Parish Social Ministry

 Reflections for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 4, 2019
 
Catholic Social Teaching:  Rights and Responsibilities
As human beings, we have a right to live and grow in peace.  Because we have that right, we have the responsibility to make sure others enjoy the same opportunity too.
 
From the perspective of the social teaching of the church, at least three themes seem to emerge from the scriptures today.

1. The word of God will indeed get us into trouble.  It will challenge the way we look at everything.  It will move us to take positions on issues that are important to the people.  It will call us into action for justice.  Not everyone will like what we say and do.  This is the experience of Jeremiah and of Jesus.  It may be our experience as we try to live the gospel and speak and act for justice and peace as we get involved in the difficult issues of our world.
2. The great hymn to love in Corinthians must not be read only from the point of view of a nice sentiment or an emotional feeling, but as a challenge to transcend self and to confront the broader issues of justice and peace.  The call of Jesus involves more than acts of charity or gift giving, but also the transformation of relationships and the works of justice. 
3. God is in charge and will protect and bless the one who is faithful to the message. As the first reading from Jeremiah concludes: They will fight against you but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”  So, don’t be afraid of the challenge of God’s message.  You’ll be OK.  In Luke’s gospel, Jesus simply and courageously walks away from the crowd and continue his ministry.

 
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time     February 10, 2019
 
Catholic Social Teaching:  Call to Family, Community, and Participation
The person is not only sacred but also social.  We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all. Especially the poor and vulnerable.
 
The scriptures invite us to reflect on sin and our unworthiness before God.  At the same time we              see that both Isaiah and Peter experience a profound and powerful reconciliation experience after their deep experience of unworthiness.  From a deep sense of sin flows a deep sense of God’s love and acceptance and then a powerful call to share that message in word and in action.  “Do not be afraid.”

Sin has a communal element.  It affects other people.  It affects the community.  I am affected by the sins of others and the sinful structures of our world.  Others are affected by my sin.  Sin is not just a personal action or a personal violation of some law.  It does something to harm the structures and relationships of society, community and even church.  If we reflect only on personal sin as it relates to ourselves alone, we miss something.  Social sin is seen in the realities of racism, in inequalities of economic opportunity, in the lack of educational opportunities for children, in the culture of violence and in countless realities that are more than the sin of any one person or group.
Just as we experience the forgiveness of our personal sins, we believe that “social sin” can be forgiven and injustice can be overcome.  We believe that divine forgiveness can be experienced in the reality of society—the depth of social relationships.  Sinful structures and ways of thinking can be healed.  Change can happen.  The experience of Peter and Isaiah do not end with simply a nice feeling of God’s love but their experiences lead to action and to change in the world. Both move into a life of proclaiming the message and inviting people into a community.
 
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time    February 17, 2019
 
Catholic Social Teaching:  Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Jesus tells us to care for those who are most in need in the world.  He reminds us of our Christian duty to give a voice to those who are unheard and to help those who are most vulnerable.
 
Blest are you poor…But woe to you rich.  These are powerful words, recorded for us by Luke, offer many avenues for thought.
Poverty is wretched.  It means physical suffering, psychological anguish, financial insecurity, cultural disparagement, political power, social and cultural acceptability.

Yet Jesus used the word  blest when speaking of the poor, and he used the word  woe when speaking of the rich.  Obviously he saw some kind advantage to being poor, and some kind of disadvantage to being rich.

What truth was he expressing?  That poverty keeps one open to one’s need for God?  That riches turn one’s heart away from God?  That happiness is found closer to poverty than to wealth?
From a Christian perspective, who is to be pitied, the poor or the rich?

In the Kingdom, there is really no place for either rich or poor.  To be a rich person means I have more than others, more than I need and some of what I have belongs to those in need.  To be poor means I do not have enough to eat or wear; I do not have a place to live and in general my life is lacking in proper human dignity. In the Kingdom, there can be no rich or poor in this sense.  Because those who have more will share with those who do not have enough.

It is not just a question of “charity” but one of justice, each one having what is properly due to him.  In “charity” I give what I can easily spare; in justice I share what I have.  It is not just a matter of pity for the poor but of seeing them as truly brothers and sisters and sharing with them.
 
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time   February 24, 2019
 
Catholic Social Teaching:  Solidarity
The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.
 
At first sight, the gospel seems hopelessly idealistic.  It is not enough for his disciples to be blessed when they are persecuted; now he tells them they must turn the other cheek.  They must give the clothes off their back-not to the poor and needy, but to the very person who already stolen their cloak.  This kind of attitude is radical, preposterous.

Surely this is not to be taken seriously. Are we to invite people to trample on our basic rights?  In fact, the implementation of this teaching requires tremendous inner strength and a strong sense of security.  It calls for an overwhelming awareness of the inalienable dignity, value and rights of every other person irrespective of how they behave.
This is the spirit which drove Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King who believed passionately in the power of active non-violence.

What Jesus is saying far from impossible or idealistic.  It is really the only truly human, and not just the Christian, way to go.  And, much of the time, it is not as difficult as it seems.
It is really a question of an attitude, a conviction.  It is easy for the Christian to love enemies because the real Christian does not have any in the sense of people against whom he feels deep-seated hatred or resentments.

Jesus’ words presume that for the Christian there are no outsiders.  But, as Jesus himself pointed out we are called to be like God, of whom Jesus is the living, human image and in whose image we also are made:  “God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” and “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
 

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time     March 3, 2019
 
Catholic Social Teaching:  Call To Family, Community, and Participation
The person is not only sacred but also social.  How we organize our society-in economics and politics, in law and policy-directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.
 
Does our speech witness gospel joy?  Do we say good things about the poor, or do we talk about their supposed laziness?  Do we say good things about people of other races, or do we criticize them for being different?  Do we speak peace to those around us, or is our language belligerent, hostile, aggressive?  Today Jesus warns us about the human tendency to ignore our own flaws while we point out the faults in our neighbor.  What we produce is dependent upon what is stored in our heart.  We may have a store of goodness, but also a store of evil.  A splinter, a branch, or maybe a whole beam may be blocking some of that goodness.  We must remove this, and compassionately help others remove theirs, in order to bear more or better fruit.

God sees each of us from the inside.  He sees us with a generous and compassionate gaze and does not despise or condemn us for our shortcomings and failings. All our actions should be done in the Lord, and our speech should be goodness from the good in one’s heart. People should be able to recognize us as witnesses to God’s love in our words and actions.

Thanks to Margie Duplantis for researching these reflections from the following sources:

---To Love and Serve: Lectionary-Based Meditations -Darring, Gerald
 
---Education for Justice   Lectionary Reflections   By:  Fr. Johbn Bucki, S.J.

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