It's amazing how, despite the many many changes which have take place in the world in the last thousand years, how very little things actually change. Yes, we are technologically more advanced, and yes, we have lost many skills, particularly artistic skills; and yet the structure of society has changed in many places. Yet human nature has not changed very much, and neither have many human problems.
Reflecting on yesterday's post - on St Raymond's work among the slaves and his assisting St Peter Nolasco to found the Mercedarians, I see that slavery is as big a problem today as it was in their's. No longer officially approved by society, and hidden away, slavery continues to be a scourge around the world, even in the technologically advanced democracies of the west. This means that the Church must continue to include in her pastoral ministry those being trafficked and oppressed in a slave trade which is as insidious as ever, but perhaps more advanced in nature. The work of our two Orders founded to help and free slaves - the Mercedarians and the Trinitarians, is still vital in the life of the Church, carrying out the original intentions and plans of their founders.
Today you might say a prayer for all those who are enslaved, remembering that you may well have met someone who is a slave and not too far from you. Let us also remember the members of the two Orders who continue to work in this area, and all who are dedicating their lives to liberating those enslaved today.
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