Marking National Indigenous Peoples Day as a day of prayer for spiritual unity – message from Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle

An annual meeting of the national Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle was recently held in Edmonton, AB. Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle is a Catholic coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Catholics, Chairs of are Tom Dearhouse, Indigenous at-large member, and Sr. Geernaert, Sisters of Charity of Halifax. Among other members of the Circle are CCCB representatives Saskatoon Bishop Hagemoen and Bishop Daniel Jodoin of the Diocese of Nicolet, Quebec. A message from the circle was recently released for National Indigenous Peoples Day, calling for prayers for spiritual unity. (Submitted photo)

Posted By: Kiply Lukan Yaworski June 20, 2024

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

The co-chairs of a national group of Catholic organizations, lay movements, and individuals dedicated to reconciliation have released a message calling for National Indigenous Peoples Day to be a day for spiritual unity.

In their message, the Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle chairs Tom Dearhouse and Sr. Donna Geernaert, S.C. encourage the Catholic community and all Canadians to answer the call of Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers to mark June 21 as “a day for spiritual unity.”

“Let us give thanks together for the graces of reconciliation that we have been experiencing,” the co-chairs said in the message released June 20, 2024.

 

Message from Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle for June 21 – DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION (English)  /  TÉLÉCHARGEZ VERSION PDF (Francais)

The Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle is a national coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Catholics — individuals, bishops, clergy, lay movements and institutes of consecrated life –who are engaged in renewing and fostering relationships between the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

“We are grateful for what is being accomplished, the relationships that are being built, and the peace that is growing among us,” the circle’s co-chairs wrote, citing the 2022 penitential visit of Pope Francis to Indigenous Peoples of this land, and the fruits that can be seen in the actions of the local Church in union with Indigenous partners.

They also pointed to the commitments made by the Catholic bishops of Canada in their pastoral letters to First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples of Canada and to the People of God broadly.

“These commitments have been concretized in many ways, including the work that is being supported by the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund. We are grateful for what is being accomplished, the relationships that are being built, and the peace that is growing among us.”

At the same time, Dearhouse and Geernaert stress: “We cannot lose sight of the great intergenerational grief we continue to carry collectively, each in our own way, and must not faulter in our search for a complete reconciliation based on truth.”

They noted the recent third anniversary of the announcement by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation of the discovery of what appear to be unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School that operated on its territory for 85 years. In reflecting on that anniversary and all that has followed, the co-chairs pointed to the “seven grandfather teachings” as a guide.

“As a Circle of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Catholics, we are guided by the seven grandfather teachings which remind us that Truth is not best pursued in isolation. Ancient wisdom challenges us to hold firm as well to Respect, Humility, Bravery, Honesty, Wisdom, and Love, so we may reach a truthful and Spirit-led understanding that supports healing and fosters renewed relationships.”

Rather than being a scientific or forensic task, this is a spiritual task “where we look to each other to hold our pain and grief until it is transformed by our Creator,” wrote the circle’s co-chairs.

“Knowledge carriers and spiritual guides, drawing on Christian and Indigenous traditions, as well as those of other believers, have taught us that grief repressed or denied can reveal itself in physical, emotional, psychological and even spiritual harms. That same grief when shared, though never forgotten, can be healed and broaden the whole field of compassion,” the message continued.

“We pray for continued dialogue to mitigate the pain of facing our collective history and current reality, so that through the strength of our Father and Creator, we may all continue to be vulnerable and patient as healing replaces division among us.”

Background:

“Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle is motivated by the love of Christ, filled with great hope for the future and attentive to the Holy Spirit’s action in our world, to the glory of our compassionate Creator and Father.” – from the website

“The Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle seeks to assist Catholics in their engagement with the Truth and Reconciliation process and its Calls to Action. The Circle seeks first to understand Indigenous Peoples and Spiritualities and their relationship to the Catholic Church. It is by honouring Indigenous peoples, cultures and spiritualities and by acknowledging with sadness the many failures of the past that the work of reconciliation can move forward. The Circle recognizes that understanding and education must lead to action for reconciliation.” – from the website

Institutional members of the Circle include:

Indigenous members at large of the Circle include:

  • Tom Dearhouse of Kanawake First Nation,
  • Rosella Kinoshameg, Ojibway, Wikwemikong First Nation,
  • Joanna Landry, Cowesses First Nation,
  • Graydon Nicholas, Tobique First Nation (Representative appointed by the Knights of Colunbus),
  • Sr. Priscilla Solomon, Ojibway.

 

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