332. Social charity is the practical hallmark of a Christian.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 332

Ave Maria series

How is the solidarity of Christians with other people expressed?

Christians are committed to just societal structures.  Part of this is universal access to the material, intellectual, and spiritual goods of this world.  Christians also make sure that the dignity of human work is respected, which includes a just wage.  Handing on the faith is also an act of solidarity with all mankind.  [1939-1942, 1948]

Baptism eradicates all sin, infuses us with the divine life and makes us adopted children of God. 

Solidarity is the practical hallmark of a Christian.  Practicing solidarity is not just a command of reason.  Jesus Christ, our Lord, identified completely with the poor and the lowly (Matthew 25:40).  To refuse solidarity with them would be to reject Christ.

Principles of Solidarity (from Latin solidus=thick, firm, strong): a principle of Catholic social teaching that aims at strengthening community and promoting a “civilization of love” (Pope John Paul II).

[1939-1942, 1948]

HUMAN SOLIDARITY

1939 The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of "friendship" or "social charity," is a direct demand of human and Christian brotherhood.(Compare John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 38-40; CA 10.)⁴⁵ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

An error, "today abundantly widespread, is disregard for the law of human solidarity and charity, dictated and imposed both by our common origin and by the equality in rational nature of all men, whatever nation they belong to. This law is sealed by the sacrifice of redemption offered by Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross to his heavenly Father, on behalf of sinful humanity."(Pius XII, Summi pontificatus,October 20, 1939; Acta Apostolicae Sedis 31 (1939) 423 ff.)⁴⁶ –CCC

1940 Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work. It also presupposes the effort for a more just social order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily settled by negotiation. –CCC

1941 Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples. International solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world peace depends in part upon this. –CCC

1942 The virtue of solidarity goes beyond material goods. In spreading the spiritual goods of the faith, the Church has promoted, and often opened new paths for, the development of temporal goods as well. And so throughout the centuries has the Lord's saying been verified: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well"(Matthew 6:33.)⁴⁷ –CCC

For two thousand years this sentiment has lived and endured in the soul of the Church, impelling souls then and now to the heroic charity of monastic farmers, liberators of slaves, healers of the sick, and messengers of faith, civilization, and science to all generations and all peoples for the sake of creating the social conditions capable of offering to everyone possible a life worthy of man and of a Christian.(Pius XII, Discourse, June 1, 1941.)⁴⁸–CCC

IN BRIEF

1948 Solidarity is an eminently Christian virtue. It practices the sharing of spiritual goods even more than material ones. –CCC

Sacrament  Baptism Infant being baptised

331. Charitable works to help one another.”

 YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 331

Ave Maria series

Why is there nevertheless injustice among men?

All men have the same dignity, but not all of them meet with the same living conditions.  In cases where injustice is man-made, it contradicts the Gospel.  In cases where men have been endowed by God with different gifts and talents, God is asking us to rely on one another: in charity one should make up for what the other lacks.  [1936-1938, 1946-1947]

Child laborer gathering cocoa. He is an opportunity for others to demonstrate their charity. .....126 ...331

There is a kind of inequality among men that does not come from God but rather originates in societal conditions, especially in the unjust distribution of raw materials, land, and capital worldwide.  God expects us to remove from the world everything that is plainly contrary to the Gospel and disregards human dignity.  Yet there is another sort of inequality among men that is quite in keeping with God’s will:  inequality in talents, initial conditions, and opportunities.  These are an indication that being human means being there for others in charity so as to share and to promote life.  61

“Love the poor, and do not turn your back on them, for if you turn your back on the poor, you turn your back on Christ.  He made himself hungry, naked, homeless, so that you and I would have an opportunity to love him.”  Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

 [1936-1938, 1946-1947]

EQUALITY AND DIFFERENCES AMONG MEN

1936 On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth.(Compare Gaudium et Spes 29 § 2.)⁴¹ The "talents" are not distributed equally.(Compare Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:27.)⁴²–Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1937 These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular "talents" share the benefits with those who need them. These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures:–CCC

I distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each person, but some to one, some to others. . . . I shall give principally charity to one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one. . . . And so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another. . . . I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me.(St. Catherine of Siena, Dial. I,7.)⁴³ –CCC

1938 There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel:–CCC

Their equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international peace.(CS 29 § 3.)⁴⁴–CCC

IN BRIEF

1946 The differences among persons belong to God's plan, who wills that we should need one another. These differences should encourage charity. –CCC

1947 The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of sinful inequalities. –CCC

People  Slave  Cocoa-Child-Laborer

330. The equality of men

 YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 330

Ave Maria series

To what extent are all men equal in God’s sight?

All men are equal in God’s sight insofar as all have the same Creator, all were created in the same image of God with a rational soul, and all have the same Redeemer.  [1934-1935, 1945]

Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann.  …..330

Jesus impressed the meaning “love of neighbor” to the scholar of the law^* who asked him, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?by telling him the parable of the Good Samaritan(Luke 10:25-37).

Because all men are equal in God’s sight, every person possesses the same dignity and has a claim to the same human rights.  Hence every kind of social, racist, sexist, cultural, or religious discrimination against a person is an unacceptable injustice.”

“God says, ‘ I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me.’”  St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

“Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours.”  C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” Luke 3:11

“The Creator has inscribed on our being the ‘natural law’, which is the reflection in our hearts of his plan for creation, as the guide and inner standard for our life.”  Pope Benedict XVI, May 27, 2006

[1934-1935, 1945]

EQUALITY AND DIFFERENCES AMONG MEN

1934 Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1935 The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: 

Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design.(Gaudium et Spes 29 § 2.)⁴⁰ --CCC

IN BRIEF

1945 The equality of men concerns their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it. –CCC

JT  Christ and the rich

329. The dignity intrinsic of the person.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 329

Ave Maria series

329  How does social justice come about in a society?

Social justice comes about where the inalienable dignity of every person is respected and the resulting rights are safeguarded and championed without reservation.  Among these is also the right to active participation in the political, economic, and cultural life of the society.  [1928-1933, 1943-1944]

…329

 

The basis of all justice is respect for the inalienable dignity of the human person, “whose defense and promotion have been entrusted to us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are strictly and responsibility in debt” (Pope St. John Paul II, Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis, published 1987).  Human rights are an immediate consequence of human dignity, and no State can abolish or change them.  States and authorities that trample these rights underfoot are unjust regimes and lose their authority.  A society is not perfected by laws, however, but rather by love of neighbor, which makes it possible for everyone to “look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as ‘another self’” (Gaudium et Spes 27, 1).

As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”  Matthew 25:40

“There is not, never has been, and never will be a single person for whom Christ did not suffer.”  Council of Quiercy.  A.D. 853

“(All) men are to deal with their fellows in justice and civility.”  Second Vatican Council, Dignitatis humane

1928-1933, 1943-1944

THE HUMAN COMMUNITY

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1928 Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

RESPECT FOR THE HUMAN PERSON

1929 Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man. The person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to him: 

What is at stake is the dignity of the human person, whose defense and promotion have been entrusted to us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are strictly and responsibly in debt.(Pope St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 47.)³⁵ –CCC

1930 Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a society undermines its own moral legitimacy.(Compare Pope St. John XXIII, Pacem in Terris 65)³⁶ If it does not respect them, authority can rely only on force or violence to obtain obedience from its subjects. It is the Church's role to remind men of good will of these rights and to distinguish them from unwarranted or false claims. –CCC

1931 Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as 'another self,' above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity."(Gaudium et Spes 27 § 1.)³⁷ No legislation could by itself do away with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a "neighbor," a brother. 

1932 The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be. "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."(Matthew 25:40.)³⁸–CCC

1933 This same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us. The teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of offenses. He extends the commandment of love, which is that of the New Law, to all enemies.(Compare Matthew 5:43-44.)³⁹ Liberation in the spirit of the Gospel isincompatible with hatred of one's enemy as a person, but not with hatred of the evil that he does as an enemy. --CCC

IN BRIEF

1943 Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and individuals to obtain their due. –CCC

1944 Respect for the human person considers the other "another self." It presupposes respect for the fundamental rights that flow from the dignity intrinsic of the person. –CCC

People  Social justice

 

 

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem by Enrique Simonet 1892

“But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" see Luke 13:3,5 in today’s Gospel

Third Sunday of Lent – March 24, 2019
Lectionary: 30

Reading 1 EX 3:1-8A, 13-15

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,the priest of Midian.  Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,the mountain of God.  There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire
flaming out of a bush.  As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided,“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,and see why the bush is not burned.”
When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.”  God said, “Come no nearer!  Remove the sandals from your feet,for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued,“the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  But the LORD said,“I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egyptand have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers,so I know well what they are suffering.  Therefore I have come down to rescue themfrom the hands of the Egyptiansand lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelitesand say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”  God replied, “I am who am.”  Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites:  I AM sent me to you.”
God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites:  The LORD, the God of your fathers,the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,has sent me to you.
“This is my name forever;thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

Responsorial    PSALM 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11.

R. (8a)  The Lord is kind and merciful.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Reading 2   1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-6, 10-12

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ.  Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.
These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.  These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.

Verse Before The Gospel   MATTHEW 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Gospel    LUKE 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileanswhose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.  Jesus said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way 
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?  By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!  Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?  By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,you will all perish as they did!"
And he told them this parable: "There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,he said to the gardener,'For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none.  So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?'  He said to him in reply,'Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future.  If not you can cut it down.'"

JP  Jesus weeps over Jerusalem 

328. Promoting the common good

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 328

Ave Maria series

What can the individual contribute to the common good?

Working for the common good means assuming responsibility for others.  [1913-1917, 1926]

Contributing to the common good…. The welding skills of a Rhinelander, WI Nicolet College student seeking to enter the workforce are being tested by an instructor in the school’s mechanical shop.…..328

The common good must be the business of everyone.  This happens first of all when men get involved in their surroundings—family, neighborhood, workplace—and take responsibility.  It is important also to exercise social and political responsibility. Someone who assumes this sort of responsibility, however, wields power and is always in danger of misusing that power. Therefore, everyone in a position of responsibility is called upon to engage in an ongoing process of conversion, so that he can exercise that responsibility for others in lasting justice and charity.

“No one can claim as Cain did, that he is not responsible for the fate of his brother.”  Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005)

“Respect the good reputation of your enemies.”  St. John Vianney  (1786-1859)

1913-1917, 1926

RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION

1913 "Participation" is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person in social interchange. It is necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1914 Participation is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal responsibility: by the care taken for the education of his family, by conscientious work, and so forth, man participates in the good of others and of society. (Compare Centesimus Annus 43.)³¹–CCC

1915 As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life. The manner of this participation may vary from one country or culture to another. "One must pay tribute to those nations whose systems permit the largest possible number of the citizens to take part in public life in a climate of genuine freedom."(Gaudium et Spes 31 § 3.)³²–CCC

1916 As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the social partners. Fraud and other subterfuges, by which some people evade the constraints of the law and the prescriptions of societal obligation, must be firmly condemned because they are incompatible with the requirements of justice. Much care should be taken to promote institutions that improve the conditions of human life.(Compare Gaudium et Spes 30 § 1.)³³–CCC

1917 It is incumbent on those who exercise authority to strengthen the values that inspire the confidence of the members of the group and encourage them to put themselves at the service of others. Participation begins with education and culture. "One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism."(Gaudium et Spes 31 § 3.)^34 --CCC

IN BRIEF

1926 The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to create and support institutions that improve the conditions of human life. –CCC

People  Public Service  Nicolet