratelli Tutti: “No one will ever openly deny that they [immigrants] are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human.” (FT#39) 

This Advent, let’s ask God to open our hearts to all those in our global family who long for a safe home, where they and their children can live in dignity and peace. 

Advent prayer

Loving God, 
may we see all people as you do, 
made in your image, loved and precious, 
and embrace them as sisters and brothers. 
Amen. 

Act

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