Mindful spending on Fasting Friday

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has called member congregations to participate in another 100 Days of Prayer, Fasting, and Advocacy. This initiative continues the effort of the first LCWR 100 Days, to unite women religious in lifting up what is most important: human dignity, fairness, compassion, and caring for our planet.

The Sisters of Mercy have selected November 28, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, as our day of participation. Commonly known as Black Friday, a heavily commercialized shopping day for businesses to “get in the black” or return to positive sales numbers on accounting books, many people use the day to make significant purchases at purportedly deep discounts. The heavy consumerism of the season not only burdens laborers in a variety of industries, but it also accelerates the burden of extractivism that strips life from Earth, our common home.

On November 28, the Sisters of Mercy hope to turn Black Friday into Fasting Friday. Building on our Labor Day theme from the first LCWR 100 Days, we invite you to pray for victims of exploitation, both workers and our planet; to protest both social and physical extractivism by abstaining from shopping; and to invest time in discovering businesses that value workers and preserve our planet. This one day can be the seed of a broader mindfulness, stepping into a growing movement that leverages our power as consumers and laborers. When we shop, our dollars become prayers in action and work to bring about the common good. Black Friday sales will come and go, but the choice to live with love and justice leaves a much longer lasting impression.

In addition to revisiting the Labor Day resource (Español), we invite you to view the Institute’s new resource (Español) for prayer, fasting, and advocacy for sustainability, environmental justice, and mindful spending.