and traveled to the hill country in haste

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/053111.shtml

Need a fun activity to do with your volunteer community over the long Memorial Day weekend?  How about a community scavenger hunt?


On the first day:
Select one or two members from your volunteer group to create a list of memorable items that can be obtained from local stores, parks, neighbors, etc. For example, if your community of volunteers has become good friends with a local priest, place getting Fr. ____'s signature on the scavenger hunt list. Other examples include: food or menus from a favorite restaurant, pictures of close friends, a flower from a popular park, receipt from a local grocery store, etc. Once the list of items is written, make sure you have enough copies for each person in your volunteer group.

Contact appropriate people (neighbors, store owners, etc.), as necessary, to inform them that this activity will be taking place.

Have a large bag or container for each volunteer team to place these memorable items in.

Have all rules written out for volunteer members to read regarding time limits as well as proper ways to obtain the items.



On the second day:
Gather volunteers to begin the scavenger hunt. Distribute the list of items, bag/container, and list of rules.

Divide the volunteers into small teams.

Have fun!


Additional activities:
Assign point values to each item on the memorable items list. For the items that are most difficult to get, assign a higher point value.

Have a photo scavenger hunt where each team must take pictures of things or people around the local community. Then develop film and make copies for each volunteer to have as part of a scrapbook.

Invite friends, family, and members of the community to participate in the scavenger hunt. Then after the scavenger hunt is over, have a barbecue to say thank you to all the members of the local community.



Find more volunteer community activities on our website! 

Lay Mission-Helpers Association seeks an Executive Director to lead the oldest lay mission sending organization in the United States into the future.

Immediate opening

The Executive Director works in partnership with the board and the staff to provide leadership and direction toward the achievement of the Lay Mission-Helper organization’s mission, vision and strategic plan. The Executive Director implements policies approved by the board, manages the organization’s programs and operations, and represents the organization in the community—to ensure growth, financial stability and respect as a Catholic lay mission organization. Reports to: LMH Board of Directors

Major Functions:

1. Board administration and support. Supports operations and administration of Board by advising and informing, interfacing between Board and staff, and with the President, develops board/executive committee agendas.

2. Program and Service Delivery. Oversees design, modifications, marketing, promotion, delivery and quality of programs and services.

3. Financial, Tax, Risk and Facilities Management. Conducts financial analysis, analyzing trends and engaging the Board in strategic financial planning. Develops yearly budget with staff, and recommends it for Board approval. Prudently manages organization’s resources according to current laws and regulations.

4. Human Resource Management. Effectively manages the LMH staff, including the ongoing revision of personnel policies approved by the Board and manages the staff performance reviews.

5. Community and Public Relations. Assures that the LMH mission, programs and services are consistently presented in strong positive image to relevant stakeholders. Builds positive relationships with partner organizations, Catholic church leaders, LMH veterans, media and others.

6. Fundraising. Leads fundraising efforts, including supporting the Board’s involvement in fundraising, personally cultivating and soliciting donors, supervising development staff and implementation of fundraising plans and policies approved by the Board.

Qualifications:
• Master’s degree preferred. Preferred areas of study are theology, missiology.
• 10+ years experience in administration of non-profit organization
• The ideal candidate will have had cross-cultural experiences; have strong leadership and collaborative ability, good administrative experience, strong verbal and written skills, a proven track record of successful fund development, evidence of experience with team building, and knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Church’s teachings, structure and organization.

Salary Range: $80,000 to $100,000/ year with benefits

Inquiry and resume by e-mail only to: LayMissionHelpers@gmail.com

A reflection on how to end or renew your community experience by addressing lingering issues from the new edition of Shared Visions:


"As you approach the end of your time of service, or if you simply want to reenergize your community as you move into another year of volunteering, it is important to address lingering issues that may be clouding your living situation. It is easy to push problems aside and just try to remain civil to a community member you may be struggling with, but it is only through challenge and adversity that you are able to grow and learn about yourself during your time of service. Especially if you will not be living with the same people after this year, it is important to reconcile yourself with your community in order to walk away from this experience with a positive outlook and to be able to appreciate the gifts you received from your community members.


In Matthew 5, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes on which to reflect. He offers beautiful words that inspire us to do better in our lives. These words may have even been your inspiration for doing a year or more of service. Following his teaching on the Beatitudes, Jesus reflects on anger, adultery, divorce, retaliation and loving your enemies. In each of these teachings, Jesus tells us that not only do we need to have a relationship with God through prayer and action, but also, and just as important, we need to be in relationship with our brothers and sisters.

Specifically, in Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus tells us that in order to be able to serve the Lord, you need to make right with your neighbors. You cannot be free unless you reconcile with those who you have done wrong, and forgive those whom have done wrong against you.

Jesus says: “Go and be reconciled, then come and offer your gift.” How true these words are for us in our daily lives. If you can’t be at peace in relationships with friends, family, community members, clients, co-workers, a person you sit near on the bus, or a complete stranger half way around the world, how can you, then, offer yourself in service to others?

What good are you really doing at your job or in your community if you approach situations with disdain, anger, or indifference?

How do you find that inner peace to be able to give yourself to your work, clients, friends and family back home, and roommates?

You can find that inner peace through God and prayer, but also through letting go of the hurt and brokenness that pervades your life and heart, and asking for forgiveness for what you did against your neighbor. Once you make right with your brothers and sisters, you are able to help and serve others and yourself.

It is crucial to take the step of reconciliation in your community life. You need to address remaining problems in order to be able to move on from this experience or continue to grow with those you are living with during your time of service. Once you take the time to confront issues, you can be at peace with that problem and move on from your entire volunteer experience or continue on in your community life with a sense of freedom from that issue. Once you reconcile yourself to your brothers and sisters, then you can go and offer your gift to the world."

From the New York Times:
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: May 10, 2011

WASHINGTON — Jess Smochek arrived in Bangladesh in 2004 as a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer with dreams of teaching English and “helping the world.” She left six weeks later a rape victim after being brutalized in an alley by a knife-wielding gang.

When she returned to the United States, the reception she received from Peace Corps officials was as devastating, she said, as the rape itself. In Bangladesh, she had been given scant medical care; in Washington, a counselor implied that she was to blame for the attack. For years she kept quiet, feeling “ashamed and embarrassed and guilty.”

Today, Ms. Smochek is among a growing group of former Peace Corps volunteers who are speaking out about their sexual assaults, prompting scrutiny from Congress and a pledge from the agency for reform. In going public, they are exposing an ugly sliver of life in the Peace Corps: the dangers that volunteers face in far-flung corners of the world and the inconsistent — and, some say, callous — treatment they receive when they become crime victims.

“These women are alone in many cases, and they’re in rough parts of the world,” said Representative Ted Poe, Republican of Texas, who says the Peace Corps’ promises do not go far enough and is sponsoring legislation to force changes in the way it treats victims of sexual assault. “We want the United States to rush in and treat them as a victim of crime like they would be treated here at home.”

Founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, the Peace Corps has 8,655 volunteers and trainees, as young as 21 and as old as 86, serving in 77 countries. For most, service is, as the agency’s Web site boasts, “a life-defining leadership experience.”

But from 2000 to 2009, on average, 22 Peace Corps women each year reported being the victims of rape or attempted rape, the agency says. During that time, more than 1,000 Peace Corps volunteers reported sexual assaults, including 221 rapes or attempted rapes. Because sexual crimes often go unreported, experts say the incidence is likely to be higher, though they and the Peace Corps add that it is difficult to assess whether the volunteers face any greater risk overseas than women in the United States do.

On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will convene a hearing to examine what its chairwoman, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican of Florida, called “serious crimes” committed against Peace Corps volunteers, including murder; in announcing the hearing, her office cited reports of “gross mismanagement of sexual assault complaints.”

Lois Puzey, whose daughter Kate was murdered in 2009 while posted in Benin, will testify. So will Ms. Smochek, now a board member of First Response Action, a fledgling advocacy group founded by another former volunteer, Casey Frazee. Ms. Frazee was sexually assaulted in South Africa in 2009 and came home, she said, determined to not “let the Peace Corps toss me off like I was an isolated incident.”

In an interview Monday, the director of the Peace Corps, Aaron S. Williams, said he was committed to revamping the agency’s practices to create a more “victim-centered approach.”

He insisted that it was safe for women to serve in the Peace Corps. “We do not place Peace Corps volunteers in unsafe environments,” he said.

But he said the agency must modernize its procedures to “make sure that we provide compassionate care” to crime victims. Already, Mr. Williams has made some changes, including hiring a “victim’s advocate” who began work on Monday and signing an agreement with a nationally known rape crisis group to re-examine his organization’s training and policies.

The changes reflect the work of Ms. Frazee, who has spent the last 18 months tracking down Peace Corps sexual assault survivors by reaching out through social networking sites and her blog. Last year, her work attracted the attention of the ABC News program “20/20,” which ran a segment on the women in January. In recent months, Ms. Frazee, 28, has collected more than two dozen affidavits from other women, who have shared stories that Mr. Williams called “tragic.”

In interviews and documents, they paint a picture of what many call a “blame the victim” culture at the Peace Corps.

Jessica Gregg, who was drugged and sexually assaulted in 2007 in Mozambique, said a Peace Corps medical officer “made me write in my testimony that I was intoxicated” and suggested that “I willingly had sex with this guy.” She and a number of other women complained that a training video the Peace Corps uses places too much emphasis on the role of alcohol in sexual assaults; in response, Mr. Williams said the video would be replaced.

Many, like Kate Finn, who was raped in Costa Rica and now works in the district attorney’s office in Denver as a victim’s advocate, complain that they are not advised on how to prosecute their attackers; a 2010 survey of Peace Corps volunteers revealed that nearly 40 percent of those raped and 50 percent of those sexually assaulted did not report their attacks. Ms. Finn said that her attacker’s family was on the police force and that she “did not feel safe” reporting what had happened.

Still others say they are given inadequate information about counseling. Karestan Koenen, who sought therapy on her own and is now a psychologist who teaches at Columbia and Harvard, said she was shocked to discover that women today were confronting the same difficulties as she did when she was raped in 1991 in Niger.

“My own experience,” she said, “was that the treatment by the Peace Corps was worse than the rape.”

The women say Mr. Williams’s efforts, while promising, are not enough. They want Congress to pass legislation requiring, among other things, that the Peace Corps develop “sexual assault response teams” to collect forensic evidence and provide emergency health care and advocacy for victims after attacks. Mr. Williams said he was open to such legislation but has not committed to supporting it.

But whether such a bill would pass Congress is unclear. Representative Niki Tsongas, Democrat of Massachusetts, is co-sponsoring Mr. Poe’s bill, but other Democrats are skittish about it. They worry that the legislation, and Wednesday’s hearing, might be used to undermine the Peace Corps — the legacy of a Democratic president — and cut its funding.

The women of First Response Action insist that was never their intention; they say they want to improve the Peace Corps, not destroy it. Ms. Smochek, now 30 and a graduate student, said her primary goal was to alert future volunteers, and in the process perhaps bring some solace to other sexual assault survivors “to let them know they are not alone.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11corps.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=peace%20corps%20volunteers%20speak%20out%20on%20rape&st=cse&scp=1

SPONSOR: Sisters of Bon Secours

DATES: July 21-26, 2011

ARRIVAL: Thursday, 5:00 pm (Check in from 5-6:00 pm, Supper at 6 pm)

DEPARTURE: Tuesday, 9:00 am (after breakfast)

DESCRIPTION: We invite single, Catholic women, ages 18 – 35, with a willingness to serve those in need, to join us for this exciting week of volunteering and faith sharing with the Sisters of Bon Secours in Baltimore.

For More Info: http://www.bonsecoursvocations.org/project-good-help

PLACE: Bon Secours Provincial House, 1525 Marriottsville Road, Marriottsville, Maryland 21104. (Baltimore area )

CHARGE: NONE (You will be responsible for your transportation to and from Marriottsville. All travel, accommodations and meals during your stay are provided by the Sisters)

REGISTRATION: Deadline: June 15, but space is limited, so send your application right away!

CONTACT: Sr. Fran Gorsuch, CBS. To register or for more information, call
201-791-3593 or for more details, visit: http://bonsecoursvocations.org/project-good-help

On the 17th Anniversary of Nelson Mandela's Inauguration as President of South Africa, we remember his words of peace and equality:


"We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom.

We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success.

We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.

Let there be justice for all.

Let there be peace for all.

Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.

Let freedom reign!

The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!"

From The Christian Science Monitor:


National Day of Prayer a testament to America's uniqueness, backers say


National Day of Prayer activities include speeches and gatherings of many different faiths. Controversial to some, the National Day of Prayer has roots in the earliest days of the nation.

By Daniel B. Wood, Staff writer / May 5, 2011

Los Angeles

Black activist Najee Ali will be attending Muslim services at Bilal Islamic Center in Los Angeles, where after standard prayers, a speaker will briefly address the killing of Osama bin Laden.
 
Catholic priest the Rev. Albert Cutie will attend Trinity Cathedral in downtown Miami with virtually all Christian denominations as well as Imams and Rabbis in attendance.

University of Minnesota’s Nick Campbell, who calls himself a “non-denominational Christian,” will likely be “too caught up in my own schedule, agenda, schooling, etc…. too distracted to pray … something I am always working on.”

The common denominator is that all of the above consider themselves highly religious people who heartily welcome today’s National Day of Prayer, a day formally designated by Congress and President Harry Truman in 1952 and carried on by every president since. Similar proclamations were signed last year by all 50 state governors and those of several US territories.

“I think this day is a huge deal and very important for a nation like ours based on Judeo-Christian principles to really reflect,” says Father Cutie, author of “Dilemma: A Priest’s Struggle with Peace and Love." “This is not just a way of dealing with news on the economy and terrorism but to teach future generations long term to put their trust in a higher power, no matter what they consider that to mean.”

Separation of church and state?

That comment makes some people – atheists and civil libertarians – uncomfortable with what they feel is the day’s foggy blend of patriotism and religion. For others, it seems to be a clear violation of America’s constitutional separation of church and state. But legal analysts say the proclamation passes legal muster because it does not force people to pray on this day.

“From a constitutional perspective, there is nothing infirm about a National Day of Prayer,” says Harold Krent, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. “Congress has not thereby established a religion, nor has it infringed anyone’s right to follow the dictates of his or her own religion.”

That said, the day could be applied in an unconstitutional manner, he says.

“For instance, school districts requiring prayer on a National Day of Prayer would, in all likelihood, violate the Establishment Clause. Schools can study about prayer and the role of prayer in our lives, but not require or even strongly encourage prayer, particularly in younger grades," says Professor Kent. "Conversely, however, governors and the president can encourage us to pray in our private lives, without establishing a religion or coercing religious practices.”

Such observances will go on in dozens of forms – from long speeches to short notices to silent prayers sponsored by congregations small and large.

“This is a very positive thing and the more of it and the more diverse, the better,” says author and television personality Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. “Unlike Europe, where such a day would be impossible, this is what makes the US the multiple and varied society that it is. We are all Americans and pray to the same God. This spotlights the collective and raises us all above our denominations to realize we are all one, human family.”

The origin of the day goes back to the Founding Fathers.
 
The Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation in 1775, and Thomas Jefferson said in 1808: “Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it.”
 
Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War proclaimed a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863. Ninety years later, Congress passed a formal declaration marking an annual event on the first Thursday of May and Harry Truman signed it into law.

Muslim participation

“Muslims already pray by themselves five times a day,” says Mr. Ali, director of Project Islamic HOPE (Helping Oppressed People Everywhere), an advocacy organization in Los Angeles. “What makes this different for us is that we can build solidarity with other faiths.”

He says he is looking forward to the mosque's Imam making it clear that Al Qaeda has a terrorist ideology which most mainstream Muslim organizations don’t share. “This is both personal and private as well as public and collective," says Ali. "Bin Laden's capture was the answer to our prayers so we will be giving thanks for that as well."

Munira Syeda, spokeswoman for greater Los Angeles-area office of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says she hopes the National Day of Prayer will become more inclusive of non-Jewish and Christian religions.

"The National day of prayer, although historically significant, has generally been organized and observed by Christian denominations," she says. "We hope to see this annual day of prayer become more inclusive of all faith traditions. This year in particular, we call on all Americans to pray for the victims of injustices, terror and oppression in America and around the world, for our nation to be healed and strengthened, and for our troops to be brought back home soon."

How presidents have observed it

For eight years, President George W. Bush invited selected Christian and Jewish leaders to the White House East Room, where he typically would give a short speech and several leaders offered prayers.

On his first National Day of Prayer as President in 2009, President Obama distanced himself from the National Day of Prayer by foregoing a formal early morning service and not attending a large Catholic prayer breakfast the next morning. Then-White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama was reverting back to pre-Bush presidential practice.

The day is not without its controversies.

Rabbi Boteach says that several years ago, two Jewish rabbis took offense when one White House prayer breakfast focused directly on Jesus. “The rabbis asked, ‘How could this be a national day of prayer?’ " he says, noting that the Jewish community often doesn’t participate as much as he would like.

“But I disagreed with them, saying that every Christian has a right to pray to Jesus," he says. "This day doesn’t necessarily mean we all brush aside our spiritual techniques in order to be more universal – just that we should all not overdo it. I think this day needs more attention. I salute the idea completely.”
 
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2011/0505/National-Day-of-Prayer-a-testament-to-America-s-uniqueness-backers-say

A reflection from Formed Magazine from St. Vincent Pallotti Center board member, Jill Rauh:


From Warm and Fuzzy to Transformational: Taking service projects to the next level.

“The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1397). How’s that for a powerful reminder that our commitment to the poor and vulnerable is a reflection of our commitment to the living face of Christ in the world?

Yet, against a crowded backdrop of activities and program requirements, it is often the case that we see service and justice as expendable “extras” in our programs. We have a tendency to view service projects as isolated events that start when we arrive at the service site and end when we leave. They are events that are good for bringing out the warm fuzzies, but never reach their full potential as truly transformational for both our young people and the people served. Interested in how to make service transformational? Then keep reading. The good news is that there’s a tried and true process which, when implemented, has the potential to “rock the world” of any young person who has the slightest interest in the Church’s role in addressing suffering in our broken world. The process, which is described more thoroughly in a helpful resource manual called In the Footsteps of Jesus: Catholic Social Teaching at Work Today (USCCB, 2004), includes three elements: Act, Reflect, and Transform.


Act

"Act" refers to the charitable works that young people engage in while performing service projects. The setting for this action can make or break a service project. The ideal service project will provide an opportunity for face to face interaction with members of the human family who are in need. While cleaning up litter or sorting food at the local pantry may ensure that no one is forced to leave his or her comfort zone, these types of projects offer little potential for true transformation. The truth is that nothing can replace the experience of interacting and relating with real, living human beings. For any young person, it is easier to see the “face of Christ” in an actual homeless family at a soup kitchen or a child at a tutoring program than in beneficiaries who are never met or even seen.

A second consideration in planning the “action” of service is to choose a service project that leads to the empowerment of those served, with an emphasis on doing with and walking alongside instead of doing for. In other words, choose a service project that affirms the dignity of those being served, and that does not encourage an “us vs. them” mentality. The groups that are funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (www.usccb.org/cchd) make excellent service sites because of their emphasis on the empowerment of poor and low-income people to make a difference in their own communities.

Third, the service project should include structured opportunities for being as well as doing. At a homeless shelter, youth might be responsible for preparing and serving meals. Paired with this “doing” part of the project, there should also be time for the young people to sit down at the table like Christ and eat and converse with those in need. For example, upon advance request, the director of the shelter may be able to arrange a structured opportunity for youth to hear the stories of some of the homeless individuals. The experience is sure to be meaningful for all parties involved.


Reflect

Many people have the mistaken impression that service ends after leaving the service site. This is far from the truth! Failing to follow up with reflection after service is one of the most common lost opportunities in service.

First, we must remember that service, as everything we do, must be rooted in prayer. Prayer is essential for many reasons. The most obvious is because we believe that God will be able to make a difference in the lives of those served. It also provides a powerful reflective space to help youth begin to process their experience and listen for the response to which they may be called.

A second essential part of the “reflect” element of service is to facilitate asking about the causes of the problems confronted during the service. Why do people become homeless? Why aren’t children in some parts of the city receiving an adequate education? This part of reflection includes questions and discussion about the underlying causes of unjust situations, human relationships, beliefs and values, and about personal and social responsibility.

Our job as youth workers is, first, to help youth ask these questions, and then to suggest how Scripture and the Church’s teachings shine a unique light on the issues. We can begin by asking simple questions like “Where is God present?” or “Where is the face of Christ present?” Stopping here, though, is insufficient. As youth workers, we must introduce youth to Catholic social teachings, an essential part of any service program. Often called the “best kept secret” of the Church, many youth go through religious education programs not knowing that the Church possesses a rich body of teachings that shine an “unchanging light” on the “new problems that are constantly emerging” in our world (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 12). Youth workers can learn more about the social teachings of the Church by visiting the website of the USCCB Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development (www.usccb.org/jphd).

Ideally, reflection around service projects is not the first time that youth should be hearing about Catholic social teaching, since acting for justice is a “constitutive dimension” of our faith. Service is the ideal place for this teaching to take wings, but it is only the starting point. The reflection that follows, ideally in a facilitated, small-group setting, is what takes the person-to-person interactions during service to the next level, offering the opportunity for critical reflection in the light of our faith. Such reflection is essential to the formation of life-long, faithful citizens.


Transform

The third step of the model is “Transform.” Interactions with the vulnerable through service followed by new questions and learning during reflection must lead to work to transform all of society.

The ideal service project will be paired with opportunities for advocacy and efforts to transform unjust structures. This includes considering what action is needed to address the root causes of the situation encountered during service. Action for transformation aims to address systemic, structural injustice, and tries to change values and policies that are in need of transformation or renewal.

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, published by the Vatican in 2004, reminds us that “it is undoubtedly an act of love, the work of mercy by which one responds here and now to a real and impelling need of one's neighbor, but it is an equally indispensable act of love to strive to organize and structure society so that one's neighbor will not find himself in poverty” (no. 208). The first step of the model, “Act,” focuses on responding to the “here and now” needs, while the third step, “Transform,” tries to reorganize society.

An essential distinction for any youth worker to keep in mind is the difference between “Charitable Works” and “Social Justice,” called the “Two Feet of Social Action.” Works, such as those performed by young people during, help individuals meet their immediate needs. When we serve in soup kitchens, donate food, clothing or money, tutor or mentor children, or sponsor a refugee family, we are performing charitable works. The second “foot” of social action, Social Justice, aims to correct long-term problems in communities, for just public policies and becoming involved in community self-help projects are examples of Justice.

Both feet of social action are needed: Pope Pius XI highlighted the distinction between the two feet of social action over 70 years ago: "Charity will never be true charity unless it takes justice into account ... Let no one attempt with small gifts of charity to exempt himself from the great duties imposed by justice" (Divini Redemptoris, 49).

Thus, service projects must lead youth, in this final step, to consider their role in transforming society. This must be done with the intent to eliminate the causes of injustice, to end the need for soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and tutoring programs.

In this part of the model, youth should create a plan to help transform the world for justice. For example, they could write letters to their congresspersons, educate others, or join a local advocacy effort related to the issues addressed in service. So, to address homelessness, youth might advocate in support of funding for job training programs or affordable housing for low-income people.

True interaction with the face of Christ in those in need should also leave every young person transformed on the personal level. In addition to taking action to help transform society, youth should also be encouraged to identify changes they can make in their lifestyles, daily decisions, and world-views in order to live out their faith day-to-day through greater solidarity with others in their communities and the world.

“Act, Reflect, Transform” is a simple process that, when implemented, has the potential to take service from being a warm, fuzzy, isolated action, to a real commitment to live one’s faith and work for the transformation of the world. The model is flexible enough to be implemented in a variety of ways. A youth worker organizing a service project for a group of students can bring students together afterwards for a period of reflection and transformation. In a situation where individual youths are completing service projects on their own in order to fulfill a requirement, the model can still be implemented through a reflection day or evening when everyone gathers to “reflect” together on their service experiences, learn about Catholic Social Teaching, ask the “why” questions, and consider how they might be called to “transform” our world into a more just place.
 
http://www.formedmag.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=160