Weekly Reflection from CPLO and the Jesuit Institute Week of 30 May 2016

by Paulina French in Reflections on Tue, May 31st, 2016 | 0 Comments

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By Paulina French

“We must never forget that migrants, rather than simply being a statistic, are first of all persons who have faces, names and individual stories, “- Pope Francis, Lesbos

How do we treat those around us who are different to us? Those who come from a different country with different customs and way of doing things? Do we treat them like refugees?

What about those who may have a different sexual orientation to us? How do we welcome them and make them feel a part of our community? Or do we treat them like outcasts making them feel unwanted?

We all have a story to tell about our lives. We all carry hurt and disappointment with us and at the same time every human being has the infinite capacity to love others.

But for some reason we find it difficult to accept “outsiders”. We reject those who do not fit in with the “norms” of society, whatever those norms are.

We treat these outsiders like nameless, faceless statistics.

Lord

You love and accept each one of us as we are.

Help us to love and accept people who are different to us with love.

Give us the courage to stand up for those who are vulnerable and in need of acceptance.

Amen

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Mrs Paulina French

Paulina is a Chartered Accountant who spent a number of years working for an international auditing firm and with a major retail bank. She is married with two daughters. On the birth of her second daughter she left the corporate world and became a full time mom. She spent a few years doing some consulting work and used to work three mornings a week for the Jesuit Institute.