What are human beings that you spare a thought for them?
The greatness and love of God and the dignity of Humanity are at
the centre of the Biblical Tradition and of Christianity. The psalmist,
looking at human beings in comparison to all creation, on earth, in
the sea and in the sky, and considering the care and love that God
has for them, could not but be left in great amazement! "What
are human beings that you spare a thought for them, or the children
of Adam that you care for them? ... Lord our God, how majestic is
your name throughout the world!" (Ps 8: 4.9) Moreover, God's
awesomeness in the work of Creation with Man and Woman as its
climactic masterwork is no less expressed in Genesis by: "God
saw all he had created, and indeed it was very good!" (Gen 1:31)
Our mission as believers, Christians and missionaries has a sole
objective: God and Humanity; to preserve and promote the "Glory
of God and the life and dignity of Humanity". These two are inseparable.
However, if the glory of God is inseparable from the life and dignity
of Humanity, the latter is also inseparable from a healthy "Mother
Earth", as long as Humanity endures on this planet. Furthermore,
Creation is another sacrament in which God's glory is revealed! "The
heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his
hands" (Ps. 19:1). It is therefore our daily duty to care for
our "Mother Earth" for our own good and for the Glory of
God.
***
"The Glory of God is Humanity fully alive" (St. Irenaeus)
***
"Take care of the earth and it will take care of you." (Popular
wisdom)
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'I am a man, and injustices towards others revolt my heart'
Missionaries of Africa: we are what we are because of God's call,
which was first addressed to our Founder, Charles Cardinal Lavigerie.
Our commitments in promoting Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
(JPIC) and Encounter and Dialogue (ED) are a legacy and a responsibility
received from him. His life and instructions remain for us the foundation
and source of inspiration.
***
"I
am a man, and nothing human is foreign to me (Terence). 
I am a man, and injustices towards others revolt my heart.
I am a man, and oppression offends my nature."
(Charles Cardinal Lavigerie)
***
Together we can!
The work of promoting Justice, Peace, the Integrity of Creation and
Encounter-Dialogue (JPIC-ED), cannot and will never be successfully
accomplished by a single person or a single group of people. It cannot
be monopolised by any one person. It is the work of all and excludes
no one worthy of the name of human being and Christian. Its success,
therefore, can only be achieved by the joint collaboration of everyone.
We therefore seek to collaborate with all, excluding no one. We also
seek to involve ourselves more in those activities of Encounter and
Dialogue between people of different cultures and religions that aim
at creating more Justice and Peace in our society as well as preserving
and promoting the Integrity of Creation.
****
"Kidole kimoja hakivunji chawa" (Swahili)
(One finger cannot kill a louse).
***
A commitment for the Society and all its members
JPIC-ED are constitutive elements of our missionary identity and
therefore our commitment in this field is for all the Society's members,
each in his particular situation where he lives and works. There is
no member who is not concerned with this commitment, taking into consideration
that we are all called to live it in our communities. Our common denominator
in this commitment, though not the least important by far is prayer
on its behalf. The prayer of Moses on the hilltop and the victory
of the Jews over the Amalekites is a good parable for us on this point,
(Exodus, 17: 11-12).
Because of the importance and urgency the Society gives to this commitment,
the 2010 General Chapter decided to create a post of Coordinator whose
overall objective is to ensure its follow-up and to foster it at all
the levels: Society, Provinces, Sectors, communities and individual
members.
***
