by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
As we reflect on the Gospel Reading today – the Baptism of our Lord by John the Baptist in the River Jordan (Mark 1:7-11), let us reflect on what our own baptism means to us.
Pope Benedict XVI reminded us on October 24, 2012 that: “The basis of our journey of faith is baptism, the sacrament which ‘gifts’ us the Holy Spirit, making us children of God in Christ, and marks our entry into the community of faith, the Church.”
He told those gathered that the world’s “spiritual desert” must be transformed into “fertile soil” by Christians who live their faith to its fullest. He suggested that Catholics recommit themselves to their baptismal promises as a way of preparing to share the faith. (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com).
If we are to transform society into fertile soil, we must first raise our awareness of what it means to be Catholic. How did we live our baptismal promises in 2014? Could we have done better? I am sure that we all prayed. But prayers must be accompanied by action to build a more caring, loving, peaceful, more just society.
Did we use our God-given talents to serve humanity selflessly? Would Jesus be happy with the way in which we treated our children, the elderly, the poor, the homeless, those living on the margins, the differently abled? Did our leaders use the nation’s resources wisely to build the common good?
Here are some social justice questions on which we should reflect as we move into the New Year. What did I do last year and what can I do this year to:
1. Address the many social ills that insult human dignity and threaten the sanctity of life? (see The Church in the Modern World #27);
2. Support and strengthen marriage and family life and build communities of love in TT?;
3. Build the common good, that is, “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily?” The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of authority (CCC 1906). (See CCC 1907 to 1912 for the essential elements of the common good);
4. Promote human rights, together with their corresponding duties/responsibilities – to one another, to our families, and to society?;
5. Promote justice for the least among us (Matthew 25:34-40) – by becoming advocates for the poor and vulnerable and speaking out when we see that the economy is not working for the people?;
6. Promote the dignity of work and the rights of workers? And while the basic rights of workers must be respected, e.g. the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to be able to organise and join unions, to private property and to economic initiative, workers also have responsibilities/obligations to their employers. As is stated in Luke 3:10-14: “Practice integrity in your work.” (See the US Bishops Document: Economic Justice for All);
7. Care for the environment as good stewards of God’s creation?;
8. Stand in solidarity with others, both locally and internationally, to promote justice and peace? We belong to one human family. Our vocation is to love God and to love our neighbour. Love of neighbour has global dimensions.
As followers of Christ, we are called to be agents of peace and harmony. It was Pope Paul VI who reminded us: “If you want peace, work for justice.” We must pass on the faith by teaching our young ones about the various types of justice for which we must all strive, e.g. commutative justice, distributive/economic justice, and social justice.
The promotion of justice is central to our lives as Christians. As is stated in the Synod of Bishops’ document, Justice in the World (1971) 36:
“The Church has the right, indeed the duty, to proclaim justice on the social, national, and international level, and to denounce instances of injustice, when the fundamental rights of man and his very salvation demand it. The Church, indeed, is not alone responsible for justice in the world; however, she has a proper and specific responsibility which is identified with her mission of giving witness before the world of the need for love and justice contained in the gospel message, a witness to be carried out in Church institutions themselves and in the lives of Christians.”
