JUSTICE JOTTINGS
January 2021
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ATTACK ON AMERICA
How Do We Respond
The past week has been a very difficult one in our country. Fear, anger, a sense of “how can this happen in the USA” are emotions that most of us have experienced. Much has been written and spoken about how to respond. Here are a couple resources that you may find helpful.
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- A prayer from the Sisters of St. Francis:
God of all,
IGNITE us with the fire of your love.
ENFLAME our hearts with courage to embrace dialogue that transforms and truth that frees.
KINDLE our love with kindness to heal divisions and reconcile relationships.
LIGHT our imaginations with insight to envision and create a world where all are one.
STIR our actions with justice and peace to engage critical concerns and cherish all of life.
FIRE our lives with audacity and hope to risk all for God’s mission.
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Another Way to Respond - Join Us for Prayer on Saturday |
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The MSJC Steering Committee invites you to join us for the opening prayer of our annual meeting.
THEME: “Marianist Family United in Prayer for Racial Justice”
WHEN: Sat., Jan. 16
11:00am-11:15am CST
12:00pm-12:15pm EST
HOW: via Zoom. Link will be sent after you RSVP
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UPCOMING ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING & GROWING |
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3 Seeing White Podcast Discussion Series Begin Next Week
Over the summer and early fall, the MSJC Racial Justice Team partnered with the Adele Social Justice Project to offer a series of conversations/reflections on the podcast series "Seeing White." The conversations were challenging and motivating.
Starting next week, we will offer another round of conversations at three separate times. A flyer is available here. Please consider joining us.
Am I My Brother's Keeper?
WHAT: 2-night event on the racialization of America (attend one or both)
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 21, 7:00 - 9:00pm (CST) - The Racialization of America
Thursday, Jan. 28, 7:00 - 9:00pm (CST) - History of Housing
...............segregation, especially in St. Louis
INFO: Click here for more information and to register.
Ministry to Trans People (for priests)
A 3-part series for priests focused on ministry to trans persons and on understanding the experience of trans persons. Jan. 27, Feb. 24, Mar. 16; 1:00-2:15 pm (Eastern Time) Click here for more information and to register.
2021 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering
WHAT: “Make Justice Your Aim: Rebuilding Together”
WHEN: February 6-9, 2021 Application deadline is January 19, 2021.
Scholarships are available to cover a portion of the registration fee.
MEEC Virtual Mini-Retreat - A Spirituality for Creation Storytellers
WHEN: Sat. February 13; 1 - 4:30 (Eastern Time)
Enjoy rejuvenating time reflecting in nature’s winter wisdom. An interactive presentation by Teilhard de Chardin expert, Dr. Laurie Eloe (U. of Dayton Religious Studies), will invite you to become part of the creation story Chardin tells that inspired Thomas Berry’s Great Work and Pope Francis in Laudato Si.
Includes prayer, input, optional sharing and dialogue, time for personal reflection and ways to observe and pray with nature in winter presented by Marianist Environmental Education Center staff. You’ll receive resources to nurture your journey in the upcoming Lenten season. For more information and to register Click here.
Another Name for Every Thing – Join the Discussion
WHAT: Join the Adele Social Justice Project this Lent for a 7-week series of prayer, reflections and conversations about the podcast series, "Another Name for Every Thing."
WHEN:The series will begin the week of Ash Wednesday and will conclude the week before Easter.
PROCESS: Each week participants will listen individually to 2 episodes of "Another Name for Every Thing" - a podcast series based on Richard Rohr's book "The Universal Christ". The group will engage in weekly one-hour conversations and reflections via Zoom about the connections between action & contemplation.
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DEATH PENALTY & RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
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As We Forgive Those Who Trespass against Us
Mary Beaudoin, chair of the Death Penalty Abolition/Restorative Justice Team, reflects on the challenge of forgiving others, and the ways that a restorative justice approach can help.
Each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” What does forgiveness look like and how do we arrive there? What difference does forgiveness make for those who have harmed others? What difference does forgiveness make for those who have been harmed?
Recently I have been looking at harm and forgiveness through a new lens, that of restorative justice. I recall many times in my life when I have been harmed and the variety of ways in which I have responded to those harms - striking back, silent suffering, passive aggressiveness, harming others, “offering it up.” I also recall times in my life when I have caused harm and then experienced remorse. What followed would often be a helpless, awkward feeling of not knowing how to make up for what I had said or not said, done or not done. I wanted to take responsibility for what I had done and somehow work to repair the relationship.
Then I consider the serious harms that people suffer, including when a loved one is killed. I ponder the ways that victims of such harms process their feelings of anger, rage, and depression. There are certainly many unanswered questions and a desire to find peace. I also consider the perspective of those who cause serious harm and the feelings that they experience once they begin to face the magnitude of the harm they caused. How do they process their feelings of remorse and perhaps self-hatred? How can they begin to take responsibility for their actions and work to restore relationships? (Read more…)
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Death Penalty Hits Historic Lows in 2020 Despite Federal Execution Spree
In a year unlike any other that featured the combination of court shutdowns from the worst pandemic in more than a century, a national reawakening on racial justice issues, and historically aberrant behavior by the federal government, executions and death sentences in the United States fell to historic lows. The deep decline in death sentences and state executions was unquestionably a by-product of the pandemic, but even before the pandemic struck, the nation was on pace for the sixth straight year of near-record low sentences and executions. Read “The Death Penalty in 2020: Year End Report.”
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ENVIRONMENT
Remembering Bro. Don Geiger SM - Scientist, Environmentalist, Teacher & Justice Advocate.
Bro. Don, U. of Dayton Professor Emeritus who began prairie and woodland restoration at Mt. St. John in Dayton in 1986 and founded the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) in 1992, died on December 29.
Click here for tributes, the Livestream of his January 9th funeral, and texts of the Words of Remembrance delivered by Sr. Leanne Jablonski FMI, MEEC Director, and the Homily of Fr. Chris Wittmann SM.
MEEC will host a sharing of memories on Bro. Don's birthday, Sat. Feb. 27, beginning at 2:00pm (Eastern Tme). Email [email protected] to receive the zoom link and/or or share your own memories (words and images) of Don. Memorial donations can be made to the Bro. Don Geiger SM Memorial Intern fund.
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LGBT INITIATIVE
Plague – Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church
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Beth Garascia, a member of the LGBT Initiative Team, shares a reflection about a podcast series from America magazine called Plague – Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church. The podcasts feature stories of heroic Catholics who overcame their fear of the disease at a time when many were reluctant to be in the presence of people with AIDS much less to touch them for fear of catching it. Beth’s reflection was originally shared in the Feb. 2020 issue of Justice Jottings, but we are reprinting it because the podcast has received such widespread acclaim. Check it out.
Sr. Carol Baltosiewich, a Franciscan sister who was working as a home health care nurse in the 1980’s, was assigned to drive from Belleville, IL, to rural Randolph County near St. Louis to visit a patient. She hadn’t been given much information about him and wondered why her boss had sent her on an hour-long journey for a home visit. Her response to the person she found in his childhood home at the end of her journey and his health situation would change the trajectory of her life.
The patient had moved home from New York where he’d danced with the Joffrey City Ballet, so he’d been an athletic, healthy man not too long before Sr. Carol met him. Now he was wasting away. As a former ICU nurse, she expected herself to solve health problems. She helped his parents fill out insurance forms, find doctors who would see him, and navigate the health care system.
Other than that, there wasn’t much Sr. Carol could do. The young man, whom she’d later find out was suffering from AIDS, died of AIDS less than six weeks after she met him. (Read more…)
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PULSE
Marianist PULSE is accepting applications for our 2021-20122 year of service. Young adults interested in *solidarity,
-------------- *intentional community living,
--- --------- -*and full-time non-profit service, partnered with spiritual and professional development as servant leaders through the Marianist Charism, are strongly encouraged to apply!
Click here for more information. We are confident the needs of our communities will only continue to grow in the midst of the pandemic. Please invite young adults you know--Rafa Lopez (above) adapted his service
to share their time and talent!=====------------placement to provide free meals to------------------ ------------------------------- ------------- - hungry guests during the pandemic.
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What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.
Anne Franke
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Many of you probably recently received a $600 stimulus check from the government. If you don't need it for necessities, consider donating it to MSJC.
Questions, comments, or feedback for Justice Jottings can be sent to Jim Vogt
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