Social justice topic explored at Jubilee Year of Hope retreat
March 11, 2025 at 3:05 p.m.
Shown is the Jubilee Year banner promoting the retreat in St. Anselm Parish, Tinton Falls.Armed with faith and the spiritual tools of Catholic social teaching, members of St. Anselm Parish explored the differences between charity and justice and what they might achieve during this Jubilee year.
Sponsored by the Wayside parish’s Social Justice Ministry and Knights of Columbus Council 816, about 50 people participated in the Feb. 15 mini-retreat, Pilgrims of Hope, which played on the Jubilee Year theme of hope. Father Brian T. Butch, St. Anselm pastor, and members of the music ministry led prayer and song, and statements by Pope Francis on the rights and responsibilities of all figured prominently during the retreat.
Catholic social teaching
“Everyday Justice,” the keynote by St. Anselm’s Deacon Bill Zapcic, explained how God calls every person to action according to their time, talents and treasures. He reaffirmed the seven pillars of Catholic social teaching. Calling them “the big puzzle we know as God’s plan for humankind,” the deacon noted they were replete with action verbs and phrases.
“We are called to weave every one of these pillars into the fabric of our lives, our children’s lives, so they know no way of life other than fairness, justice and God’s peace,” Deacon Zapcic said.
The program booklet for the mini-retreat drew from the “Two Feet of Love in Action” tutorial issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The tutorial examines the benefits of both social justice and charitable acts through conversation, Church doctrine, real-world examples and videos on the seven pillars. Participants discussed what they might do to put the tenets into action in their community, noting that they gleaned valuable information to take forward into their daily lives.
Taking action
“Social justice is in my blood,” said Elizabeth Domigan, a member of the parish Social Justice Ministry. Domigan said she was inspired to join the St. Anselm group after the 2015 papal encyclical “Laudato Si’” and a 2018 New York Times article on climate change entitled, “Thirty years ago, we could have saved the planet.”
Shown are participants during the Feb. 15 retreat in St. Anselm Parish, Wayside. Courtesy photoDue to the success of the mini-retreat, Domigan said, the group will present the USCCB videos on Catholic Social Teaching as part of the parish Friday night Lenten soup and Stations of the Cross program, beginning March 7.
“Many of the things we believe as Catholics are being questioned by the [national] administration,” she said, “and people want to do something.”
Maryrose Little viewed her presence at the mini-retreat as time well spent.
“A lot of people still think the Church has no business getting involved in social justice. In our divided society, there is a lot going on; you can’t turn on your television or computer or phone and not get messages about how people are suffering,” Little said. “We found there was a lot of information at the USCCB about [social justice]. We have to figure out ... how we should proceed.”
The mini-retreat program booklet may be found on the parish website at stanselm.weconnect.com/human-concerns-social-justice.
Related Stories
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
E-Editions
Events
Shown is the Jubilee Year banner promoting the retreat in St. Anselm Parish, Tinton Falls.Armed with faith and the spiritual tools of Catholic social teaching, members of St. Anselm Parish explored the differences between charity and justice and what they might achieve during this Jubilee year.
Sponsored by the Wayside parish’s Social Justice Ministry and Knights of Columbus Council 816, about 50 people participated in the Feb. 15 mini-retreat, Pilgrims of Hope, which played on the Jubilee Year theme of hope. Father Brian T. Butch, St. Anselm pastor, and members of the music ministry led prayer and song, and statements by Pope Francis on the rights and responsibilities of all figured prominently during the retreat.
Catholic social teaching
“Everyday Justice,” the keynote by St. Anselm’s Deacon Bill Zapcic, explained how God calls every person to action according to their time, talents and treasures. He reaffirmed the seven pillars of Catholic social teaching. Calling them “the big puzzle we know as God’s plan for humankind,” the deacon noted they were replete with action verbs and phrases.
“We are called to weave every one of these pillars into the fabric of our lives, our children’s lives, so they know no way of life other than fairness, justice and God’s peace,” Deacon Zapcic said.
The program booklet for the mini-retreat drew from the “Two Feet of Love in Action” tutorial issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The tutorial examines the benefits of both social justice and charitable acts through conversation, Church doctrine, real-world examples and videos on the seven pillars. Participants discussed what they might do to put the tenets into action in their community, noting that they gleaned valuable information to take forward into their daily lives.
Taking action
“Social justice is in my blood,” said Elizabeth Domigan, a member of the parish Social Justice Ministry. Domigan said she was inspired to join the St. Anselm group after the 2015 papal encyclical “Laudato Si’” and a 2018 New York Times article on climate change entitled, “Thirty years ago, we could have saved the planet.”
Shown are participants during the Feb. 15 retreat in St. Anselm Parish, Wayside. Courtesy photoDue to the success of the mini-retreat, Domigan said, the group will present the USCCB videos on Catholic Social Teaching as part of the parish Friday night Lenten soup and Stations of the Cross program, beginning March 7.
“Many of the things we believe as Catholics are being questioned by the [national] administration,” she said, “and people want to do something.”
Maryrose Little viewed her presence at the mini-retreat as time well spent.
“A lot of people still think the Church has no business getting involved in social justice. In our divided society, there is a lot going on; you can’t turn on your television or computer or phone and not get messages about how people are suffering,” Little said. “We found there was a lot of information at the USCCB about [social justice]. We have to figure out ... how we should proceed.”
The mini-retreat program booklet may be found on the parish website at stanselm.weconnect.com/human-concerns-social-justice.