Parish Social Ministry

  Reflections for Solemnity of our Lord – Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 25, 2018
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.
 
The authority of Jesus comes from the power of the truth (John 18) and comes “out of the heavens” (Daniel 7).  In other words, it comes from someplace other than the kingly power represented by Pilate.  It comes out of the power of truth and compassionate love.
The authority of Jesus does not simply make us people who have authority exercised over us.  Revelation reminds us that we become the kingdom; we become a nation where all are priests; we all share authority.  This vision becomes a model for our own way of exercising healthy Christian authority and living out the social teachings of the church.
 
One way to understand the “kingship of Jesus Christ” is to look at the images that are offered us in the scriptures.  When Jesus is born it is to a homeless family.  When he travels around as a teacher, he seems to have no permanent home or dwelling and virtually no possessions.  When Jesus enters Jerusalem it is on a donkey (not on a mighty horse or chariot).  In the gospel, the kingly Jesus is a prisoner of Pilate and will be put to death.
 
The Kingdom of God is a space.  It exists in every home where parents and children love each other.  It exists in every region and country that cares for the weak and vulnerable.  It exists in every parish that reaches out to the needy.


First Sunday of Advent                        
December 2, 2018
Catholic Social Teaching:  Call to Family, Community, and Participation
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 gospel talks to us of the difficulties in the end times – a time of anxiety and destruction – a time of all kinds of problems and challenges. The gospel also speaks with hope about the coming of the “Son of Man” that reminds us to reflect not only on some distant future but on the present struggles and hopes of the world.
 
 Our contemporary world experiences things that frighten us and events of destruction and violence. Domestic violence erupts in families every day.  More and more people buy guns “for protection.”  Each day of the week we hear of places near and far which experience dramatic examples of violence.
 
Countless men, women, and children experience the effects of poverty and injustice.  Economic policy and trade policy seem to leave the poor with little power. Inequality continues in our own nation and throughout the world.
 
Those who work to make real the vision of justice for all encounter difficulties, indifference, or opposition.  There are too many issues to be concerned about.  Good people get discouraged.
Jesus’ vision of justice and peace is not yet complete despite all our work.  There are still poor people, war, domestic violence, inadequate schools, practices that lead to global warming, discrimination, hungry people, and we still find it hard to forgive enemies.
 
The scriptures challenge us to pay attention to the problems of today.  In the spirit of the Advent season we are called to pay attention with hope.  We are told to be vigilant and awake and keep our heads up high.  “The Lord will be our justice.”  We are called to get into action and address the issues that cause our world distress and injustice. 
 
 
Second Sunday of Advent     December 9, 2018
Catholic Social Teaching:  Call to Family, Community, and Participation
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.
 
Baruch writes in a time of great difficulty.  Jerusalem has been destroyed and the people are in exile.  Paul writes out of the challenges of a growing church trying to figure out what it means to follow Jesus and live in community.  John the Baptist speaks out of the difficulties of his age and the need for change and reform in Israel.  In facing various difficulties, all three readings are filled with hope. We hear a longing for justice which is filled with excitement and possibility.
 
The message of John the Baptist is to prepare the way for the coming of Christ, to make straight the windings and to make smooth the rough ways.  We need a  baptism of repentance, a cleansing from the old ways of  greed and  darkness and a commitment to a new way of living. We need to challenge the wisdom of the world the way it was challenged by the prophet in the desert.
 
It is important that we identify the difficulties that we are facing today so that we can move forward in hope.  What are the difficulties that challenge our desire to have hope?
+ War, terrorism, millions of refugees from war or economic injustice.
+ Hundreds of millions of people experiencing hunger especially children, some of whom die each day.
+ Untold children here and abroad are not getting a good education.
+ Degradation of the environment and unprecedented rapid global climate change.
How shall we “prepare the way of the Lord?”  How shall we make the “rough ways straight?”
Where are the signs of hope in our world today?
 
 
Third Sunday of Advent       December 16, 2018
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 of our Christian duty  to give a voice to those who are unheard and to help those who are most vulnerable.
 
The first two readings are full of joy and hope.  Then, in the gospel, John the Baptist seems to be placing very demanding expectations before the people of his day.  In different ways, he invites different people to make changes in their lives.  He gets very explicit.  He challenges people.
 
We might hear all this with a certain dread as we think about making radical changes in our lives and in our world.  We might dread giving up things or doing things in a new way.  We might feel resistance to change.  We might dread taking stands that some of our friends and neighbors will not accept.  However, we should not forget the tone of joy and hope that is found in the first two readings. May be the change we are called to are not something to dread or fear, but something that will lead us and the world community to freedom and life.  
 
The demanding social teaching of the church can seem to be a heavy obligation.  However, the radical call of Jesus and the demands of justice are not only a burden but also a source of freedom and joy.  It is a gift that can set us free and bless the world.
 
The Spirit of the Lord sent me to bring Good News to the poor.  That is the message which we are to shout with joy:  Jesus is coming with Good News for all those who are suffering because of injustice and peacelessness.
 
 
Fourth Sunday of Advent   December 23, 2018
Catholic Social Teaching:  Life and Dignity of the Human Person
The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
 
Lord, let us see your face.  We have come so close to the coming of Christ; it is as though we can stand the waiting no longer.  We want to see God’s face.
 
Elizabeth gets excited about Mary’s pregnancy and is afraid to voice her enthusiasm.  Micah is excited that from the obscure town of Bethlehem, will come a Messiah that will shepherd the people.  Behind the excitement of both Micah and Elizabeth is one of the fundamental principles of Catholic Social Teaching – namely, the dignity of the human person. In the Incarnation we find a special affirmation of human dignity.  The child of Bethlehem is important and special and thus we are reminded that all children are special and important.  God is incarnate!  God is with us!  We rejoice in divine life entering into the human.
 
All people are made in the very image of God and God is incarnate in our image, therefore all people should be greeted with an exciting “Blessed are you…”
The selection from Micah ends with the line “He shall be peace.” And so we pray: Lord, fulfill your promise!  Where there is conflict, give birth to peace!  Where there is hatred, make love spring up!  Where darkness prevails, let light shine!  Make us heralds of your peace!  Amen.
 
Christmas happens.  Christ comes, but in a strange ways and surprising circumstances.  Many of us miss the coming of Christ because we expect him where and when he is not coming.  God has to make us turn in a different direction so that we can find Christ in poverty (Bethlehem) and in the poor and outcast (Mary and Elizabeth).
 
 
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph   December 30, 2018
Catholic Social Teaching: Solidarity
We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.  We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be.
 
The Holy Family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus is a symbol of what every family should be like.  It is in a special way a sign of the unity of the human family.
 
Today’s liturgy tells of all the qualities which should characterize the human family:  respect, care, kindness, forgiveness, love, peace, duty.  It expresses, in terms of the culture of biblical times, the ideal of harmony and working together.
 
Catholic Social Teaching invites all the people of our world to live in solidarity.  The verses from Sirach about care for parents remind us of our social responsibility for one another both within our families and within the worldwide human family.
 
Salvation is not possible without forgiveness.  In the reading from the letter to the Colossians we are reminded of the need for forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the key if we are to achieve the healing we desire in our families and in the global human family.  Each person needs to look beyond his or her self.

In the gospel story we find at least four levels of solidarity – family, village, tradition, and God.  Jesus is in solidarity with his immediate family of Joseph and Mary and grows as a full human person in this environment.  Jesus and his parents travel to Jerusalem in solidarity with a whole caravan of people.  Jesus and the whole caravan of people are going up to Jerusalem in solidarity with the whole people of Israel to celebrate the feast.  Jesus seeks solidarity with the tradition and with God as he asks questions and seeks the truth.  The Christian ideal is not that of the rugged self-sufficient individual achieving his or her individual salvation or peace with God.  The Christian is one who achieves salvation in community.  Our concerns are concerns for the good of the whole community – what our tradition calls the common good.
---Education for Justice    Lectionary Reflections   By: Fr. John Bucki, S.J.
 

Reflections for Solemnity of the
Epiphany of the Lord    
 January 6, 2019
Catholic Social Teaching:  Life and Dignity of the Human Person
The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
 
In the age of globalization, the celebration of Epiphany takes on more importance than ever.  The magi are not Jews, but they seek the Christ as do the Jewish people.  Christ is a light for the whole world.  Christ calls together the whole world and all its peoples.  Christ calls for a healing of divisions and openness to learn from all people.  Christ calls for a just world order.  The Feast of the Epiphany invites us to celebrate the wonderful reality that Jesus came as a light to all people.
 
The behavior of Herod reflects the behavior of one who is afraid.  The news about a new child to be “king” threatens his kingship.  Rather than learning from the wisdom of the foreign visitors, he is afraid, and seeks to destroy what they came to discover.
 
The behavior of the foreign visitors or magi is the behavior of those who seek the truth at a great cost.  The child offers a vision that is worth traveling a long distance to experience.  Jesus offers a light that is worth sharing.  In the wisdom of a child born in humble circumstances, they find a wonderful light, powerful good news, liberation from sin, injustice, and prejudice.
 
The foreigners experience the power and the gift of Christ. They also bring gifts with them gifts that are given to the child but also “gifts” that open our eyes to the experience of the light of Christ as a gift for the whole world.  This mutuality is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Giving and receiving happen at the same time.  This must be true in our ministry for justice.
 
Those who exclude others from the life of the human family are being unfaithful to the Son revealed to the nations.  Those who accept only the rich and powerful are being unfaithful to the God who shall have pity for the lowly and the poor.
 

Reflections for the Baptism of Jesus      
January 13, 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 go unheard and to help those who are most vulnerable.
 
Jesus is baptized by John.  The Spirit descends upon Jesus.  The voice calls Jesus “beloved.”  As the voice of God proclaims Jesus to be the “beloved,” we can hear God affirming that same wonderful reality to all of us human creatures.  There is a wonderful dignity in the life of every human person.  This human dignity is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching.
 
The Spirit which descends upon Jesus is not just about Jesus, just as our baptism is not just about our personal relationship with God.  We are part of something bigger than ourselves.  We are baptized into a community with shared values and a commitment to the common good.
 
The Spirit which Isaiah proclaimed is a Spirit that will “bring justice to the nations” – a Spirit that will bring social and political healing to the people of the world.  Catholic Social Teaching reminds us that the Spirit which we receive is not just a gift or feeling, but a gift that strives to bring healing between diverse people.  The Spirit of Baptism is a spirit that transforms the community and calls us to go out to the world.
 
Isaiah makes it clear that the light of this spirit is “for all the nations.”  Peter’s experience in Acts affirms this same truth.  The justice and healing are for all the nations.  The challenge of the scriptures is to make real today the promises of Isaiah and the community of Jesus.  As Isaiah prophesizes, this Spirit of Jesus is about opening the eyes of the blind and releasing people from the dungeon.  It is 
about service to those in need, care for those who are poor, and political and economic justice.  We see in the baptism of Jesus a challenge to review our values and ways of living and to recommit ourselves to the nonviolent, radical love of Jesus. “I have called you for the victory of justice…a light for the nations.”

---Education for Justice   Lectionary Reflections   By:  Fr. Johbn Bucki, S.J.

Let's stay connected. Let's make it easy.