1. The Social Mission of the
Catholic Parish and what it could be!
An Introduction

2. The Word of God and Justice
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3. St. Theresa of the Little Flower
"I prefer the monotony of
obscure sacrifice to all
ecstasies. To pick up a pin
for love can convert a soul."
The Little Flower said: "I should
not be happy in heaven if I
was not able to provide little
pleasures on earth for those I
love….I shall spend my
heaven doing good upon
earth."

4. Dorothy Day
“Love in action
is harsh and
dreadful when
compared to
love in
dreams.”
“I really only
love God as
much as I love
the person I
love the least.”

5. Why are we here as a Church and as
individuals?
“What are you doing to bring people closer to
Christ in the Archdiocese of San Antonio?”
Sharing = experiencing Christ
What are we going to do to bring
Christ to the “entire world”?

6. Constitutive Elements of Church
 Scripture -- the Good News

Sacraments -- worship, prayer life, etc.

Social Mission -- action for social justice

7. The Parable of the River
Children
“Without the doing of Justice,
God remains unknown.”
Fr. Fred Kammer

8. The Two Feet of Christian Service

9. Justice: Charity:
(Creating Hope…) (Providing Help…)
Working to address the root causes of Helping people address their present
social issues: situation and attend to immediate needs:
Voting: (Faithful Citizenship, Feeding the Hungry (Food
Voter’s Registration); pantries/ banks; soup kitchens, Meals-on-
Public Policy Advocacy (Public Wheels);
Policy Forum Day, building relationships Sheltering the homeless;
with elected officials); Protecting & Nurturing Children &
Supporting organizations that work for Youth (Foster Care, Adoption, After-
justice (Catholic Relief Services, Catholic school Programs & Sports, Day Camps);
Charities USA, Texas Catholic Conference, Strengthening Families & Resolving
Pax Christi); Crisis (Financial assistance, social
Educating others about issues leading services, counseling, job placement,
them towards action; crisis pregnancy care);
Working with Catholic Supporting the Physically &
Campaign for Human Development and Emotionally Challenged (therapy,
Catholic Relief Services projects (Work substance abuse counseling, adaptive
of Human Hands sales, Fair Trade coffee/ training for the handicapped, supportive
chocolate); services/ housing for disabled)
Asking "why" and "how" Questions Welcoming & Integrating Immigrants &
(investigating causes of poverty & injustice Refugees (work authorization, legal
to address the "root "causes of problems) representation, asylum, information
referral)

10. Catholic Social
Teaching
A Key to Catholic Identity

11. The Problem
Catholics are unfamiliar with the basic content
of Catholic social teaching. More fundamentally,
many Catholics do not adequately understand
that the social mission of the Church is an
essential part of Catholic faith.
This poses a serious challenge for all Catholics,
since it weakens our capacity to be a Church
that is true to the demands of the Gospel.
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions U.S. Bishops, 1998

12. A Key to Catholic Identity
The central message is simple: our faith is
profoundly social. We cannot be called truly
“Catholic” unless we hear and heed the
Church's call to serve those in need and work
for justice and peace.
An example: application of the Archbishops
question to the social order. (Questions)
Communities of Salt and Light, U.S. Bishops, 1993

13. Vatican II’s Ecclesiology
 The Church is a sign and a safeguard
of the dignity of the human person.
 A religious organization whose purpose it is to
help bring about the reign of God in history.
 The social mission is “constitutive”
not extra-curricular or optional.

14. Vatican II
This split between the faith which many profess
and their daily lives deserves to be counted
among the more serious errors of our age.
Long since, the Prophets of the Old Testament
fought vehemently against this scandal and even
more so did Jesus Christ Himself in the New
Testament threaten it with grave punishments.

15. JUST FAITH MINISTRIES – Jack Jezreel
Over 30,000 people have participated in various JustFaith programs in
over 1,500 churches across the country.
JustFaith Ministries provides programs that transform people and
expand their commitment to social ministry.

16. The Opportunity
1. Get organized and make the Church’ social mission an
essential part of your parish community and give it the
attention and financial support it deserves.
2. Begin to build a local community of faith where our social
teaching is central, not fringe; where our social ministry
is not optional; where it is the work of every parishioner
and not just the mission of a few committed people and
committee members.
Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish, U.S. Catholic Bishops

17. CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
IS A MESSAGE
OF HOPE
And Jesus said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the
good news to the whole creation.(Mark 16:15) Alleluia! May the
peace of the risen Christ fill our hearts and world.
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