JUSTICE JOTTINGS

December 2023

Prayer for Advent -- from the Marianist Family Prayer Book

O God, in ancient Decembers, 

In the narrow corridor at Newgrange,

Ancestors huddled very low, 

Yearning for the solstice sun.

We, too, wait–but for your Son. 

We wait expectantly in the pregnant, holy dark. 

We wait in joyful hope for the advent of our Savior. 

Let the Christ light penetrate into the inner corridors of our hearts. 

Where there is darkness, let there be light.

Where there is coldness, let there be warmth.

Where there is doubt, let there be hope.

Where there is guilt, let there be forgiveness. 

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Happy Advent and Merry Christmas to you from all of us here at MSJC!

MSJC's 25TH ANNIVERSARY

As our 25th anniversary year comes to an end, we here at MSJC would like to thank you all for celebrating with us. It has been a privilege to delve deeper into our history, to remember where we have been, and to celebrate all that we have accomplished over the past quarter century! Here's to our next 25 years!

MSJC REFLECTIONS & RESOURCES

LGBTQ+ INITIATIVE

Hope Gives Us Wings and Strength During this Advent Season - Reflection by Team Member Brad Leger

I was recently invited to share within a small group of Catholic social justice-minded people what Advent means for me. My immediate response was that I see this time of year as one of slowing down as the temperatures begin to fall and the days grow shorter – beckoning us to get home, bundle up, and let the Holy Darkness embrace us. Next, I shared that it is a time for listening and looking for the Christ in and around us, often in hidden or unexpected places. Since that gathering, I have given this some more thought. It deals with a more traditional take on the season of Advent, which is hope.

In all honesty, I have lately been struggling, along with so many other members of the LGBTQ+ community, with staying hopeful that things will get better. Why do I say this? It seems that we’ve been taking more steps backward than forward...

This news is definitely disturbing and overwhelming. Is there any reason to be hopeful? In grappling with this situation, I determined that I needed to turn to some visionary wisdom figures to assist me in getting to the fundamentals: just what is hope anyway, and how can I integrate it into my life? Franciscan theologian and scientist, Sr. Ilia Delio, first helps me calm down and ease into the discussion. As if she is speaking directly to me, she insists, “But we do hope. It is the main impulse of life.” She then skillfully helps me to articulate some of the questions stirring within my own anxious heart: “Why do we awake to a new day anticipating that things will improve? What accounts for the hope which lies within us?”...

[Read more about where Brad is finding hope right now and find resources here!]

RACIAL JUSTICE

A Book Review by Team Member Katy Schunter

My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts was written in 2017 by Resmaa Menakem, a licensed social worker who specializes in trauma. This is a challenging book that asks us to engage in practices to settle the mind and body to work through trauma not only in our own past, but in that of our ancestors as well. Resmaa addresses three audiences of this book: white people, people of color, and police officers, all of whom he believes carry trauma in their bodies.  

While listening to this book I found it inconvenient, yet necessary, to pause and try the practices he recommends. It was very interesting to observe the way my body reacted to different situations he presented. I believe it would have been helpful to have read this book before participating in the Racial Justice Team's Seeing White podcast series as it made me more aware of my body's response to difficult stories and how to more productively use the discomfort.  

I recommend this book to learn tools for those taking on the work of justice. Working for Justice has never been an easy path to take. We need to learn to take care of ourselves in this important work that we do.  

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE

Helping the People Who Risked Their Lives To Help Us -- Reflection by Tony Mercogliano

As we all know the US’s total withdrawal of our presence in Afghanistan in

August of 2021 caused untold hardships for thousands of Afghani citizens who

had supported the US for 20 years in a very hostile environment. As part of our

efforts to mitigate some of these hardships over 65,000 people were provided refugee status and brought to the US for resettlement. I was privileged to be able to help one a young man and his pregnant wife with the logistics of transition from Kabul to Alexandria, VA.

During the process of settling-in to their new home, we became friends and their

“go to guy” with questions about how to solve the many problems they faced in

getting acclimated to life in America.

Early this year, when the US State Department’s WELCOME CORPS Program was announced my friend asked me if I could help by sponsoring his parents to secure refugee status and bringing their parents to the US from Kabul where remain in constant danger of political reprisal for their past support of US Forces. The WELCOME CORPS program has two phases. Phase I recruits, and trains private citizens to sponsor refugees who are currently not residing in the US. Phase II ( or the Matching Program which will permit eligible individuals who have been approved to be a sponsorship group to refer specific refugees overseas to the US Refugee Assistance Program (USRAP). Currently it is anticipated that Phase 2 will launch in late-calendar year 2023. I enrolled in the program and am ready to help these folks gain entry to the US as refugees. (The Program also serves Ukrainian and other refugees from all over the world and from various sources)...

[Read more of Tony's reflection and about the WELCOME CORPS opporutnity here.] Their website can also be found below.

BEYOND MSJC OPPORTUNITIES

Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC) Virtual Advent Retreat

Are you or someone you know in their 20s or 30s? If so, register for Pax Christi's young adult virtual retreat which is happening tomorrow-- Saturday, December 16 from 12 - 3:30pm ET | 11am - 2:30pm CT | 10 AM - 1:30pm MT | 9am - 12:30pm PT.

We will hear from three speakers on the theme of Reform and Renewal from their experience in working for progress within the institutional church, their communities, and globally. We will have opportunities for prayer, quiet reflection, and small group sharing in the spirit of Advent.

Peacemakers in their 20s and 30s are warmly welcome — you do not need to have attended previous Pax Christi events to participate.

"No matter how corrupt the Church may become, it carries within it the seeds of its own regeneration." - Dorothy Day