Seven Fountains Ignatian Spirituality Centre
Huay Kaew Road
Chiang Mai 50300

Tel: 053 892 545 -:- Fax: 053 892 546
www.thesevenfountains.org

Bulletin for July 2009

Sunday Mass Times

0730 Mass in Thai
0930 Mass in English

Weekday Mass Times

18.00 Mass in Thai in Chapel of Building 3
18.00 Mass in English in Chapel of Building 2 [when there are English-speaking retreatants]

JULY

General:

That the Christians in the Middle East may live their faith in full freedom and be an instrument of peace and reconciliation

Mission:

That the Church may be the seed and nucleus of a humanity reconciled and reunified in God’s one and only family, thanks to the testimony of all the faithful in every country of the world.

Some Feasts in July

Also in July

In August

Collection

The Sunday Offertory Collection for the month of May was 38,045 Baht. We thank you for your very generous support of the mission & outreach of The Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre.

Pope Benedict says his new encyclical on the economy and labour issues, due to be published at the end of this month, will focus on ways to make globalisation more responsive to the needs of the poor amid the worldwide financial crisis.
The document will outline the goals and values the faithful must "tirelessly defend" to ensure "true freedom and solidarity" among humans, Pope Benedict said, AP reports.

He said the global downturn shows the need to "rethink economic and financial paradigms that have been dominant in the last years."

The pope has been working on "Caritas in veritate" (Charity in Truth) since 2007 but recently said he had held back on issuing it so that he could update it to reflect the global economic crisis.

The encyclical is expected June 29.

Pope Benedict followed up his earlier comments on Sunday saying that hundreds of millions of hungry people around the world are an absolutely unacceptable reality and the economic crisis should be seen as a chance for change, The Times of India says.

Speaking to a crowd gathered in St Peter's Square, he addressed his message to a June 24-26 UN conference in New York on the global downturn.

Meditative/Contemplative Prayer Experiences you can download

Pray-as-you-go can be found at www.pray-as-you-go.org

Sacred Space may be found at www.sacredspace.ie

livesimply is a challenge to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people in poverty.

www.progressio.org.uk/livesimply/AssociatesHome2/92990/livesimply/

The Recession & God: Reading the Signs of the Times

A book by Gerry O'Hanlon, SJ
Messenger Publications and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, 60 pages

 Gerry O’Hanlon SJ of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice has just completed his new book, The Recession and God: Reading the Signs of the Times. This book provides a different account of the current recession in Ireland and world-wide.

 Gerry draws on the rich resources of the Christian tradition to argue for the need for a new, more socially responsible, economic paradigm. He proposes a vision of the common good, inspired by the values of justice and solidarity, which rules out any simple return to ‘business as usual’. Instead he urges that we use this time of crisis as an opportunity to pool our resources (both secular and religious) in committing ourselves to the search for a more sustainable future.
The Recession and God is published by Messenger Publications and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice

An Online Retreat
A 34 week retreat for Everyday Life - A Ministry of the Collaborative Ministry Office at Creighton University. http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html

Fear of the stranger informing policies towards refugees  
 “It is extremely worrying that the world’s richest states continue to shirk their responsibilities with regard to refugees. Instead of welcoming people, forced by extreme poverty and violence to flee their homes, they are slamming their doors shut. Their actions are making the global system of international protection unsustainable”, says JRS International Director, Peter Balleis SJ.

On 20 June, World Refugee Day, JRS calls on governments to respect their human rights obligations and create an environment conducive to the integration of refugees and migrants. JRS also reminds citizens they are not powerless; governments depend on their consent to act. If citizens become more positively disposed to the plight of forcibly displaced persons, governments will be encouraged to improve their policies.

Developed states lead the way in implementing policies and laws that prevent refugees from entering and remaining in their territories. The Italian government illegally returns undocumented migrants to Libya without any attempt to determine whether or not they are in need of protection. The US authorities indiscriminately prevent the arrival of boats carrying Haitians fleeing poverty and serious human rights abuses. Conditions for asylum seekers in Greece are so bad that some EU states no longer consider it as a safe country in which to seek refuge.

Politicians and the media depict the arrival of the stranger as a threat to public security or perceived cultural identity. Too often, they disregard positive contributions made by refugees and migrants to the economic and cultural well-being of their host nations. They fail to recognise that refugees do not choose to leave their homes, they are forcibly displaced. Consequently, developing states are left to bear the responsibility of hosting 80 percent of the global refugee population.

“The once open-door policy of developing states is rapidly closing. The message – there is no room at the inn – has been received loud and clear by many developing states – Cambodia, Kenya, Panama, Thailand – which have adopted increasingly restrictive policies towards displaced populations. These countries view developed states, driven by fear of the stranger, as no longer interested in sharing responsibility for global international protection”, said Fr Balleis.

Yet, some overburdened states have shown it is possible to accept more refugees within their borders. Last March, the Ecuadorian government began a process to regularise the status of more than 50,000 hitherto unrecognised refugees. One month later, South Africa announced the adoption of procedures to provide temporary protection to more than one million Zimbabweans fleeing their homes.

More than a decade of increasingly draconian responses to forced migration has not reduced the number of refugees worldwide; if anything, it has only intensified the suffering of the most vulnerable. Closing our eyes to refugees compromises the principles of justice and solidarity upon which all free societies are built. Opening our hearts to their suffering compels us to welcome the stranger.

Notes to the editor:
JRS works in over 50 countries in six continents around the world. It employs over 1,000 staff: lay, Jesuits and other religious to meet the education, health, social and other needs of 500,000 refugees and IDPs, more than half of whom are women. Its services are provided to refugees regardless of their race, ethnic origin, or religious beliefs.

For further information contact: James Stapleton, International Communications Coordinator; tel: +39 06 68 977390; +39 346 234 3841;
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ; www.jrs.net

To help deepen your grasp of your Christian faith

THE HEYTHROP INSTITUTE FOR RELIGION ETHICS AND PUBLIC LIFE
www.heythrop.ac.uk/HIREPL

Thinking Faith   http://www.thinkingfaith.org/index.htm

Thinking Faith is a free on-line publication of the British Jesuits.

Subscribe to these Thinking Faith alerts using This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 New Member of the Seven Fountains Jesuit Community

We are delighted to welcome Fr Petrus Puspobinatmo and introduce him to the wider community. Fr. Puspo (as he prefers to be called) is from Indonesia and comes to the Spirituality Centre from Rome where he was engaged in doctoral studies in Buddhist and Ignatian Spirituality

We hope Fr. Puspo will spend a fruitful time with us.

KIDS IN CHURCH
 
3-year-old Reese :
'Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little boy was overheard praying:
'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't
 worry about it.
I'm having a real good time like I am.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied,
'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a
Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One particular four-year-old prayed,
'And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service,
'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?'
One bright little girl replied,
'Because people are sleeping.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next bulletin

Would you like to receive this bulletin via email? If so, please contact Pippa who will add you to the contact list.
If you have anything you would like to be included in next month’s bulletin please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or call mobile phone: 0812882210

We are looking for contributors. Have you got something you would like the Community at Seven Fountains to know about? A special anniversary or wedding? Just send the notice in, and we will include it.

Laus Deo Semper