Social Concerns Column for Sunday, February 5, 2012

Happy those whose help is Jacob’s God, whose hope is in the Lord, their God, the maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. --Psalm 146

Bay Area Social Justice Forum: “People of Hope Agents for Change”, Saturday February 11th, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.
The Forum is sponsored by the Holy Names University and the Oakland Diocese.  The keynote speakers are Fr. Daniel Groody, University of Notre Dame, and Jack Weinstein.  Workshop topics include: Human trafficking, Immigration, Restorative Justice, Water Security, Death Penalty, Affordable Housing, Racism, and more.  Valley Center for the Performing Arts, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd, Oakland.  To carpool, call Joanne Angvick, 443-1422.  To register: www.hnu.edu/SocialJustice

Pope John XXIII on Government:
If any government does not acknowledge the rights of man or violates them, it not only fails in its duty, but its orders completely lack juridical force.  -- Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), Pope John XXIII, 1963, #63, http://tinyurl.com/VaticanPeaceOnEarth

California Bishops Support Life & Family Initiatives: Be Ready to Write Your Representative. 
Our Bishops are supporting two initiatives for the November ballot: (1) parental notification before a minor’s abortion and (2) an end to the use of the death penalty.  Sign up with the Catholic Legislative Network to learn more and to receive alerts when our Bishops need us, the Catholic voters, to write our representatives: http://www.cacatholic.org

Emergency Services in the Tri-Valley
(http://stm-scm.blogspot.com/p/emergency-services-in-tri-valley.html)
We are collecting emergency resource points of contact on our website with links to the many services available in Alameda County.  The Diocese of Oakland’s Office for Life and Justice has many links.  In Alameda County, call 2-1-1 for information and referral to dozens of services with translators available for many languages.
   
Would you like to pursue a social justice project?
The St. Michael Parish Social Concerns Ministry can help you help others!  Call Joanne 443-1422.

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.  --Prov 21:3

Social Concerns Column for Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Lord protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked. The Lord shall reign forever, your God, Zion, through all generations! Hallelujah!  --Psalm 146:2-10

Bay Area Social Justice Forum:
“People of Hope Agents for Change”, 

Saturday February 11th, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.
The Forum is sponsored by the Holy Names University and the Oakland Diocese.  The keynote speakers are Fr. Daniel Groody, University of Notre Dame, and Jack Weinstein.  Workshop topics include: Human trafficking, Immigration, Death Penalty, Affordable Housing, Racism, and more.  Valley Center for the Performing Arts, Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd, Oakland.  To carpool, call Joanne Angvick, 443-1422.  To register: www.hnu.edu/SocialJustice

Post Abortion Healing Retreats for 2012 in East Bay. 
Rachel’s Vineyard is a ministry of Priests for Life, offering retreats throughout the year for healing after  abortion.  For confidential inquiries call Christine, (415) 260-4406, christine4faith@gmail.com, www.rachelsvineyard.org
* 8 Week Healing and Scripture Study Group in Oakland starting early March
* Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat May 18-20

San Francisco Archbishop Protests Deportation that Destroys Families. 
On Saturday, January 28, Archbishop Niederauer and bishops from the Bay Area will call on Gov. Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris to stop the separation of families and to end SCOMM.  SCOMM (“Secure Communities”) is separating families by deporting thousands of people each year in California.

California Bishops Support Life & Family Initiatives:
Be Ready to Write Your Representative. 
Our Bishops are supporting two initiatives for the November ballot: (1) parental notification before a minor’s abortion and (2) an end to the use of the death penalty; both are contrary to central Catholic teachings on human life and family.  These two initiatives bring into sharp focus important moral issues: our society’s mistreatment of nascent life, family life, and sinful or errant life.  Sign up with the Catholic Legislative Network to receive alerts when our Bishops need us, the Catholic voters, to write our representatives: http://www.cacatholic.org

Do you want to act but don’t know where to start?
The St. Michael Parish Social Concerns Ministry has resources for you.  Call Joanne at 443-1422.

Social Concerns Column for Sunday, January 22, 2012

Concern for the poor: Happy those concerned for the lowly and poor; when misfortune strikes, the LORD delivers them.  The LORD keeps and preserves them, makes them happy in the land, and does not betray them to their enemies. --Psalm 41:1-3

Book Review: “Exodus from Hunger”.
In the new book, “Exodus from Hunger: We Are Called to Change the Politics of Hunger,” author David Beckmann argues that we can end world hunger in our lifetime.  Ordinary citizens, especially people of faith, can achieve this by mustering the political will of nations. David combines an optimism born from faith and a down-in-the trenches approach to ending hunger. David is Lutheran pastor, economist, and head of Bread for the World, a Christian organization dedicated to ending hunger.  Learn more at: http://www.exodusfromhunger.org

Catholic Social Teaching: Focus on the Poor and Vulnerable. 
“In teaching us charity, the Gospel instructs us in the preferential respect due to the poor and the special situation they have in society: the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others.”   --#23,  Octogesima Adveniens (A Call to Action) , Pope Paul VI, 1971

Tri-Valley Charities Need Your Time! 
Do you have a New Year’s resolution to do something for the needy of our community?  The following charities need your helping hands:

(1) St. Vincent de Paul: work at food locker or help desk (Rich Mueller, richmca@hotmail.com),

(2) Livermore Homeless Refuge: clean up, set up, drive, staff a shift (Bob and Donna McKenzie, 925-443-7389 or 925-895-4167),

(3) Open Heart Kitchen: prepare and serve hot meals once a month (925-580-6793).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is Blogging.
Our bishops have a blog, and you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  Hear what our bishops have to say on immigration reform, hunger, unemployment, sexual abuse and all the tough issues of our time: http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com

Pray for Life Today

Today marks the 39th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion in our country.  Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) from which this prayer comes, addresses the life issues.  It can be read in full  at www.vatican.va.  In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 shall be observed as a  particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal  guarantee of the right to life and of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.


Would you like to pursue a social justice project?
The St. Michael Parish Social Concerns Ministry would like to help you to help others!  Call Joanne, 443-1422.

Show compassion toward each other: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgment, and show kindness and compassion toward each other. Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the alien or the poor; do not plot evil against one another in your hearts. --Zechariah 7:9-10

Social Concerns Column for Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Lord defends the poor: “Injure not the poor because they are poor, nor crush the needy at the gate; for the LORD will defend their cause…” --Proverbs 22:22-23

Pope to Visit Mexico in 2012.
During his homily on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed he would visit Mexico in 2012.  The pope called upon the people of Latin America to be defenders of human life from the moment of conception until natural death and promoters of peace; they must also safeguard the genuine nature and mission of the family, strengthen schools and help parents prepare their children to be good and upright citizens, promote reconciliation and solidarity, do more to protect the environment and strengthen efforts to overcome poverty, illiteracy and corruption and eradicate all forms of injustice, violence, criminality, citizens' insecurity, drug trafficking and extortion.  -- Catholic News Service, http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1104859.htm

US Bishops Speak Out on Unemployment. 
“Congress should find ways to assure continuation of unemployment benefits,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, chairman of the US Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, in a letter to Congress.  “The US Bishops have long advocated that the most effective way to build a just economy is the availability of decent work at decent wages… When the economy fails to generate sufficient jobs, there is a moral obligation to help protect the life and dignity of unemployed workers and their families.”  Read the letter: http://tinyurl.com/BishopBlaireUnemployment

Catholic Social Teaching: Dignity of Work. 
“Work remains a good thing, not only because it is useful and enjoyable, but also because it expresses and increases the worker's dignity. Through work we not only transform the world, we are transformed ourselves, becoming more a human being." -- On Human Work, Encyclical of Blessed John Paul II, #9, http://tinyurl.com/OnHumanWork

Would you like to pursue a social justice project?
The St. Michael Parish Social Concerns Ministry would like to help you to help others!  Call Joanne, 443-1422.

Discipleship - solidarity with the outcasts of society: The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” -- Luke 15:1-2

Social Concerns Column for Sunday, January 8, 2012

In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. -- Jeremiah 33:15

January 8th – January 14th is National Migration Week.
The U.S. Bishops have made this year’s theme, “Welcoming Christ in the Migrant.”  We have many images from the Bible:  On the road to Emmaus, Christ appeared to the disciples in the guise of a stranger.  The Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod.  Jesus told a prospective disciple, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  Archbishop Gomez states, “We are called to open our hearts and provide hospitality to those in need, especially for migrants who find themselves far away from home and in vulnerable situations.”  Read more at: http://www.usccb.org/news/2011/11-240.cfm

Bishops Speak Out on Immigration. 
In a letter to immigrants dated on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 33 U.S. Hispanic and Latino Bishops expressed their solidarity with and concern for immigrants in the United States, particularly undocumented immigrants.  “We recognize that every human being, authorized or not, is an image of God and therefore possesses infinite value and dignity,” said the Bishops. “We open our arms and hearts to you, and we receive you as members of our Catholic family.”  Acknowledging the challenges of all migrants and the political pressures and misconceptions surrounding the issue, the Bishops renewed their call for comprehensive immigration reform: “Immigrants are a revitalizing force for our country. The lack of a just, humane and effective reform of immigration laws negatively affects the common good of the entire United States.”  Read the letter: http://tinyurl.com/LetterToImmigrants2011

Catholic Social Teaching: Participation.
It is wrong for a person or a group to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to participate in society.  The ultimate injustice is for a person or group to be treated actively or abandoned passively as if they were nonmembers of the human race. To treat people this way is effectively to say they simply do not count as human beings.  -- Catholic Charities Office for Social Justice, http://www.osjspm.org/

Would you like to pursue a social justice project?
The St. Michael Parish Social Concerns Ministry would like to help you to help others!  Call Joanne, 443-1422.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. --Micah 6:8

Social Concerns Column for Sunday, January 1, 2012

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. --Matthew 12:18

Catholic World Day of Peace, January 1, 2012, Focuses on Young People. 
In building a world of peace and justice, the Catholic Church must listen to the ideas and hopes of young people and offer them educational opportunities that will strengthen their ability to work for the common good.  Catholic News Service will cover Pope Benedict XVI’s message: http://www.catholicnews.com

Catholic Social Teaching on Peace and War. 
Peace must be built on the basis of justice in a world where the personal and social consequences of sin are evident. --The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response, pastoral letter from the US Bishops, #56, http://tinyurl.com/TheChallengeofPeace

Bishops Response to Human Trafficking.
As a global institution, the Catholic Church, well positioned to respond to human trafficking, has denounced this horrific crime because it constitutes an offense against human dignity and fundamental human rights. The reality of thousands of our brothers and sisters laboring in modern day slavery compels us to act now to stop human trafficking and to serve the survivors of this crime. “On Human Trafficking” addresses the reality of trafficking, U.S. response to it, Catholic teaching and trafficking, and a call to action: http://www.usccb.org/about/human-trafficking/

Livermore Homeless Refuge Saves Lives, Needs You. 
The Refuge opened November 1st and volunteers are working tirelessly to provide a warm and safe place to sleep for the approximately 100 homeless of Livermore.  To volunteer to clean up, staff a shift, lend a helping hand, please contact: Donna and Bob McKenzie at 443-7389 or cell 895-4167.

Jesuit Priest Inducted into California Hall of Fame. 
Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, was recognized for his work with at-risk and gang-involved youth in Los Angeles with his Homeboy Industries program. Learn more: http://homeboy-industries.org

Would you like to pursue a social justice project?
The St. Michael Parish Social Concerns Ministry would like to help you to help others!  Call Joanne 443-1422.

He won't break a bruised reed. He won't quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory.  --Matthew 12:20