Overview

The "Building Justice for Tomorrow" project is an effort being spearheaded by the Social Justice Committee to raise awareness of Catholic Social teaching, and to call us to action.

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2-by-2 Project

Our awareness of the suffering and the poor of the world leads us into action. The 2-by-2 is a way to connect with other community members in doing service with the under-served in our community. If you are already involved in service, invite another community member to join you. If you have an organization you would like to volunteer with, invite another community member to join you. Share your experience with the community by briefly writing about it on an index card that will be posted at church.

A few ideas of local places to serve include:

  1. St. Vincent de Paul Village
  2. Catholic Worker
  3. Catholic Charities
  4. Habitat for Humanity
  5. I Love a Clean San Diego
  6. Volunteer San Diego
  7. UCSD Associated Students Volunteer Connection

Some other 2-by-2 ideas:
Consider asking a friend to join you and the Catholic Community in serving meals at St. Vincent de Paul. Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to serve in winter quarter.

The Catholic Community also prepares and serves dinner to homeless teens at Storefront on the first Sunday of each month. Get a friend to join you to help in this very rewarding ministry. To volunteer, please contact Joy Kim.

The Plan

The "Building Justice for Tomorrow" project was kicked off on Ash Wednesday with a hunger banquet and presentation. The program will be centered around the steps of Just Living, with each Friday being devoted to one or two of the steps. The brochure provides a schedule of topics throughout the Lenten and Easter season. This can be used as a guide to stay connected to the project even if you cannot attend all of the meetings.

Session 1 - Introduction

The first topic night presented an overview of Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Some of the fundamental concepts of CST are:

  1. Option for the poor, vulnerable and underrepresented
  2. Care for God’s creation
  3. Call to the common good

With these in mind, consider the following questions as you go through your week:

  1. Who are the poor, the vulnerable and the underrepresented? How can I serve their needs?
  2. How can I better care for creation?
  3. How do I care for those around me? My family? My neighbors? How do I work to eliminate injustice in society?

You may also find it helpful to read On the Progress of Peoples of the World, an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI.

Session 2 - Core Priorities

The second topic night provided an outline of the 10 major themes of Catholic Social Teaching. In summary, they are:

  1. Dignity of the Human Person
  2. Common Good and Community
  3. Option for the Poor
  4. Rights and Responsibilities
  5. Role of Government and Subsidiarity
  6. Economic Justice
  7. Stewardship of God's Creation
  8. Promotion of Peace and Disarmament
  9. Participation
  10. Global Solidarity and Development

All are invited to explore what your priorities are by completing the Core Priorities worksheet prior to the next meeting. We will spend some time discussing this worksheet before proceeding to the next topic.

Session 3 - Developing a Heart for the Suffering and Poor of the World

The third topic night explored how we can develop a heart for the suffering and poor of the world. Following a discussion during dinner around our Core Priorities, all present were invited to identify those that are suffering in the world, both those globally and those locally. One key point is that we are called to give the suffering dignity, but in order to do so, we must recognize our own dignity first. Another point is that there are many people suffering around us in our own local communities that we fail to recognize and assist. All are encouraged to take some time reflecting on who is suffering around them and how best to reach out to them.

Following this, Magda Heywood and Anita Johnson shared insights and experiences from their time abroad. Magda shared about her time in Azerbaijan with the Peace Corps. One lesson she learned is that everybody has a story they are trying to tell us. We need to listen to them and observe what they need. Another key point of her experience was that the poor are individuals, and thus we are called to minister to them in such a way that recognizes this.

Anita spent a quarter in Ghana (as well as some time in South Africa). The experience helped her to appreciate how blessed we are to have an educational system that is well funded (at least compared to Ghana's). She found that although the students in Ghana work really hard, they do not have the resources that we take for granted in the US and other first-world countries. There is hope for Ghana though, as they have peacefully had two transitions of power between political parties as a result of democratic elections.

The question to reflect upon this week is: "How do we respond to suffering?". All are encouraged to take part in the 2-by-2 ministry project, outlined above.

Session 4 - Encountering the Suffering and Poor of the World

The fourth topic night continued looking at the poor and suffering in the world, helping us to identify those in our midst, both near and far, that are poor. Statistics about worldwide poverty, as well as poverty within our own nation, were presented. A discussion was then held, centered around the following two questions:

  1. How do you define poverty? What are the causes of poverty?
  2. Mother Teresa said, "We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty." What did she mean by this, and who are these people?

Maureen Sterk then shared some of the key points she has learned through her many years of service. These echoed some of the points made in previous meetings, including the need to encounter the individual and hear their story, and to move outside of our comfort zone. She shared a poll done by an Evangelical preacher in which people were asked two questions. The first was whether Jesus spent time ministering to the poor. Over 80% of people said yes to this question. The second question was whether the poll respondents spent time with the poor. Of those people that self-identified as being dedicated Christians, only a small percentage of them actually indicated that they spent time with the poor. This serves as another reminder that we are called to live as Christ lived, even when that requires us to reach out beyond where we feel comfortable.

All are invited to explore what our possessions and commitments are by completing the Possessions Inventory and Commitments and Engagements Inventory worksheets.

Session 5 - Possessions and Commitments

The fifth topic night invited us to evaluate our physical possessions as well as our time commitments. In both small group and large group discussion, we identified the items that we were surprised we had so many of when doing the possessions inventory. We also explored how our time commitments are more than just work or school. They include the time we put into maintaining relationships.

After the discussion on possessions and time commitments, Sherman Antao shared how his Lenten sacrifices opened his eyes up to where his money was going. He reminded us of the ten principles of Catholic Social Teaching and invited us to take the difficult but necessary step of analyzing where our money goes on a monthly basis. This should then lead us to ask ourselves if all of those areas of spending are necessary and fulfilling, or if our money could be better directed to other areas.

All are invited to explore what we consume by completing the Consumption Inventory this week. Also, examine your check book register and credit card statements to help you identify where your money goes each month.

Session 6 - Use of Media

The sixth topic night invited us to explore how we use the media and the impact it may have in our lives. Two individuals shared the Lenten sacrifices they had made with respect to the media. Seira, one of our newly baptized members, shared how giving up Facebook during Lent freed up more time for her to spend with her friends in person. The experience also opened her eyes to the reality that much of what is posted on Facebook can tend to be negative in tone.

Nick Porter shared some of the reasons he decided to give up all media during Lent. These included the false sense of understanding it can foster, where we think we understand very complex issues after hearing/reading a brief news report, a greater willingness to accept falsity, such as in advertising, and the amount of time consumed by media in his life. He made the point that many of us are starved for some alone time in our busy lives, but when we get this time, many people have a tendency to fill it with media that does not really bring us life. Through his Lenten journey, he realized that he didn't really miss all that much when fasting from media.

The challenge for this week is to perform a Communications Audit of our lives and then identify one or more forms of media from which to fast. One exercise to help convince yourself of the need to fast is to spend a half an hour or an hour reading scripture, poetry, or some other lofty material, and then ask yourself afterward how it left you feeling. Then spend the same amount of time engaging in your traditional use of the media, such as surfing the internet, and ask yourself the same question. Hopefully this will open your eyes to how the media can not only consume a large amount of time but can also affect your attitudes.

Session 7 - Making Commitments

After having explored through six sessions what we own, what we consume, and the role of various things in our lives, we started to consider what commitments we need to make to live more simply. We started with a discussion of those things that we could not live without. One of the common themes in this discussion was relationships and those items (such as pictures or heirlooms) that remind us of who we are and who we love.

Following this discussion, we had a Jesuit novice who shared his thoughts on living simply. He compared the process we go through when we choose to live more simply to the movements of the liturgy. At Mass, in the Penitential Rite, we first come before God and humbly admit that we have failed to live as God has called us to live. We then open ourselves to hear the Word of God, in which God tells us continually how much He loves us. We then make an offering of ourselves and our possessions at that Presentation of the Gifts, and God in turn offers Himself to us in a most beautiful and sublime way in the Eucharist. When we make a commitment to live simply, we should go through this same process of humble reflection, openness to God's love, generous giving, and then generously receiving from God the fruits of our giving.

A member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps also shared his thoughts. He pointed out that instead of just trying to live simply, we should strive to live intentionally. The distinction is important, as one can live simply on the outside but still be doing it for the wrong reasons. They both pointed out that living simply or intentionally is not so much about changing the world but rather drawing ourselves closer to God. The world may be changed through our efforts, but the first and foremost goal is to live in a way that allows us to be closer to God.

The challenge this week is to use the Commitment Worksheet to make seven commitments based on the inventories and audits we have done through this process.

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