KCP - Catholic Diocese of Broome

This year’s Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Social Justice Sunday Statement is titled “Jesus, Light for the World – Living the Gospel Today”.

Based on Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus, the Statement considers our calling to bring the light of Christ to the world. When Jesus cures the sick woman (Lk 8:40-56) he shines a light on the treatment of the marginalised and dispossessed. As he approaches death his closing words to his disciples are to care for the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger (Mt 25:31-46). Our Lord offers a
spirituality for living out justice when he says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3).

There are many situations of injustice that we come across in our everyday lives. And there are numerous ways in which we are and can be the light of Christ in our world.

Among other things, the Social Justice Sunday Statement highlights the amount of wealth and possessions we waste in a world where poverty affects billions of people. A life of affluence can mean a culture of waste – it can also mean a culture of busyness in which the important things in life are neglected as we work longer and harder.

As a people vitally concerned about the reign of God we are called to stretch our love to embrace the hungry and needy on every part of the globe, and to every aspect of our lives. In this 40th anniversary year of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, we are reminded that “Christians can have nothing more at heart than to be of ever more effective and generous service to humanity in the modern world”. And in this Year of the Eucharist, we recall how our communion in God involves communion in each other since it is the one Bread and the one Cup we are invited to share.

We build God’s kingdom through our prayer and worship, in our actions for justice, advocacy for the poor, care for the earth, our encouragement of our brothers and sisters, and our rejection of pessimism. We are called to bring Christ’s light to people in need and to celebrate the hopes and joys of all.