Our Lady of the Lake’s seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching fabric wall hangings in Jubilee Hall feature the artistry of well-known and respected artist Brother Michael (Mickey) O’Neill McGrath, OSFS. Fr. Tim Clark held a blessing rite for them in November 2019. 

In upcoming emails, the Justice and Peace Committee will feature their content beginning today with the theme Solidarity and Peace. Six of the seven Brother Mickey paintings include a dove with a halo, like this one. When he paints panels with people in them, he includes a depiction of the Holy Spirit, this one a dove holding an olive branch.

We invite parishioners to take some significant time to reflect on the art, the explanation of the theme, the questions for reflection below, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website on Solidarity, and the 4-minute Catholic Social Teaching 101 video on Solidarity by Catholic Relief Services and the USCCB.
Solidarity and Peace

We are one human family, created by one God. We are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers. What happens to one person affects all people. We are called to be peacemakers and to work for justice. Peace is positive and action-oriented, not just absence of war. Peace is the fruit of justice, dependent upon right relationships among human beings and human institutions.

Questions for Reflection:
 
  • When you have reflected on the panel for a few minutes, what touches you or catches your attention?
  • What action(s) might you take to build peace inside you and around you?
  • How are you complicit in a culture that opposes peace and makes solidarity difficult?
  • How have the events of 2020 opened your heart and mind and exposed the inequalities in our society?
  • Which organization working against each of these social evils: militarism, racism and poverty will you choose to advocate for and support financially? *

* Some members of the Justice and Peace Committee belong to these organizations: Kairos Puget Sound Coalition, Washington Against Nuclear Weapons, Pax Christi USA, Teaching Tolerance, Poor People’s Campaign.
Fr. Bryan Massingale, a Black professor of theology at Fordham University and author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church, recently said in a Commonweal (July/Aug 2020) interview about structural racism in the country and Church:

  • “We say a lot about every virtue except courage. But Thomas Aquinas taught us that courage is the precondition of all virtue.” 
  • He also said about Aquinas’ teaching: “What he says is beautiful: anger is the passion that moves the will to justice.”


Can you think of a time in your life when anger has made you
courageous in the face of injustice or prejudice?


From ‘Worship of a False God”
Resources

For information on USCCB and Solidarity go HERE

CRS/USCCB Catholic Social Teaching 101 Video: Solidarity (4 minutes long)
You will also see Brother Mickey at his artwork on this theme in the video.
One OLL!  
There will be a focus on the seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching in the upcoming months. We would like to acknowledge how members of our OLL community are living out these themes each and every day. If you feel connected to the highlighted Catholic Social Teaching of the month, please let us know! All ages encouraged to participate! 
Parishioners, please email a short description of the work and reflection that you are doing to support local and global communities to Jody Fitts at parishadmin@ollseattle.org
OLL School students and families, please email your short description to Principal Daniel Mullen at dmullen@ollseattle.org.  
We look forward to sharing and growing together through the knowledge that we are making a better world: One OLL!  
Offered by OLL Justice & Peace Committee