Working For Justice

During the 2016 Year of Mercy attention has been focused on the traditional corporal and spiritual acts of mercy.  The corporal works highlight “hands on” ways we can serve others, especially the poor.  Focusing only on works of charity, however, is like standing on one foot.  The following from the USCCB website explains what the other “foot” entails.

Catholic disciples on mission are called to put Two Feet of Love in Action!  This foundational tool describes two distinct, but complementary, ways we can put the Gospel in action in response to God's love: social justice (addressing systemic, root causes of problems that affect many people) and charitable works (short-term, emergency assistance for individuals).

Charitable Works are our "response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc.”  (Deus Caritas Est, no. 31).  We step with the Charitable Works foot when we work to aid or assist others both locally and globally to meet their immediate, short-term needs.  Examples include engaging in direct service or providing food, clothing, shelter or monetary assistance in help those in need.
 
Social Justice "concerns the social, political and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective solutions" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 201).  We step with this foot when we work to address the root causes of problems facing our communities by advocating for just public policies and helping to change the social structures that contribute to suffering and injustice at home and around the world. 
 
Working for social justice challenges us to step out of our comfort zones.  It requires keeping abreast of current social problems and ways to address them.  It might mean going to public meetings or contacting our legislators on issues.  This sounds scary and overwhelming and you may not know where to start.  The regional Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation team will be working on introducing ways to connect with the issues and make a difference.