By working together, we can help to build a society of justice, mercy and compassion, says Josh Lourensz, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services Victoria (CSSV), as he looks ahead to Social Services Sunday, which falls this year on 15 September.
Observed in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne each year on the third Sunday of September, Social Justice Sunday provides an opportunity to give thanks and pray for the dedicated work that the thousands of staff and volunteers of Catholic social services do to serve the poor, disadvantaged and marginalised in our communities, and to stand with them.
It’s also an important opportunity to reflect on what our own roles might be in this work of service and justice.
‘Social Services Sunday aims to build up broader awareness, prayerful support and a sense of shared work that Catholic social services do as part of the social mission of the Church,’ says Mr Lourensz.
‘From the work we’ve done with our members, and having released our Faith, Hope and Love report earlier this year, we know that our members assist some 300,000 people each year, which is more than 4.5 per cent of Victoria’s population, through the efforts of 7,510 staff and more than 15,800 volunteers. It clearly indicates the depth and breadth of our members’ work, and also highlights the difference that Catholic organisations bring to this area of work.’
Many of our social services agencies were either born from or are sustained by parish initiatives and support.
Core to the Gospel message is the offer of love and hope, particularly for those who are isolated, in need and experiencing suffering. Catholic Social Teaching provides a rich tradition of wisdom in how to live out the values of justice and mercy that permeate the Scriptures by respecting the dignity of the human person, having a preferential option for the poor, committing ourselves to solidarity with our human family, caring for our common home, ensuring subsidiarity and participation, and working for the common good.
At a time when more and more people are relying on the support provided by community service organisations, Social Services Sunday is also a time to reflect on why the need for this work continues to grow in our society, and to consider how, together, we can pursue greater justice and compassion at a personal, community and social level.
Catholic social service organisations often have their beginnings in small groups of people working to bring to life Catholic Social Teaching principles in their own contexts, and to respond to particular needs in particular places.
According to Mr Lourensz, volunteers and workers from parishes and the wider community ‘are often at the forefront of providing practical support and care to those in need within their communities’, and Social Services Sunday provides a valuable opportunity to give thanks for those who serve our communities in this way.
‘Many of our social services agencies were either born from or are sustained by parish initiatives and support,’ he points out. ‘Many also have their roots and beginnings steeped in the deep desire of religious men and women to be a practical sign of God’s love in the world.’
It is by working together we can work to build a society of justice, mercy and compassion.
Pointing to the intrinsically interrelational work of social services, Mr Lourensz says that ‘To be a coherent body, which is truly able to work in a multifaceted way on the issues facing the people of Victoria, CSSV relies on the intimate involvement of the bishops of Victoria and their offices, religious congregations, our 40 member organisations and their staff, and the communities that make up the 300 parishes across Victoria. It is by working together we can work to build a society of justice, mercy and compassion. And this includes working with our federal counterparts and other faith-based bodies throughout the Australian Church.’
How to observe Social Services Sunday
CSSV has developed a Social Services Sunday parish kit (see below), which provides information, text for inclusion in parish bulletins, and actions that we can all take to honour and show support for the work of Catholic social services.
Social services may also like to mark this day in some way within their own organisations and/or by getting in touch with the local parish in their area and exploring opportunities to partner together for Social Services Sunday.
Suggested prayer
We thank you, loving God,
for this unfenced and fertile world,
that is your gift,
for all to sow and reap,
to work and play,
to wonder at and pray.
We thank you, loving God,
for all our fellow workers in your garden—
for those who plan and plant,
who prune and harvest,
so that all may flower
in a glory of shapes and colours.
We promise, loving God,
we servants at your table,
to open your banquet to all your guests,
to seat the hungry, lame and poor,
to find a seat for those shut out
and hold the door open against the crowd.
May we follow Jesus, your Son,
who walked in our world in wonder,
reached out and healed and died
to free and save it (us).
—Written by Fr Andy Hamilton SJ for the Catholic Social Services National Conference 2024.
