JUSTICE JOTTINGS

November 2025

MSJC EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

We are actively recruiting new volunteers for all of our Justice Teams!

You would be a great fit for MSJC if you:

• Are committed to and have an openness to grow in understanding of the Marianist Charism, Catholic Social Teaching, and antiracism.
• Hope to expand your professional skills, connections with Marianists across North America, and expertise in social justice.
• Can give a few hours each month to advance justice in the Marianist Family, Catholic Church, and beyond.

Read the full volunteer role description and benefits of volunteering below:

Next Steps & How to Get Involved

• Contact us: Email info@marianistsjc.net and let us know which Justice Team interests you. Our staff will schedule a short 1:1 virtual conversation to help you discern how to get involved with MSJC!
• Nominate someone: Know someone who might be interested in volunteering? Fill out our nomination form and we’ll reach out to them.

Upcoming Advent Event!

When: Tuesday, December 9 at 7:30pm ET | 6:30pm CT | 5:30pm MT | 4:30pm PT | 2:30pm HT 


What: Advent is a season of longing and preparation, and LGBTQ+ people and allies know deeply what it means to wait, to hope, and to carry love in unexpected ways. Together, we will walk with Mary as Virgin, Young Mother, and Older Woman and reflect on her heart that longs and trusts, her hands that nurture and act, and her head that holds wisdom shaped by joy and sorrow. Through the lens of LGBTQ+ and allies’ spirituality, we will discover how Mary’s expectant heart continues to guide us in preparing for Christ who comes to dwell with us. Weekly community Advent reflections will accompany this event.

All are welcome! Come as you are, bring your story, and journey with us into the mystery of Advent.

MSJC REFLECTIONS, RESOURCES, & CALLS TO ACTION

RACIAL JUSTICE

Dilexi Te and Racial Justice

Reflection by Team Member Brian Kizer

Last month, Pope Leo published an apostolic exhortation titled Dilexi Te focusing on the Church’s love for the most poor and vulnerable among us. The title, Dilexi Te, is taken from Revelation 3:9 – “I have loved you”- reaffirming Christ’s love for the powerless and marginalized. Looking at Dilexi Te through the lens of racial justice, one key point stands out: poverty is not just material, it can also be social or moral. 

The exhortation affirms that every person bears the image of God, that Christ associates himself with the marginalized. As we have seen far too often, marginalization and exclusion are forms of racial injustice. Dilexi Te explicitly insists on “structures of sin” that maintain poverty and exclusion. History has shown of these “structures” (segregation, discriminatory laws, biases in systems) to be key drivers of racial injustice. In his exhortation, Pope Leo is inviting Christians and the Church to address those structural root causes, not just offer charity. 

We invite you to spend some time with Dilexi Te, and consider: How is racial justice integral to faith? How do our local church communities & ministries walk with those impoverished by racial injustice?

DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Celebrating Advent Through Restorative Living

Reflection By Team Chair Mary Beaudoin

The season of Advent begins in just nine days. During this holy season, we are invited to focus our hearts and minds on the teachings of Jesus through prayer and attentiveness. One way to increase our mindfulness this Advent would be to practice living “restoratively.” Find at practical guide below:

In the blog post you will also learn about specific principles of restorative justice, and how these can be applied to instances of harm in our personal lives and in the criminal legal system. For a graphic outline of ten restorative practices, download 10-Ways-to-Live-Restoratively.pdf.

In this season of joyful anticipation, let’s be busy with acts of reconciliation and peace-building.

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE

Last week, the American Bishops issued a letter about immigration. This is a topic that we hear about every night as we listen to the news coverage of people being picked up and detained by Border Patrol and ICE. If you haven’t had a chance to read the letter, here is a link to the full text:

The Bishops have also put together a video which forcefully outlines some of the disturbing things which are happening everyday in our country in regards to immigration enforcement and detention. 

On the USCCB web site, there is the Cabrini Pledge along with a short video encouraging us to sign this pledge and live out the Gospel message of the inherent dignity of every person no matter where they were born.

TAKE ACTION: The Immigration Justice Team would like to encourage you to click on these links, listen prayerfully to the message they offer, and adopt the Cabrini Pledge into your life. Maybe most important of all, share this information with friends, Catholic community members, and neighbors. 

If you would like to know more about immigration issues, there is lots of information on the USSCB website as well as the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative website. If you would like to know more about Mother Cabrini, host a watch party and watch the movie Cabrini on Amazon Prime, Apple TV or Fandango at Home. 

LGBTQ+ INITIATIVE

Because they believe that silence in the face of harm sides with the oppressor, the parishioners of a Methodist church in Dallas decided to paint the steps of the church in a rainbow in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s directive that all rainbow sidewalks in the state be removed. Read more about their response at the article below:

BEYOND MSJC

The 2025 Advent Reflection Guide: Walking with God from the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns contains reflections, questions, prayers, and actions focused on responding to the needs of immigrants, based on each week’s Gospel reading and the experience of Maryknoll missioners who have lived and worked with marginalized communities around the world.