Faith in Action

LAKE HOPATCONG  During Lent, faithful at Our Lady Star of the Sea (OLSS) Parish here had the opportunity to renew their commitment to helping the poor or pledge to get more involved in social justice thanks to a faith-formation series that deepened their understanding of social teachings in Scripture and the Church. This six-week evangelization program, “Faith in Action: Transforming the World,” dovetails with the Morris County faith community’s extensive array of social outreaches and with ongoing observances of the Jubilee Year of Mercy in the universal Church.

Published by Paulist Evangelization Ministries, “Faith in Action” helps participants not only gain a better understanding of Catholic social teaching, but also learn how they can transform their lives and the world. They gather in small groups to read from Scripture, Church documents and essays that reflect on the material and then engage in discussion, ask questions and pray. During Lent, groups meet at OLSS, said Deacon Alberto Totino, who facilitated the sessions.

“The series made us think. There are people out there who have less than we do. In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, it reminded us that we have to get out there to help the poor and immigrants. It gave us a feeling that we have to do more,” said Deacon Totino, who noted that most “Faith in Action” participants are active churchgoers. “We have to have faith and action. We need to work for what we believe in,” he said.

“Faith in Action” also reinforces the message of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which ends in November. Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to seek God’s mercy, while bestowing mercy on others, including through the Spiritual Works of Mercy and Corporal Works of Mercy. During the Holy Year, the parish held a holy hour, Exposition of the Blessed Sac­ra­ment, praying the rosary and Benediction for Divine Mercy Sunday and plans to hold a mission and make a pilgrimage to one of the Holy Doors in the Diocese, Deacon Totino said.

The sessions for “Faith in Action” cover the following topics: human dignity, preferential option for the poor, God’s peaceable kingdom, service and compassion, global solidarity and community, according to the study materials, The second session, “God Sides with the Vulnerable (Preferential Option for the Poor),” begins with prayer and a question for participants to ponder: “Recall and share a memory from childhood about when someone took care of you or stood up for you when you were in need.”

They read Exodus 3: 7-10, where God declares, “The cry of the Israelites has now come to me: I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

Afterward, participants read an interpretive essay that states, “Our God takes sides. It is because God loves everyone equally that he stands up with and for the little guy.” So in Exodus, the Lord gets involved, appearing to Moses in the burring bush and sending plagues upon the Egyptians to help free the Israelites from bondage. God chooses an unlikely leader: Moses, who stuttered and lacked confidence. “Like Moses, we all have limitations” but God picks us to perform His work anyway. Today, God calls us to promote justice for “the unborn, the prisoner, the victim of violence, the undocumented immigrant, the addicted, the senior citizen in a nursing home and more,” the essay declares.

“Pope Francis has called people in these groups and other victims of a ‘throwaway culture.’ The required response to this tragedy, the Holy Father suggests, is to build a ‘culture of encounter,’ ” the essay states. “When we go to the margins of society to build a culture of encounter, we practice what the Catholic Church calls the ‘preferential option for the poor.’ This means that we judge our progress as a society from the bottom up. Our successes is determined by how the poorest and the most vulnerable are faring, not the wealthiest few,” it states.

Then, participants offer their reflection during discussion, followed by prayer. They recite the “Prayer for Faith in Action” that asks God, “Let us feel the joy that springs from serving, the grace that arises from giving and the love that comes from giving to bring Your kingdom to fulfillment in the human family that You redeemed in Jesus and blessed in his Spirit.”

OLSS’ introducing “Faith in Action” grew from the parish’s participating in a faith-formation series about the Eucharist a few years ago, which “people liked.” Mike Dour, OLSS’ evangelization coordinator, learned about the program and suggested it for the parish, Deacon Totino said.

“Faith in Action” has re-inspired OLSS — a parish already involved in social justice. Its ministries include operating a food panty, visiting hospitals and nursing homes, driving people to the doctors or shopping, shopping for shut-ins and offering bereavement counseling. The parish also participates in the Lakeland Association of Churches — a group of local faith communities that joins together for a Hunger Walk, taking turns to shelter the homeless and paying utility bills and other expenses for people, who are struggling financially, said Father Christopher Muldoon, pastor.

“The ‘Faith in Action’ series shows that we need to have an awareness and reach out during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. We have to extend ourselves further. There are more challenges for us to meet,” said Father Muldoon, who noted that OLSS also has been encouraging its Confirmation candidates to get more involved in the parish and in social justice.