At the Foot of the Cross

by Lucille O’Donnell

This fifth and last season of RENEW 2000 calls us to reflect on the many injustices that afflict ourselves and others within the Body of Christ. Social ministry must be rooted in faith, worship and sacraments. The United States Catholic Bishops in their document, Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish, in November, 1993, stated:

The most important setting for the Church’s social teaching is not in a food pantry or in a legislative committee room, but in prayer and worship, especially gathered around the altar for the Eucharist. It is in the liturgy that we find the fundamental direction, motivation, and strength for social ministry. Social ministry not genuinely rooted in prayer can easily burn itself out. On the other hand, worship that does not reflect the Lord’s call to conversion, service, and justice can become pious ritual and empty of the gospel.

Eucharist is a proclamation of social justice. It is a connection with the cross. Justice flows from it. It was on the cross that Jesus died because he taught a message of justice, which was a challenge to everyone.

As we reflect on the Catholic social teachings and their application, let us first lay our issues at the foot of the cross where Jesus was crucified, knew of the challenges of injustice to the poor and the oppressed, the marginalized and the outsider, the widow and the orphan. Anchored in prayer and in the sacraments and nourished by the Eucharist, we are commissioned to go out with the same gospel message of justice to make Christ present in the world and build a more just community.

Lucille O’Donnell is assistant professor of Occupational Therapy, College of St. Catherine St. Paul, MN.

RENEW 2000 CAN

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Public Access Channel 3 - Bird Island
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