See The Patterns...Hear the Words.

"In Paris a year ago last July, in the Vélodrome d'Hiver and the Parc-des-Princes, gathered 75,000 young people whose berets and uniforms, naming torches and fluttering banners made them look like any horde of young Communists, Nazis or Fascists. But they knelt before a cross, and the good grey Archbishop of Paris, Jean Cardinal Verdier, said, "You have sworn to effect that miracle upon which in our timidity we had no longer counted." The 75,000 were Jocists, members of JOC (Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne—Christian Working Youth), celebrating the tenth anniversary of the most vigorous youth movement outside Europe's dictator nations." TIME Magazine Monday, Sept. 26, 1938

SEE the Patterns.

Patterns help us anticipate and understand strategic forces, reshaping our culture, society, and even how we practice religion. Patterns will change the way we view all aspects of our lives.

Artists and art history reflect the social and technological changes that swept through the history of humans on this planet. The art shows us patterns of understanding and cause/effect in the culture. Equally pronounced, we see changes sweeping through today's society, our cultural landscape, and emerging technology, often at a breathtaking speed many humans can't wrap their heads around.

We are entering the liturgical cycle of year B, which is predominately Mark’s Gospel. Mark has a very special way of telling stories, which appears frequently in his gospel. He begins with one story, then switches to another before once again returning to finish the first. What you notice in Mark is his use of patterns. Mark uses what we call the “Sandwich Pattern.”  Mark isn’t simply telling us what happened. He’s chosen to arrange his story this way. The question is why? The question Why is in the middle of his stories.  So watch for the patterns as we start to hear Mark’s stories of Jesus starting this Sunday.

Also, remember Mark, like St Paul, wrote the stories to be HEARD. Since most people didn’t know how to read the letters and writings would be read out loud for people who gathered.

We can employ the Cardijn see-judge-act method in patterns. Pattern recognition using the see-judge-act method is a powerful tool for discerning order beneath the surface of chaos. 

Pattern thinking helps community leaders, social service managers, activists, change agents, religious leaders, and critical talent anticipate the likely direction of change even before it happens. 

Understanding patterns reveals the missional meaning of these changes. It provides the tools to capitalize on them and make the necessary changes to bring about the greater good.

Joseph Cardijn called a pattern "the Jocist Sacrament." This Strategic Way of Thinking allows us to "have those AHA moments," spot an emerging trend, and chart a path before a not-so-advantageous result occurs. The aim of Jocism was a peaceful revolution, a Christian upsurge in the ranks of labor, based not upon Marxian materialism but upon the labor encyclicals of Popes Leo XIII and Pius XI. Remember the year, remember the situation in time. SEE THE PATTERNS. The rise of fascism is spreading across Europe and making its way to America. Various versions of Christian Nationalism were forming to promote and support fascism in the name of "God's will."

Jocism was, in many ways, an antidote to fascism during the 1930s. Cardijn saw the patterns, discernment, and judgment on understanding the fate of people, and a plan of action was developed, and Jocism was born.

Hundreds of thousands of young people, Catholic, and non-Catholics, organized throughout Europe; they saw the patterns being developed by fascism and, at the same time, the strength of the Industrial Revolution was taking advantage of workers; they understood the patterns that were developing. At the same time, many "lapsed Catholics" like Hitler and Mussolini found it challenging to understand what this Jocism was about and what it was doing. They didn't understand how this was happening—the movement was based on Christian (Catholic) Social Teachings, and the members embraced the movement within and around the church to bring about change in their lives at work and in the way they were governed, in a living association which transcended nationalist and political ties. 

The key here is the movement transcended politics.

Guiding their practice was simple: See, Judge, and Act. 

What did they SEE? On one end of the spectrum, Christianity was a community of believers and followers of Jesus. On the other end, they saw fascism and economic suppression by greedy industrialists. In our world today, 

Cardijn spent his life teaching us how to engage with the day's problems, bring about change, innovate, educate, and collaborate with others to bring about change; at the core was Catholic Social Teaching.

During the 1930s, the JOC movements experienced two driving forces that would alter how humans were free and productive—the rise of fascism and the Industrial Revolution. Note: The two didn’t have much in common but, at times, fed off each other's momentum. 

SEE the patterns. 

We see The Cardijn approach of See-Judge-Act that can profoundly influence the way Catholics/Christians - from all walks of life, from factory workers, farmers, tradespeople, and the hierarchy and clergy with religious leaders in the church see it as a way to analyze and bring about change in society for the greater good. 

Today, we see a pattern of Polarization/separation--the winner-takes-all game, and why it's spreading to more industries and governments.

We JUDGE the importance of developing Mindshare- the importance of sharing her and holding on to the attention of crucial principles, scripture, tradition, and people's talent to do the greater good for the common good of all humans.

Within Catholic Social Teachings (all the encyclicals, scripture, early traditions in the church, lessons learned by the movers and shakers of the Cardijn movements), we see Patterns and Mindshare unfold for us to create a repertoire of patterns, actions, moves, and countermoves to help all of us understand and exploit the forces changing our world. Just like Cardijn and his followers did in the 1930s. This knowledge base of See-Judge-Act Patterns will allow us to share ways to harness the strategic learning of the past decades globally, eliminating the need to create strategies from scratch.

We can all take action to develop a workbook to launch our process of responding to change. This can be done in small groups, workshops, and learning sessions. We have the tools and technology to share and communicate. We need the will to ACT.

In today's turbulent and discontinuous world of social change, emerging technology, and division fostered by social media, it's no longer helpful to analyze our situation in life in a static, conventional way. Modern-day Cardijn See-Judge-Act Patterns can provide the means to act before the ground shifts beneath you again. It is the mental operating system for overcoming oppression, fear, and the loss of democracy when the rules of the game change so frequently.

Today, we are seeing a rise in fascism, authoritarian rulers emerging, and Christian nationalism, which is contrary to Jesus' teachings. We are also in the midst of the next economic revolution, the autonomous revolution, and the rise of artificial intelligence and emerging technology, which will alter how we work and live. The good, the bad, and the ugly will unfold. The change for the greater good is in our hands. We need... to See the Patterns.

Pattern pictures created on Canva.