Jack's Story

June 6, 2023

Editor: Here we are with a parishioner from St. Thomas More, who is a volunteer for the Social Justice Ministry. Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?

Jack Murray: My baptismal certificate says John, but I go by Jack because who wants to be a junior, aka John Joseph Murray, Jr? A little bit about myself, I've always had an affection for the Catholic Church. I am a cradle Catholic, educated in the faith all the way through Catholic graduate school. I was convinced that Jesus was calling me to some kind of activity not just in the church setting and the Mass which is beautiful in its own right, but in the larger community.

I have seven children. There are five all grown-up ones, plus two more in process.

So, you know the challenge is to make Christianity real in the 21st century. What’s cool is the invitation that Jesus gives us 2,000 years ago, “to come follow me.” This is true and resonates to this very day and what better way to do it than by example? Lecturing is great but example is better and more fun. And then I get the bonus of seeing Jesus at work in my life and others.

The social justice ministry has two components: charitable giving, where you try to feed the homeless and things like that. And then there are more systemic or advocacy challenges where you try to change the system. This is a little more edgy. And most people, myself included, like to be edgy. But I don't like to be out there by myself. St. Thomas More Parish does a wonderful job of allowing me to step in the gap in a controlled way and engage. And I've got the entire Catholic Church, all the way up to the Pope, who encourages me to move along.

And why? Because it's great for my prayer life.

Learn About the Social Justice Ministry

Editor: You mentioned it’s great for your prayer life, are there other things that attracted you to the Social Justice Ministry?

Jack Murray: Well, I guess I have an affection for being with people. I’m fascinated to see folks that aren't like me, but they resonate with great talents that I don't have. Someone knows how to stay alive on the street corner in a homeless situation. How do they do that? And so, there was some curiosity that got me into this.

But also, if you're going to be in the Catholic Church and going to Mass and participate in the Sacraments, there is a conviction that Jesus is calling me in some fashion. He's not doing it out of a sense of obligation. It's an invitation to step in and watch the blessings.

And just a little bit of background. I grew up in Chicago. When it gets cold, below freezing, people are allowed to come into the churches and sleep. And we come together and make things okay while they're in this circumstance. And I've had some great conversations with guys who are a little different than me. I noticed that Jesus has a plan for their lives like he has for me.

As a young kid, probably like a lot of people, I would say, “I got this,” “I know what I'm doing,” “I'll call you, God, if I need you.” I'm going to be a god with a small g because I know stuff and I’m cool. Then I hit some serious barriers and I finally, over time, came to the conclusion and said, “Okay. God is God and I'm not, thank you very much. I do not want the job.”
And that also encouraged me to let Jesus lead and say, “Trust me.” Those words resonate in our church settings but they resonate even more when you're stepping into the gap somewhere. I like the adventure that the Social Justice Ministry invites us into.

Editor: It sounds like you’ve learned a lot about yourself and about God by volunteering in the Social Justice Ministry. Would you like to tell us more about that?

Jack Murray: Yeah, at first blush, the Christian message is totally unreasonable. Why would you love your enemies? Why would you give the coat off your back? But if you just take little baby steps you start to understand God’s wisdom touched on in the Our Father: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others ...

I'm not a person who is going to start my own church or anything like that. And so the Catholic Church, which is strong and has been always stepping into the gap like our saints especially Pope John Paul II in my lifetime, they protect me when I do stuff. I can do things without getting over my head because, like I said before, God is God and I'm not. So, I really like what our parish does to keep that invitation alive yet at the same time protecting me from getting over my head.

Editor: It sounds like the Social Justice Ministry is doing a great job in the parish. Would you tell us more about your activities?

Jack Murray: Yeah, first as I said before, the Social Justice Ministry has two components: the charitable giving and then the advocacy. Things we’ve done recently to just build community is the Pentecost Potluck. We also hosted, for a couple of seasons, the Iftar dinner with Muslims. A meal to break their daily fast during Ramadan. We had an eight-week course sharing our common faith.

In northwest Austin, we have a lot of non-Christians and non-Catholics, and I would never want to get into a dialogue on my own with somebody as in-depth as the way we did, but the Church sponsored it and Fr. Mike (our former STM pastor, now at St. Albert the Great Parish) was all for it. This just shows that if Jesus is calling, be it through Fr. Mike or through our Bishop Joe Vásquez, I know that I'm well protected as I step into this gap.
And it's all volunteer work, so it's not as though I have to do anything more than I feel comfortable with.

Editor: It’s wonderful that these avenues are available for people like you who want to volunteer their time to meet people where they are. Is there anything that surprised you during your volunteer experience that you want to share with us? Maybe about the people you met or maybe the volunteers who were with you?

Jack Murray: There are plenty of examples, but let's just take the Iftar dinner. The Muslims I met, the guys and women, are really loving but more importantly they kind of humbled me when it comes to their prayer life. You and I know they prostrate themselves. And I've been to their mosque and so forth which they willingly allowed us to do. Nobody's changing their faith, I mean that doesn't surprise anybody, but we can see that God is in charge.
I also do this volunteer work for CASA which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. Basically, it is an invitation by the court system for children involved in Child Protective Services because of unfortunate situations like the collapse of their family and all that goes with that. There, the judge appoints me as guardian for this child and now I can, because I'm their legal guardian, go anywhere and anytime to talk to everybody that is involved with the child's life. Be it teachers, counselors, and even looking across the nation to find extended family members who've given up on this child a long time ago and encourage them to come back. It's all done on the auspices of the court system so I'm well protected.

At the same time, I see amazing miracles. There is such a thing as an indomitable spirit. God tells us that we're made in His image. Who is God? God is personified by Jesus. What a cool guy Jesus was. He was not afraid of sticking his neck out. I'm not going to do what he did but I will say that what Jesus said, everybody has dignity and everybody is made in God’s image regardless of what your circumstances are, has been proved to be true. My faith life and what I studied in the parochial system and what I hear in Mass are proven out in real-life situations. There are beautiful people, challenges too, but God is there.

Editor: This is a great testimonial on your volunteer work, Jack. To end, would you like to extend an invitation to those who are interested in your ministry?

Jack Murray: Yes, I do that not as an obligation by any stretch, no. It’s more of just step out a little bit from your comfort zone. You can call Liz at the parish front office or Sheri, our ministry leader. Just as an inquiry, and if something fits, I suggest you do it because it proves you were right when you stepped into the Catholic faith. You were right when you attended Mass, and you were right when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and he says now I got stuff for you to do. You want to see miracles? I'll show you some miracles.

And so, it's really an exciting time. But you’re well protected all the time, so it’s not a difficult step and so I would say yeah, make an inquiry. Maybe sign up for something. Offer suggestions because there are a lot of things that we could be doing that maybe we're not doing. And maybe you're the one who can point us to a larger impact on the community and maybe you don't want to get involved but you can show where we should be working. All that's good! But don't stay in the pews, instead, get into your shoes and step into the gap.

Join the Social Justice Ministry