First Sunday of Lent, February 26, 2023

CJI supports Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Colombia which accompanies three vulnerable communities of forcibly displaced people in Barrancabermeja. Photo: Cindy Jiménez

“One’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.”
(Romans 5: 18, 2^nd reading)

When power promotes and justifies violence, death, and destruction, to act with justice and to uphold human dignity for all becomes a moral and spiritual imperative.

Having worked in Colombia for six years with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), I am aware of acts of killing and violence against powerless people and communities. But I have also witnessed acts of love that promote justice to build a life of peace and purpose.  Individual acts of justice in this context become heroic acts, which need to be supported and protected.

The bleak state of today’s world demands of us courage. It asks that we stand up against actions that rob people of their transcendent dignity as human beings created in the image and likeness of God. It prods us to recognize that we are interdependent and interconnected; that in the face of socio-economic and political inequalities, we must act in solidarity with the poor and excluded in order to create a just and inclusive world.

Personal and collective actions that promote justice, love and the defence of peace and life are necessary. The support of civil society, including faith-based institutions, are critical to individual and community initiatives that help  people who are persecuted by those who put money above human life and our planet.

• Eva Rodriguez is program coordinator for the Mary Ward Centre. She has 20 years of experience working with rural populations and Indigenous peoples affected and forcibly displaced by the armed conflict in Colombia. She has also worked in the area of women’s rights and in program design in different countries in Latin America.

Pause and reflect on what you have just read. Pick one word that stands out for you, either in the Scripture or the reflection. 
What message does that word convey to you, if any? 

Español: “así por una justicia vino la gracia a todos los hombres para justificación de vida”. Romanos 5:18

En tiempos de prevalencia de poder que promueve y justifica la violencia, la muerte y la destrucción: actuar con justicia, promoviendo mejores condiciones de vida para todas las personas se convierte en un mandato.

El mundo actual demanda actos de justicia permanentes, como acciones cotidianas que ayudan a promover con solidaridad la construcción de un mundo incluyente y respetuoso de la dignidad humana.

Son ineludibles las acciones personales que promueven la justicia, el amor, la defensa de la paz y de la vida. Y, son muy importantes y necesarias las acciones misionales para acompañar los procesos individuales y comunitarios, que se mueven solitarios y que son perseguidos por los poderosos que ponen el dinero por encima de la vida humana y del planeta.

Trabajando en Colombia 6 años con el JRS conocí acciones de muerte y violencia que atentaban contra personas y comunidades, pero conocí tambien acciones de amor que promovían la justicia como camino para encontrar y construir la vida en paz. Las acciones individuales de justiciar en esos contextos se convertían en actos heroícos sostenidos por la solidaridad colectiva e institucional