Justice & Care for Creation

Our World, Our Hope, Our Responsibility!

Mission

The Justice & Care for Creation Ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Rochester seeks to raise awareness and deepen understanding of issues of injustice toward our neighbor and our earth. Having learned and prayed, we move toward loving action, individually and in collaboration with others.

Inspired by Catholic social teaching and in alignment with our SSJ Charism, we strive to:

  • promote peace & nonviolence

  • work for economic justice

  • welcome the stranger

  • respect the human dignity of all

  • seek ecological conversion

How we work:

Election 2024
Uniting Neighbor to Neighbor, a Charism of Unifying Love

This election year has been challenging. We have already seen violence in word and deed. Recognizing that we are all beloved in the eyes of God, we seek to heal the divisions between us. In that spirit, we offer these prayers and practices to help us bridge divides, build peace and choose community over chaos.

First, a Blessing For One Who is Exhausted from John Donahue.

And a Prayer for Unity, to Overcome Division

Christ Jesus,
who gave yourself for the good of all,
we come before you as brothers and sisters
but we are divided
and at times, even hostile--tearing one another down.

We approach the altar unworthily
and ask for your forgiveness.
Move us, instead, towards

Encounter
listening
dialogue
reconciliation, and
a commitment to build your kingdom
for the good of all.

Heal us, restore us,
unite your divided family, Lord.
Through the power of the Eucharist, overcome our divisions.

Give us sincere hearts that make us open, not closed,
and willing to encounter,
ready to listen.
In your broken body, given for all, may we find unity
and peace in you. Amen.

Copyright © 2022, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration for nonprofit educational use, provided such reprints are not sold and include this notice.

“If you choose solidarity, instead of pulling away from those you once suspected, avoided, vilified, or rejected, you see them as neighbors. You smile. You talk. You try to collaborate for the common good in whatever ways you can. When you disagree, as you must, you do so boldly but also graciously, not burning bridges, not breaking solidarity. They may be your opponents for the moment, but you don’t write them off as enemies.”
— Brian Mc Claren

But How? A few resources to help

Detox From the Political Polarization Trap: Starts With Us

Overcome the toxic polarization harming your health, your relationships, and our country’s ability to thrive, starting with one short exercise a day. Each exercise offers an easy (5 minute), intermediate (10 minutes), and advanced (all day) practice to help us become more aware of our own blind spots and more able to engage in constructive conversation. Visit startswith.us

Braver Angels

Braver Angels is leading the nation’s largest cross-partisan, volunteer-led movement to bridge the partisan divide for the good of our democratic republic. Workshops, experiences and a pod cast. Good stuff.

The USCCB’s ‘A Better Kind of Politics: Civilize It’ program has some great resources.

“As Catholics, we take to heart Jesus’ invitation to follow the example of the Good Samaritan, who challenges us to “become neighbors to all” (no. 80). As a Church and a nation, we are polarized and divided. But as Pope Francis writes in Fratelli Tutti, we can seek “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good” (no. 154). We can see ourselves as members of one family. We can seek to encounter and to grow. We can identify common values. We can listen to understand. We can seek the truth together. We can jointly come up with creative solutions to the problems that face our world.”

Just Us         

  • Everyday Peace Retreat

  • Celebrate Laudato Si Week

  • Mother’s Day Proclamation

  • Anti-Gun Violence Webinar

  • Learn & Then, Do!