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JUSTICE JOTTINGS
January 2025
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Open Events: Join MSJC's Steering Committee in San Antonio This Weekend!
MSJC's Steering Committee is in San Antonio for our annual in-person gathering. We’re excited to invite local folks to connect with us during two special “open” events. You’re welcome to attend one or both using the registration link below. We hope to see you!
Saturday, January 18th: Social at Brian Halderman’s -- Join us for a casual social gathering with local Marianists and the MSJC team. Enjoy drinks, snacks, and great conversation!
Monday, January 20th: MLK March -- Walk with MSJC and St. Mary's University in the 38th annual Martin Luther King Jr. March and Celebration. This event honors Dr. King’s legacy of justice and peace.
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2025 Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope
As we enter the Jubilee Year 2025, proclaimed by the Vatican as a special time of grace and renewal, we are reminded of the theme chosen for this Holy Year: "Pilgrims of Hope." This Jubilee calls us to reflect deeply on our shared journey as people of faith, leaning into hope amid the many challenges of our world today. Throughout this sacred year, millions of pilgrims will be drawn to Rome and beyond, engaging in acts of prayer, reconciliation, and service.
At the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative, we are inspired by this call to hope. Justice and solidarity are deeply tied to the spirit of hope—hope for a more just and compassionate world, hope for healing and reconciliation, and hope in the transformative power of community action. This Jubilee Year reminds us that hope is not passive; it is a choice, a commitment, and a guiding light as we work for systemic change.
MSJC will keep this call to hope at the forefront of our efforts throughout 2025 and together we can embody the spirit of "Pilgrims of Hope," renewing our energy to address the pressing needs of our world.
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MSJC REFLECTIONS & RESOURCES | |
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The Immigrant Justice Team appeals to you, our Marianist Family, to act in the spirit of our blessed founders, guided by faith and the Holy Spirit. We urge you to engage in respectful dialogue, listen with compassion, and take action to ensure just treatment for immigrants and their families. Together, we can advocate for lawmakers to reform our immigration system, creating a safe haven where those seeking refuge feel welcome and can contribute to what makes America great.
There are only a few days left to encourage President Biden to continue to expand Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which protects individuals from unsafe return to their home countries, and to strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to live and work here without fear of deportation.
Read the full CALL TO ACTION: Immigrant Justice Team Letter below to discover how Marianist individuals, communities, institutions, and our Church can stand in solidarity with immigrants and refugees during this pivotal time. Look out for updates from our Immigrant Justice Team as this issue evolves in the months ahead.
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Marianist Meatless Mondays
It doesn’t seem that long ago, just Lent last year, that the Integral Ecology Team started this “Marianist Meatless Mondays” project. Because meat, especially beef, production is such a significant contributor to climate change and reducing consumption is a lifestyle change in our control, we tried to make it easy and fun to cook some new things and help the environment, and your health, at the same time. The team hopes that you, your family, and your community have tried some of the recipes in Justice Jottings each month and have reduced your own meat consumption. You can make a real difference without becoming totally vegetarian. Here are the last 5 recipes, bringing the total to 52, one for each week of the year. Of course, you can find many additional vegetarian recipes online and in cookbooks to keep you on this path. Lent is coming up on March 5, so you could continue or start again your Meatless Mondays commitment.
We are organizing the 52 recipes in one spot so they will be more accessible. Look for that link soon!
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A Prince of a Boy: How One Gay Catholic Helped Change the World
The memoir of Brian McNaught, one of the panelists at our recent Imago Dei assembly is now available via the publisher Cascade Books. Brian was one of the original attendees of the conference entitled The Gay Christian in 1974 at Bergamo. He said, "that the first gathering at Bergamo fifty years ago has a prominent place in my book, as you might imagine. It was really the springboard of my life to empowering my faith and my sexuality."
Brian was fired by the church for saying he is gay. The unintended career that resulted ensured the word “gay” would be said with understanding and respect in churches, universities, and corporate offices in Mumbai, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and North America. As a “Prince of a Boy,” Brian is said to have literally saved hundreds of lives and impacted the hearts, minds, and behaviors of millions of others primarily by telling his story with loving kindness. He’s done so through his talks, books, DVDs, columns, radio and TV shows, and podcast. The New York Times labeled him “the godfather of gay diversity training.” He got an unprecedented standing ovation at the NSA. Called a “heretic” by one Catholic columnist and a “saint” by another, he struggled to find home in the Catholic Church and in the LGBTQ community. He publicly gives credit for every good thing he has said or done to inspire, challenge, or heal another’s heart to his friendship with the Holy Spirit.
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Join or Start a Regional MLK March
"Know where you stand and stand there” is an invitation for all of us from Fr. Daniel Berrigan, SJ. For your honoring of the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Day, we invite you to consider organizing your local Marianist community to join in standing and walking in your regional march. For Marianist family members and friends in the San Antonio area, you are invited to march with members of the MSJC Steering Committee. You can register for details and the meeting location for the San Antonio march here. Other regional gatherings are encouraged and you are invited to start the email, text chain or social media invite to organize those in your area. Let's stand together with our local communities!
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BEYOND MSJC OPPORTUNITIES | |
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Join the Northeast Marianist Family Council for a Prayer Experience on January 25
What: Reading the signs of the times: A Journey with our Marianist Founders facilitated by Brother Jesse O'Neill followed by a tasty light lunch. We hope you will join us for this opportunity to
adjust our hearts for the new year!
When: January 25, 2025 10am-12noon followed by a one hour lunch.
Where: In Person at the The Marianist Center (1341 N Delaware Ave UNIT 402 Philadelphia, PA 19125) or join via Zoom (please request when you RSVP).
RSVP: By tomorrow January 18th so we can plan lunch by emailing northeastmarianistfamily@gmail.com or calling/texting Linda Flores Tober at 908-627-2241.
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