A few years after priestly ordination, a classmate from Our Lady of Providence Seminary and also from St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester suggested that all my Sunday sermons were the same: Social Justice through the Liturgy. Now remember this was the 1960s and 70s. Caesar Chavez and the Grape Boycott were in full swing. Sister Corita Kent was about to paint her rainbow swash on Boston’s Gas Tank. Fr. Henry Shelton began his community action center on Prairie Avenue. The Sisters of Mercy were opening McAuley House and Sr. Eileen Murphy was founding Amos House. Even Bishop McVinney took a public stand against banks who red-lined certain neighborhoods. Social justice, good works, charitable endeavors, and community organizing were the topics of the day.
Of course, good works were nothing new to Christianity in its long history. In this coming Sunday’s Gospel passage St. John the Baptist instructs his hearers that the proof of their spiritual authenticity is the extent of their good works. ““Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise,” he tells the inquiring crowds. “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed,” he instructs the earnest tax-collectors. And to the soldiers, John insists, ““Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” When John the Baptist in prison later asked for a confirmation of Jesus’ ministry, the Master justified his work by a listing of good deeds: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”
St. Paul in the second reading at Mass this Sunday very broadly advises the Church at Philippi on the need for good works: “Your kindness should be known to all.” And the brief Alleluia verse from Isaiah this Sunday reminds worshipers that the Jewish people clearly anticipated a Messiah who would make the needy his top priority: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.”
The believing Church of course would continue the tradition of good works toward the larger community certainly through worship and religious instruction but also through hands-on guidance especially in farming and agriculture. The Benedictine monks from their monasteries greatly civilized Europe. To this day, St. Vincent DePaul and his Daughters of Charity are the very emblems of productive charity toward the poor. Most recently, of course, Mother Theresa of Calcutta and her Missionaries of Charity reminded the world once again that charity is characteristic of authentic Christianity. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, the president of India testified, “Clad in a white sari with a blue border, she and the sisters of Missionaries of Charity became a symbol of hope to many—namely, the aged, the destitute, the unemployed, the diseased, the terminally ill, and those abandoned by their families.”
Today the practicing Catholic attends Mass regularly, perhaps arriving early for a few private devotions. Maybe the Rosary or a portion of the Office is regularly prayed at the parish church. Fellow worshippers will join in the hymns and responses; bread and wine will be brought to the altar; a sign of peace will be exchanged; the Eucharistic Lord will be piously received; a comment might be made to the pastor on his sermon as faithful go on their way. The interior life of every believer will hopefully be enriched by this and other parish and diocesan religious experiences. But it is equally hoped that this Eucharistic encounter with the Lord will bear fruit, as it has for centuries, in reaching out toward the larger community, believing and unbelieving, in efforts certainly toward charity but also toward justice.
While individual acts of charity are commendable and sometimes vital (food, clothing, shelter), community efforts toward justice (living wages, affordable housing, broader healthcare) are also a clear and compelling duty for all believers. The Second Vatican Council could not have been clearer in its instruction that the transformation of civilization into a just society is the special duty of the lay believing community. A dollar bill to the homeless chap waiting at the red light does not exhaust a Christian’s duties. Active involvement in the broader community for the benefit of all is truly binding on all people who break bread together at the altar.
