WHAT IS SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP?
Every year, during Lent, we are invited by the Catholic Church to a period of introspection that will help us achieve greater conversion. But how can lay people achieve this grace?
Through fasting, prayer and charity! It sounds easy, but it isn't! For the men and women religious of the Catholic Church, this moment is another opportunity to be closer to God's will and a way to look with greater compassion at the needs of our brothers and sisters. Listen to the reflection of the sisters of the Monastery of Salvador, in Bahia.
In Brazil, to guide us through this penitential period, we have the Fraternity Campaign. This year's theme is: Fraternity and Social Friendship.
But what is Social Friendship?
According to Pope Francis, it is love that extends beyond borders and to every living being, transcending the barriers of geography and space. A love that (...) knows compassion and dignity.
Thus, the 2024 Fraternity Campaign aims to promote solidarity and the building of harmonious relationships in our society. And social friendship is the proposed way to build a culture of encounter and dialogue, where each person becomes an agent of transformation in their community, promoting justice and solidarity for all our brothers and sisters!
Not by chance, this movement reminds us of the voice of a great prophet of the Catholic Church in Brazil: Dom Hélder Câmara, archbishop of Recife, PE, who died 25 years ago.
Known for his work in favor of human rights and social justice, Dom Hélder has always defended principles similar to those proposed by the 2024 Fraternity Campaign, especially with regard to the promotion of fraternity and social friendship, where collaboration between different social groups can achieve the goal of a dignified life for every human being.
By supporting a wide range of social projects throughout Brazil, ABMTHS is working together with the 2024 Fraternity Campaign and with the principles defended by Dom Hélder, in search of a more inclusive, supportive and fraternal society, where God's will is fulfilled, that "we are all brothers and sisters"! ("You are all brothers and sisters" Mt 23:8).
