Module 4: Faith as Praxis of Liberation

• Faith requires action
• Praxis = a Greek term that refers to that process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized.
• Catholic Social Teaching (CST) = (panlipunang aral ng simbahan)
• • Aristotle:
  • praxis refers to the act of doing. 
  • Used the word, "praxis" to distinguish it from "theoria" (the act of thinking) and "poiesis" (the act of making).
• • Karl Marx:
  • credited with the most extensive ideation on "praxis", Marx was particularly influenced by the Polish philosopher August Cieszkowski who in 1838 was one of the earliest philosophers to use the term "praxis" to mean "an action-oriented towards changing society". 
  • uses the term "praxis" to refer to the free, universal, creative, and self-creative activity through which man creates and changes his historical world and himself (Gajo 1991). 
• • Cardinal Avery Dulles took the Marxist definition of "praxis" to refer to human activities that are directed to overcoming the alienations in present-day society.
  • Alienation is defined as the state or experience of a human person where he/she is isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved. 
• Cardinal Avery Dulles = faith as praxis is the dimension of religiosity and faith expression where the essential expression is not merely to side with the oppressed but to find concrete ways and means to liberate them from oppressive structures.
• • Gustavo Gutierrez
  • proposes that theology must be liberating and that it must be directed not merely to enrichment of one's cognitive understanding of the contents of faith but a kind of faith that is applied into concrete forms of action to liberate people and empower them towards realizing what it means to be fully human.
  • Faith is an acceptance of revealed truth, but the truth in the biblical sense is never something purely theoretical; it involves commitment and practice.
• In contemporary liberation theology, faith may be characterized, summarily, as “the historical praxis of liberation”.
• • No liberation is definite and complete without it being enacted in actual historical events and situations. 
  • Liberation is something that cannot only be limited to thoughts and ideas; it must be felt and experienced in the actual.
  • It is a praxis because it is directed to nothing else but social change. While it may not be easy and may not always end up successful, the pursuit of social change is also characterized as a struggle because the entire process allows transformation within the believer’s whole way of thinking and feeling.
• Faith in the liberationist framework is not a purely interior or individual matter. Faith, so conceived, is operative through love (cf. Gal 5:6). It is a participation in a social movement that aims to be “faithful” to God’s purposes in history, and thus to eradicate injustice.
• The first stage makes use of the Tagalog terms “masid” or “to observe closely” and “danas” or “to experience”, and when combined (“masid-danas”), it means “conscious experiencing”.
• "masid-danas" = lead from conscious sense-experience using our sensory experieneces to a purposive encounter of knowing and feeling oneself and others.

  Ends with a feeling of realization, mixed emotions, nagging questions, disorienting dilemmas, and/or longings for answers and clarity.
• The second stage consists of “Suri” which is a Tagalog term for “analysis” and “nilay” which means “reflection”, and when combined (“suri-nilay”), it means “critical reflection”.
• "suri-nilay" = guides us to the questions of Christian Faith and Lasallian Values/Principles.

  ends with the challenge of faith and the challenge of being Christian and Lasallian.
• • The third stage consists of “Taya” typically means “to bet” but it can also mean “to offer” and depending on the value of the offer, it may mean in some occasion “to commit” that connotes a certain sacrifice.  “Kilos” on the other hand means, “to act”.  Combining the two terms (“taya-kilos”) means “committed action”.  
• "taya-kilos" = starts with a commitment flowing from the preceding stage of “suri-nilay” anchored on clear values/principles and standards.

  ends with an evaluation of the act, program, or intervention, giving much emphasis on the quality of output and consistency of process... then after this, another LRF (Lasallian Reflection Framework) cycle starts.
• Seeing Stage = the place of social analysis
• The first feature of the Seeing stage:

  • Consciously or not, any person is always situated within a particular social setting and is determined in that way. 
  • Everybody is situated and particularly engaged within a particular setting. 
  • refers to a person's standpoint and every person’s reading of a social situation will necessarily be colored by such bias or standpoint.
• The second feature of the Seeing stage:

  • Liberationist Perspective = One should take when looking at social realities the perspective of the poor.
  • They can help us know what is wrong with our socio-political-economic systems.
  •  a special concern for the exploited and the marginalized in order to effect social justice.
• The third feature of the Seeing stage:

  • The experience of the suffering kapwa (shared self/"other") has critical and productive functions:
  • it can criticize, challenge, and even change what we know about the human situation, and at the same time, it can produce new knowledge or expand (or deepen) what we already know.
  • We need to show pakikiramdam (empathy/sympathy) for the suffering kapwa (shared self/"other")by allowing the experience of the suffering kapwa to influence or affect us so that one moves from treating the kapwa as “ibang tao”  (not-one-of-us) toward “hindi ibang tao” (one-of-us).
• The fourth feature of the Seeing stage:

  • It is however wrong to equate an option for the poor as same with the act of charity. 
  • Charity as traditionally understood does not challenge power relations.
  • The rich can give charity to the poor (e.g. give old clothes or canned goods) but this does not change the unjust structures. 
• How do we actually do it?

  • First, describe what we see, hear and experience about the social issue we are examining.
  • The first component = is to discern the situation in the light of Scriptures by Rereading the Scriptures.
  • The second source/component = Catholic Social Teaching (CST)
• Catholic Social Teaching (CST) = refers to the compendium or collection of Church's teachings on social issues that serve as guideposts
• There are seven CST principles:

  (1) Human Dignity

  (2) Universal Destination of Goods

  (3) Common Good

  (4) Solidarity

  (5) Subsidiarity

  (6) Option for the Poor

  (7) Social Justice
• CST principles can provide are just mere guideposts in the discernment process. It is the community that is responsible to reinterpret these principles in local contexts.
• • The first principle: Human Dignity.
  • Having been created in the image of God, the human person has dignity and it is because of this that a human person regardless of status, class, race, or gender must be respected and be accorded with his/her fundamental human rights; like the right to life, education, work, and nationality among others.
• • The second principle: Universal Destination of Goods
  • When God created the earth and all that it contains, it is for the use of every human being as stewards of creation; meaning, the person must regard nature not merely as his/her own but a common property where the benefit is not only for oneself but for the entire humanity and ecology for that matter. 
  • While people are also accorded the right to own private property, this is not absolute. 
• • The third principle: Common Good
  • It is the entire humanity and ecology (including the nature around us) that is the concern of the common good. A person or any other institution or agency cannot just simply use the resources of nature without looking after its implication to future generations. 
  • Development is important and so is sustainability. Hence, any development must be sustainable development. 
• • The fourth principle: Solidarity
  • it is one's commitment to the common good, and those that are privileged with power, money, and fame must feel responsible for the disadvantaged and less fortunate while the latter should reject being merely passive and submissive.
• • The fifth principle: Subsidiarity
  • refers to that exercise of allowing each and every agency/office/group to be responsible in their own set of affairs without the unnecessary and unjustified intrusion of higher agencies and offices. In that way, lower-level agencies are empowered to take full responsibility while also being open and appreciative of the assistance and help if the need arises.
• • In the sixth principle: Option for the Poor
  • those who hold power in society must show particular concern for the poor and other categories of people who are vulnerable to exploitation; those who have wealth and influence must renounce exploitative practices and attitudes; government and international agencies must ensure that structural injustices are eliminated. (Dorr 1991: 90)
• • As for the last principle: Social Justice
  • since all humans possess a rational soul and created in God’s likeness, everybody deserves to be treated equally. While all human persons are not alike and are diverse as based on various platforms (economics, status, etc.), every type of discrimination must be overcome and eradicated.
• After we analyze the problem through social analysis (seeing) and reflect on it in the light of scriptures and CST (judging), the third stage is to finally come up with a concrete set of actions.
• • The See-Judge-Act framework is not really as simple as it looks.
  • It is a process that takes into account keen observation and social scientific skills (SEE), reflective introspection (JUDGE), and a committed course of action (ACT).
• General directions for action are proposed and discussed:

  1. The Church respects the pace and processes of individual communities.
  2. Skills training and capacity development to enable people to succeed in life.
  3. Good leaders need to decide and commit to moving from selfish motives to authentic service to the community (shift in attitude).
  4. Mobilization refers to manifested action to obtain a community objective.
  5. Social issues are so interconnected that one concern may also be experienced by another person or community.
  6. Communal prayer strengthens the bond with the community and with God.
• The seven CST principles [HUCSSOS]: (1) Human Dignity(2) Universal Destination of Goods(3) Common Good(4) Solidarity(5) Subsidiarity(6) Option for the Poor(7) Social Justice