Call for Social Justice

Catholic Social Thought and Community Service

If you were asked the question, "Why does Alvernia College require its students to do community service?" how would you respond? What rationale might you offer to explain this tradition to prospective and/or current students on this campus? The following article is an attempt to respond to that very question, a question that goes straight to the heart of who we are as a Catholic, Franciscan institution.

First, a story:
"Late one night the Teacher sat around a blazing fire with a small number of disciples. Their conversation was broken by periods of silence when they gazed at the stars or stared into the glowing embers. Suddenly the Teacher posed a question: "How can we know when the night has ended and the day has begun?"
A young man answered, "You know the night is over when you can look off in the distance and tell which animal is a dog and which is a sheep. Is that the right answer, Teacher?"
"It is a good answer," the Teacher said slowly, "but it isn't quite the answer I would give."
A second disciple ventured a guess. "You know the night is over when the light falls on the leaves and you can tell whether it is an olive tree or a fig tree," she said.
Once again the Teacher shook his head. "That was a fine answer; still, it is not the answer I seek," he said gently.

Immediately the disciples began to argue with one another. Finally, one of them begged the Teacher, "Answer your own question, Teacher, for we cannot think of another response."
The Teacher looked intently at the eager faces before he spoke. "When you look into the eyes of another human being and see a brother or a sister, you will know it is morning. If you cannot see a brother or a sister, you will know that no matter what time it is, for you it will always be night. And you will always be in the dark."

The story begs a question: how well do we see? I'm not talking about physical sight here, but rather, perception, the eye of the mind and the heart. There are moments in my life, and perhaps in yours as well, when I just can't see for looking. The object I am searching for is right in front of me, yet I don't see it. Or I fail to notice the deep sadness behind a classmate or colleagues' smile. The old adage is true: Sometimes we just can't see the forest for the trees. At issue here is the quality of our perceiving, our ability, or inability as it were, to see what is necessary, true; what is really real at the heart of this venture we call life.

An education in the Catholic, Franciscan tradition has as much to do with learning how to perceive with the mind and the heart as it does with acquiring knowledge and learning new skills. Students at Alvernia, through academic training, campus activities, and community service opportunities are challenged to look deeply into the heart of each new experience and to discover realities, connections and truths that they otherwise might have missed. Each new discovery brings one to a new dawn of understanding, clarity of vision, and fresh eyes to perceive anew the world and our role in it. Francis of Assisi, the patron of this college and one of the great Christian visionaries of his day, and perhaps of all time, came to see in the whole of creation the handiwork of a gracious and loving God.

Francis could also find beauty and light in experiences that were less than appealing. His life-transforming encounter with a leper is a good illustration of this.

"Francis remembered the first victory of his new heart. All his life long he had panicked when he met a person with leprosy. An then one day on the road below Assisi, he did one of those surprising things that only the power of Jesus' Spirit could explain. He reached out and touched such a one, the very sight of whom nauseated him. He felt his knees playing tricks on him and he was afraid he would not make it to the leper standing humbly before him. The odor of rotting flesh attacked all his senses as if he were smelling with his eyes and ears as well. Tears began to slide down his cheeks because he thought he wouldn't be able to do it; and as he began to lose his composure, he had to literally leap at the man before him. Trembling, he threw his arms around the leper's neck and kissed his cheek. Then, like the feeling he remembered when he first began to walk, he was happy and confident; he stood erect and calm and embraced the man in his arms. He wanted to hold him tighter but that would only be to satisfy himself now; and he was afraid to lose his new found freedom. He dropped his arms and smiled, and the ma's eyes twinkled back their recognition that Francis had received more than he had given. In the silence of their gazing, neither man dropped his eyes, and Francis marveled that a leper's eyes were hypnotically beautiful."

~ From Francis: The Journey and the Dream ~

Experience is the stuff of life. And every experience either emits light or casts a shadow over our lives. Some experiences dim the light within us and diminish our humanity. Other experiences bath our lives in the light of understanding, yield new insight, and enlarge our capacity for goodness, compassion, and love. This was certainly the case with Francis and the leper. In the light of one courageous and kindly act of charity a new understanding was born and both men could recognize in each other's eyes, a beloved brother. No one can hide from experience, yet, we can choose certain experiences in the hope that they will illumine our lives and bring a greater measure of light and life to the world. This is the value of service.

The Catholic Social Condition

Alvernia's Community Service Program is situated within the larger context of The Catholic Social Tradition. This long and rich tradition of moral reflection, service to the poor, and action for peace and justice examines the key social, political, economic and cultural issues of each age in the light of faith. Beginning with the Hebrew Scriptures; through Jesus in the Gospels; in the writings of early church leaders; in the teachings of popes and councils; through movements of lay people and religious orders; and in the exemplary witness of individuals such as Francis and Clare of Assisi; St. Vincent DePaul; Popes Leo XIII and John XXIII, Mother Cabrini, Dorothy Day, Franz Jagerstater, Thomas Merton, Archbishop Romero, Pope John Paul II, and a host of others. The Church through its social mission (doctrine and deeds), has attempted to fan into flame the hope that the Gospel enkindles in each human heart, for life, justice, freedom, and peace. It does so in a world that is often heartless in its treatment of the weakest and most vulnerable in society. In so doing, the Church follows the lead of the Lord Jesus, who inaugurated his own ministry in Galilee drawing on the hope-filled vision of restored life from the prophet Isaiah.

Throughout its two-thousand-year history the Church has continued the mission of Jesus. It has stood in solidarity with the suffering poor as they cry out for recognition of their God-given dignity. It has been a staunch promoter of basic human rights for all people.

Why do we need such a tradition? It is needed largely because the vision and values that governs our world are at great odds with the Gospel. Cultural and personal factors obscure our vision when it comes to the needs of the poor and the root causes of poverty, violence, racism, war and all of the other social maladies that reek havoc with the human family. Sometimes there are people who would prefer that we not know the true underlying causes of these problems. They benefit, sometimes politically, more often economically from the perpetuation of dehumanizing conditions, which ultimately destroy people, families, and whole communities. Regarding his work with the poor in Brazil, the late archbishop Dom Helder Camara once said: "When I feed the poor, they call me a saint; when I ask WHY they are poor, they call me a communist." There are those who would keep us in the dark lest their insidious deeds be exposed. So people like Dom Helder, who ask the probing, critical questions are vilified. This is also true of the Church when it stands with the poor and oppressed, when it questions and challenges unjust policies, structures, and systems.

The Catholic Social Tradition is ever evolving in the light of faith and constitutes a social wisdom. It draws its life and inspiration from the Hebrew and Christian scriptures and develops in response to the needs of each succeeding era. At the heart of this tradition is the biblical call to justice.

"What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings? Will the Lord be pleased if I bring thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer God my first-born child to pay for my sins? No, the Lord has told us what is good. What God requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God." ~ Micah 6:6-8 ~

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." (Mt. 5:43-44)

It is justice, therefore, with its emphasis on right relationship, which restores a sense of harmony and peace in life, which the Jew's call shalom. This peace requires diligent effort to build, and constant vigilance to maintain. It is the fruit of justice. Pope Paul VI (d. 1978), a modern pope with a real passion for justice, once coined a phrase, which distills Catholic thinking on peace to a key insight: "If you seek peace, work for justice."

Modern Catholic Social Teaching

Whereas the Catholic Social Tradition stretches far back in antiquity, Modern Catholic Social Teaching is a relatively new phenomenon. In a nutshell it is the Catholic Church's developed body of teaching on social economic, political, and cultural matters that began with Pope Leo XIII's encyclical letter of 1891, "On the Condition of Workers" (Latin = Rerum Novarum). Additionally, letters and synods of bishops, ecumenical councils such as Vatican II from 1962-65, and papal pronouncements on issues of social justice and peace all contribute to this growing body of doctrine. Over the past one hundred years or so, certain basic principles have crystallized in the mind of the Church that now constitute what for the sake of clarity, we can refer to as the "Wheel of Justice." The hub around which the wheel revolves is the dignity of the human person. And from this center radiates a light that illumines and informs all of the other principles. These include:

The Principle of the Dignity of the Human Person

"Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family." (Sharing the Light of Faith, p. 1).

The Principle of Respect for Human Life

"Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity (worth & value) and a right to life consistent with that dignity." (Sharing the Light of Faith, pp. 1-2).

The Principle of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation

"In a global culture driven by excessive individualism, our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but social.... The family is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined ... We believe people have a right and duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all." (Sharing, pp. 4-5).

The Principle of Rights and Responsibilities

"The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met." (Sharing, p. 5).

The Principle of the Common Good

"The common good includes the social conditions that permit people to reach their full human potential and to realize their human dignity. The common good includes respect for the person, the social well-being and development of the group, and peace and security. The universal common good requires international structures that can promote universal human development." (Sharing, p. 25).

The Principle of the Preferential Option and Love for the Poor and Vulnerable

"The most basic human test answers this question: How are our most vulnerable members doing? The poor and vulnerable are our brothers and sisters, deserving of respect, the protection of their rights, and the ability to participate and to share in God's good creation."

The Principle of the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

"The economy must serve the people, not the other way around. Work helps us to make a living and to participate in God's creation. The dignity of work is safeguarded when workers' rights are respected."

The Principle of Solidarity

"Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, wherever they live...Loving our neighbor' has global dimensions in an interdependent world." (Sharing, p. 5).

The Principle of Stewardship: Care for God's Creation

"We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God's creation" (Sharing, p.6).

These principles recur throughout the social teachings and weave their way through the church's ongoing engagement with the world today. They provide an intellectual framework within which the issues of the day can be scrutinized in the light of both scripture and tradition. The principles provide a framework for reflection, criteria for judgment and guidelines for action.

Updated: September 7, 2005

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