ST. COLUMBA SERVICE & JUSTICE MINISTRY
Join your fellow parishioners as we Share God’s Love.
St. Columba Parishioners answer the call of discipleship and share from their resources with those in need throughout our local community, across the nation, and across the world.
The Service & Justice Ministry spearheads outreach efforts of parishioners through a multitude of ministries and appeals, offering opportunities for everyone to share God’s love through gifts of time and/or treasure. The Service & Justice Ministry is a volunteer effort led by seven dedicated parishioners, and we are always looking for more help in discerning the best way to implement Catholic Social Teaching at St. Columba Parish. To learn more or to get involved, please contact Donna Rheault at donnarheault@gmail.com
Consider donating to our Food Pantry or preparing dinners for the VOA Shelter. Are you called to share the Gospel with prisoners or purchase much-needed items for a local nonprofit as part of a Helping Hands appeal?
Your time and your gifts are the hands and feet of Christ.
Watch our video with highlights of mission trip to Los Achiotes, Honduras.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
OUTREACH GIVING
Four times per year our Service & Justice Ministry prayerfully allocates $5,000 in Outreach Giving to share compassionately with the most vulnerable.
St. Columba‘s 2026 3rd Quarter Giving is outlined below:
LESSONS FROM POPE LEO
Presented by the St. Columba Service and Justice Committee
Act justly, love mercifully, walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)
Lessons from Pope Leo on :
- Care for those in Need
- Becoming Peacemakers
- Loneliness and Attentiveness
- Song in our liturgy
- Goodness
- Gratitude and living with faith, hope, and charity
- Mystery of the Church
- Everyone Matters
- Solidarity with the less fortunate
- Forgive and Welcome Everyone
11. Lenten message on Listening and Fasting
12. Seeking Peace
13. Care of Creation
Care for those in Need
In his All Souls Mass homily of November 2, 2025 Pope Leo stated:
"whenever we dwell in love and show charity to others, especially the weakest and most needy, then we can journey towards our goal, and even now anticipate it through an unbreakable bond with those who have gone before us. Moreover, Jesus encourages us in these words: “… for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:35-36).
Becoming Peacemakers
In his
Homily of November 29, given in Istanbul Turkey, Pope Leo, in speaking of “unity…with members of non-Christian communities”, stated:
“‘Whoever does not love does not know God’ (1 Jn 4:8).’ Therefore, we want to walk together by appreciating what unites us, breaking down the walls of prejudice and mistrust, promoting mutual knowledge and esteem in order to give to all a strong message of hope and an invitation to become “peacemakers” (Mt 5:9).”
Loneliness and Attentiveness
In his November 16 homily, Pope Leo stated:
“So many forms of poverty oppress our world! First and foremost are material forms of poverty, but there are also many moral and spiritual situations of poverty, which often affect young people in a particular way. The tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness. It challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way, because while it is certainly necessary at times to respond to urgent needs, we also must develop a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness. Let us, then, be attentive to others, to each person, wherever we are, wherever we live, transmitting this attitude within our families, living it out in the workplace and in academic environments, in different communities, in the digital world, everywhere, reaching out to the marginalized and becoming witnesses of God’s tenderness.”
Song in our liturgy
In his homily of November 23, Pope Leo quoted Saint Augustine who wrote “singing belongs to those who love.” Pope Leo also reminded us that “For the people of God, song expresses invocation and praise.” Reflecting on the role of choirs, Pope Leo stated that “when you sing, you both pray and help everyone else to pray.”
Goodness
In his Homily of November 29, given in Istanbul Turkey, Pope Leo stated:
“the joy of goodness is contagious …
The Lord, whom we await in glory at the end of time, comes every day to knock at our door. Let us be ready for him (cf. Mt 24:44), sincerely committed to living a life of goodness…”.
Gratitude and living with faith, hope, and charity
In his Homily on the Beirut, Lebanon waterfront, on December 2, 2025, Pope Leo stated:
“Today we join Jesus in saying: “We praise you, Father!” We thank you because you are with us and do not let us falter.
… [T}his gratitude must … lead us to a transformation of the heart, a conversion of life and a realization that God has made us precisely to live in the light of faith, the promise of hope and the joy of charity. As a result, we are all called to cultivate these shoots, to not be discouraged, to not give in to the logic of violence and the idolatry of money, and to not resign ourselves in the face of the spreading evil.
Everyone must do their part….”
Mystery of the Church
Pope Leo, in his homily of October 26, 2025, reflecting on the mystery of the Church, stated:
“The supreme rule in the Church is love. No one is called to dominate; all are called to serve. No one should impose his or her own ideas; we must all listen to one another. No one is excluded; we are all called to participate. No one possesses the whole truth; we must all humbly seek it and seek it together.”
Everyone Matters
In his 12-14-25 homily marking the Jubilee of Hope for correctional institutions, prisoners and all those who oversee or work in the penitentiary system, Pope Leo stated:
“ that for every fall one must be able to get back up, that no human being is defined only by his or her actions and that justice is always a process of reparation and reconciliation. …
… only one thing is important: that no one be lost (cf. Jn 6:39) and that all “be saved” (1 Tim 2:4).”
Solidarity with the less fortunate
In his Christmas day 2025 homily, Pope Leo quoted Pope Francis who wrote:
“Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness” (Evangelii Gaudium, 270).
Forgive and Welcome Everyone
In his January 1, 2026 homily celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, Pope Leo stated:
“The world is not saved by sharpening swords, nor by judging, oppressing or eliminating our brothers and sisters. Rather, it is saved by tirelessly striving to understand, forgive, liberate and welcome everyone, without calculation and without fear.”
Listening and Fasting
In his Lenten Message on Listening and Fasting, Pope Leo encourages “listening to the word in the liturgy” and responding “to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering”. He also encourages fasting “from words that offend and hurt our neighbor”.
He continues: “Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect …. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.”
Seeking Peace
In his homily of May 8, 2026, Pope Leo prayed:
“may the God of peace pour out an overflowing abundance of mercy, touching hearts, soothing grudges and fratricidal hatred, and enlightening those who bear the special responsibilities of governance”.
In his April 11, 2026 Reflection at the Prayer Vigil for Peace, Pope Leo stated:
“ …pray for peace. War divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples upon others; love lifts up. Idolatry blinds us; the living God enlightens.
… Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.
… The Church is a great people at the service of reconciliation and peace”.
Care of Creation
In his September 1, 2026 Mass for the Care of Creation, Pope Leo stated:
“From contemplating creation and encountering its Creator, there arises an awareness of our particular place within God’s wondrous plan, and of the responsibility that we bear both personally and collectively for preserving the original harmony. …
[T]he Message for today’s World Day echoes “the prophetic call to ‘beat swords into ploughshares’ (Is 2:4)… to transform harm into life.” It is not yet too late, and the Season of Creation calls us to a profound conversion: “What has been used for destruction can be redirected toward life, toward the care of the poor, the nourishment of the hungry, and the safeguarding of creation”.
Presented by the St. Columba Service and Justice Committee
Act justly, love mercifully, walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)
