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The Holy Cross International Justice Office is a collaborative effort of the four Holy Cross Congregations that claim Rev. Basil Moreau as their founder: the Marianites of Holy Cross (headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana), the Sisters of the Holy Cross (headquartered in South Bend, Indiana), the Sisters of Holy Cross (headquartered in Montreal, Canada) and the Priests and Brothers of Holy Cross (headquartered in Rome, Italy). Each of these Congregations is international in scope, comprising 3,000 members in countries all over the world.
HCIJO alerts its members when action is needed to support a justice issue. Members may then respond through e-mail, telephone or fax to contact their government officials or other prominent leaders in the world community. Members register their opinions so that positive change can occur which will benefit especially the poor and needy of our world.
The Justice Office also produces materials that present background information about the social justice issues of our times so that members may make informed decisions. For more information, please visit www.holycrossjustice.org Past and current issues of its newsletter Perspectives can be downloaded from the web site. The web site also posts important documents in several languages, documents that are critical to understanding the complex issues in today's world.
HCIJO will be encouraging all to study the Earth Charter (www.earthcharter.org) and will focus on its three sections over the next three years: Ecological Integrity, Social and Economic Justice and Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace.
Rain Barrels on the Grounds of Holy Angels
 September 12th, 2009 is a very special day because on that day several Scouts and four dads arrived to install rain barrels! This was the culmination of a project for Ryan who is working towards becoming an Eagle Scout. Some of the work was completed at home: building a sturdy four-foot bench for holding the barrels; gathering the other articles needed like the spigot, plastic tubing and downspout material. Ryan was the leader of the project so he was responsible both for writing the extremely detailed plan to be approved by Scout leaders and for assembling his team of workers.
He acquired the barrels from Central Grocery in New Orleans. Originally, the barrels held olives (Central Grocery is known for its muffulettas, the wonderful round sandwich that includes delicious olive salad). Each barrel holds 55 pounds of olives and now stores the equivalent in rain water.
Why collect rainwater? Rain water is FREE! You can keep your garden or house plants happy and green at no extra charge from your local water company. Sometimes there are dry spells even in New Orleans! Collecting water for later use also keeps the rain water out of lakes and rivers. As rain water travels to those areas through storm drains, it carries with it trash, soil, fertilizers, herbicides and lots of other harmful things that can taint the water and poison fish, birds and other wildlife that depend on it for life. Rain water is great for household plants because it does not contain water purifying chemicals that protect the people who consume it but often turn plant leaves yellow.
Of course, rain water collected from roofs cannot be drunk by humans, but the plants seem to love it!
Seven Sorrows of Mary | Justice, Peace, Ecology |Holy Cross Pilgrimage Center
Reflections |Prayer Request |May They Rest in Peace
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