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Holy Spirit, Guide Us to Restore Justice

In the “REWEW Prayer” by Renew International appearing in parish missalettes across the land, are found these words:
“Send your Holy Spirit enabling us
to recreate our world
and restore justice.”

A task that the Holy Spirit enjoins upon the Church, and we are that Church, is to restore justice. Justice demands that we recognize and respect the dignity and rights of all. As a Church, our official policy is to work toward social justice---justice within the systems of government, the economic powers of business, and the structures of social organizations. If these structures are unjust, the individual’s rights and dignity suffer. In 1971, the third International Synod of Bishops met in Rome to discuss the issue of justice in the world. In a statement to the world, the bishops stated that the work toward justice is not something extra the Church undertakes in the world, but rather that this work is on the same footing as celebrating the sacraments and preaching the word of God.

Holy Spirit, Guide Us to Restore Justice

In the “REWEW Prayer” by Renew International appearing in parish missalettes across the land, are found these words:
“Send your Holy Spirit enabling us
to recreate our world
and restore justice.”

A task that the Holy Spirit enjoins upon the Church, and we are that Church, is to restore justice. Justice demands that we recognize and respect the dignity and rights of all. As a Church, our official policy is to work toward social justice---justice within the systems of government, the economic powers of business, and the structures of social organizations. If these structures are unjust, the individual’s rights and dignity suffer. In 1971, the third International Synod of Bishops met in Rome to discuss the issue of justice in the world. In a statement to the world, the bishops stated that the work toward justice is not something extra the Church undertakes in the world, but rather that this work is on the same footing as celebrating the sacraments and preaching the word of God.

As we are all aware, Advent is the season of hope as we prepare to celebrate once more the coming of Jesus at the time of his birth. When something has already happened historically, it's hard to look forward to it again. However, as we know, Jesus came into our human history 2,000 years ago to bring about a transformation of our world, to bring about the reign of God as he announced at the beginning of his public life, "The reign of God is at hand."