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Jesus came that we might "have life and have it to the full." What are Gospel keys to happiness? The Mission of Jesus, which the Catholic Church professes and espouses, challenges us to think and act differently. We see in our Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church that the Parables of Jesus, Beatitudes, Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, the Law of Love (Greatest Commandment) all help outline Jesus' plan for ways to happiness and life with God in the proclamation of - the "making present" dimensions of - the Kingdom of God!
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is just that - Catholic - it applies to the whole Church. It's Social - it's relational - and is a way to live out our lives in relationship with God and others - a way to express the reality that we are "made in the image and likeness of God." And it's Teaching - in that it is part of the official Magisterial Teaching of the Catholic Church.
CST stems from and is an outgrowth of the teachings of Jesus centered around the Greatest Commandment - Love of God and Love of Neighbor. This is our challenge! This is our faith! And, our faith is a dynamic, living thing. It is alive - fueled by the Living Spirit of our God, the Scriptures and the rich Tradition of the Church.
Our understanding of how to live out the Gospel of Jesus evolves as we grow and encounter God-moments and other experiences in our lives. The Catholic Church provides a wonderful framework - a body of teachings from Scripture and the Tradition of the Church that help us unfold the Mystery of life with our God - in relationship - in and through Jesus, the Christ, guided and gifted by the Holy Spirit, joined together with the community of believers, inspired by the Pope and his successors, to "carry on" - to move forward and transform our world to Christ!
At its core, Catholic Social Teaching is Christianity 101 - yet it challenges us daily to enter into the conversion we are invited to as we live out the Gospel of Jesus in our daily lives as individuals and as members of institutions and societies.
(On Mobile Devices - cell phones, tablets, IPads, etc.-, it's best to view these pages in "Landscape" mode. To download most of the files or handouts - either right click on them and save them, or click on them and open them, then save them.)
Note - Some videos take a bit longer than others to load.
CST - Official Church Documents and Links
CST Resources - Articles/Handouts for Catechetical Leaders and Others
Some helpful resources for Catechetical Leaders, Catechists and Parents.
| Document Title and Link | Description |
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30 Scripture and CST |
Basic Biblical themes that are foundational to CST |
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31 Social Justice in the Bible |
A great article on Social Justice in the Bible by Dominik Markl, S.J. - sectioned off - which lends itself to good discussions with groups. Discussion Questions are also provided in the separate file. (These discussion questions are designed for high school/college/adults. |
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32 Some Biblical References (text citations) for CST |
A handout of some biblical text references that help illustrate CST themes. |
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33 7 Themes of Catholic Social Teaching (U.S.C.C.B.) |
This is a bit older than the current presentation on the USCCB site - but it lends itself more to be used as a handout (the current version is more web-oriented - and harder to format for a handout). This version is substantially the same as the current version in its content. |
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34 Spirituality and Worldview Spirituality and Social Justice - A Dominican sense of "Veritas," Perception, and our Worldview along with implications for CSThttps://vimeo.com/668969924 Systems Thinking -a way to begin to understand the breadth and depth of the complexity of our realities. Metacognition. https://vimeo.com/668972410 |
These are two video presentations that were designed for upperclassmen at Molloy College for a "Spirituality and Social Justice" course. They help provide background to the reality of Truth, Perception, Spirituality, Worldview - as well as explore thought on the various systems in which we find ourselves in life. All these realities influence how we come to view Spirituality and Social Justice in the Catholic Christian Tradition.The first video explores the Truth from the lens of Dominican Spirituality. The second video helps viewers think about the way they think about things. Hopefully, these tools will help viewers broaden their perspectives so as to be further invited to enter the Gospel proclamation of the Kingdom of God. |
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35 Social Science Connections |
We can gain insights from the social sciences - part of the work of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and others in the field of psychology, sociology and anthropology can help provide insights into our own worldview, spirituality and our perspectives about life and our individual and corporate/communal realities. Help |
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36 Dorothy Day https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116212/ Two Feet of Justice - Works of Charity/Service + Works of Justice (handout) SJ-Two Feet of Service and Justice.pdf |
A great movie about the life story of Servant of God, Dorothy Day, who underwent conversion and became a devoted, faithful Catholic who dedicated her life to living out the Gospel. She co-founded the "Catholic Worker" movement, and often "spoke truth to power." (The movie is available on different internet platforms for rent or purchase.)The handout helps illustrate, in part, the mission fo the Catholic Worker Movement by using an image of two shoes - we need both shoes to walk properly as disciples of Jesus. If we only wear one shoe, it's more difficult to walk. |
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37 St. Mary's Press Resources |
St. Mary's Press has many great online catechetical resources for many areas of Catholic theology and spirituality, including Catholic Social Teaching. If you're not a member there already, sign up (it's free for church leaders). Once you create an account, go to the site - and you will find many resources for teachers there (handouts, activities, resource sheets, etc.). Do a search for "catholic social teaching" or "social justice" - and you'll find a plethora of resources you can use in the classroom. |
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38 Social Analysis Tool |
This is a great tool created by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul, to help explore the complexity of any social justice issue. Place the social justice issue in the "middle" of this chart (like, for instance, racism) - then intellectually explore all the realities around that issue (anecdotally and historically) that help inform/influence the reality of the social injustice. This helps us broaden our thinking - to include the realities of those complexities surrounding an issue. |
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39 Perception (Images) |
A useful handout that helps people understand that, even though for most people, their perception is their reality, oftentimes, our perceptions are inadequate, incomplete, and maybe even wrong! The truth is the truth. So - basic questions remain: Do any of my perceptions need to be affirmed by the Truth of the Gospel? Do any of them need to be challenged/changed, or, even, disbanded to make more room for the vision of Jesus and the Church for ourselves and societies? Most of the parables of Jesus challenge us to perceive things differently - through the lens of faith in God and the Law of Love. |
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40 Cesar Chavez |
A great article about Catholic Social Justice advocate, Cesar Chavez (migrant farmers) from "America" magazine, 2012. The second file is discussion questions developed around the article. |
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41 The Good Life from a Catholic Perspective: The Challenge of Consumption |
A challenging article from Msgr. Charles Murphy that appeared on the USCCB site a while back. It asks us to think differently about how we view consumerism in our society - that is, from the lens of the Gospel. |
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42 Martin Luther King, Jr. - A Letter from a Birmingham Jail Letter from a Birmingham jail part 1.pdf |
The hallmark letter from Martin Luther King, Jr. from when he was imprisoned in Birmingham. For classroom purposes, the letter is broken down into 7 sections so that group work may happen. Suggestion: Break larger group into 7 sections. Assign 1 section to each group 1 week, then the following week, assign the discussion questions to each group. The group will need to be familiar with the 7 themes of CST (which also appears here for convenience) so that people can "connect the dots" between MLK, Jr.'s letter and CST. |
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43 |
This handout is a good resource for catechetical leaders and others who wish to begin making connections between some of our Catholic Christian belief statements, theological and faith themes, and Catholic Social Teaching. The third column on the chart is a response vehicle where participants are invited to draw connections between the belief statements, theological and faith themes, and CST. It invites reflection on CST principles.
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44 Equality/Equity
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A helpful image to engage a conversation on the similarities and differences between Equality, Equity, Reality, and Liberation (respectively, from left to right on two rows)Right click to download. |
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61 Candle Gif Image |
Images can help us "see" something - A simple mage to use with students to help illustrate the axiom: "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." It connects with the biblical message in Matthew (5:15).Right click to download. |
