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Exploring the word

29 Sep 2013 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Today’s a great day to do some catechesis on the social teaching of the church—but don’t say that or you’ll lose everyone’s attention! Nothing sounds worse than catechesis, unless it’s social teaching! A few useful terms will introduce the great Catholic writing on this subject and help us concentrate on the essentials. Let’s start with the common good. In the fourth century Saint Ambrose taught that what God intended for all should not become the possession of a few, or as Pope John Paul II said: Christianity teaches that private property is under a social mortgage. The goods of creation don’t belong to the strongest, smartest, or most devious. While the rich man in the parable earned, inherited, or otherwise acquired a lot of stuff, that didn’t give him the right to withhold even the crumbs from Lazarus. So how do we build a more just society? The first step is the recognition of solidarity. We’re all God’s children and that makes us brothers and sisters. You don’t allow family members to suffer. You take care of them, even when it costs you. The “unity of the human family,” Pope John XXIII said, means the common good is not simply a national quest but a universal one. We’re all in this together on a little planet. And when choices have to be made, the preferential option for the poor is the bottom line. As in a family, the last come first, the weak before the strong, the child before the adult. The rich man called Abraham his father but never saw Lazarus as his brother. The second step toward justice is personalism. We recognize that the person always comes before the goal. There is no goal more important than the person who accomplishes it. That has ramifications in government and the workplace, the legal system and the marketplace, the family and the church. Human dignity must always be considered and respected. Even after death the rich man views Lazarus as a slave to be ordered about, not a full person like himself. Subsidiarity is next. That means people should have as much say as possible about decisions that concern them. They should have the right to choose their leaders, protect their local environments and economies, not have Powers That Be determining their fate in broad measures over their heads. Poor Lazarus didn’t even have the power to keep the dogs from licking his sores, and the rich man didn’t care what Lazarus thought or needed even though he lay at his door. Our humanity makes us one. Our humanity gives us dignity. Our humanity gives us the right to a voice. Together we seek the common good: closing the chasm between Lazarus and us. Related scripture links Theological virtues: 1 Cor. 13:13 Are we saved by faith or works?: James 2:14-26 Charity as divine attribute: 1 John 4:7-12 Took on human likeness: Phil. 2:5-11 Catechism links Charity: CCC 736; 864; 1812-1813; 1822-1829; 1832; 1889; 2055; 2831

Authors Alice Camille

humanity catechesis common good

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Exploring the word

29 Apr 2012 - Fourth Sunday of Easter; Good Shepherd Sunday, Cycle B

HOW OFTEN DO you pray for the president? It doesn’t matter if you didn’t vote for him—maybe you should pray harder for those you didn’t want to elect! Have you ever prayed for the leaders of Europe, or Russia, or China, or the Middle East? Would you lift up a prayer for a poor leader or one you deemed outright evil? Leadership might be one of the world’s most neglected vocations. There will always be folks who grab power, but leadership is something else again. When we look to the gospel for direction, we see that a leader must first of all be a servant. To serve at the top, one must be familiar with the bottom. To know how and where to lead, you have to know where your followers are to begin with and where they need to go. The church teaches something called the "common good.” If leaders want to serve their people best, they should determine what’s best for all, not only for the strongest, smartest, or loudest. “Survival of the fittest” is not a principle that serves the common good. “The last will be first” is more like it. This is why, on this World Day of Prayer for Vocations, we might consider the example of Saint Peter, the church’s rock. Even if Jesus hadn’t appointed him as head over all, perhaps he might have been voted in by popular acclaim. It’s hard not to like Peter: bold, passionate, articulate, impetuous. Above all, he’s very human. Peter makes sense to us. He also wakes up our inner hero and makes us aspire to be like him. Consider his speech today, delivered after a night spent in jail under custody of the religious authorities. These are the same authorities who mere weeks ago dragged Jesus before Pilate and demanded his crucifixion. Peter has every reason to be afraid. If ever there was a time to soft-pedal your dogma, this is it. But Peter’s learned some things from his time at the bottom—about the true cost of compromise and the grief of denying your friends and yourself. He’s not going to take the safe way out and refuse to acknowledge the one he denied before. So he declares that he comes in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the crucified one, the Risen One, the stone rejected, the cornerstone, the name that saves. Clear enough? Such courage garners a collective gasp from the Sanhedrin. They instinctively know they can’t contain this determination. So they let their captives go. If we want to see this kind of courage in the world again, all we have to do is pray for it. Today’s a good day for that. Every day is. Related scripture links Jesus is the same: Heb. 13:8 Trusting in God: Ps. 32:10; 37:3; 40:4; 131:1-3; Prov. 3:5; 20:22; Isa. 26:4 The paradox of the Resurrection: 1 Cor. 15:42-44 The strength of the kingdom: 2 Cor. 10:3-5 In weakness, power reaches perfection: 2 Cor. 12:7b-10 Catechism links The good shepherd: CCC 551-553; 606; 609; 649; 753-754

Authors Alice Camille

leaders Leadership common good World Day of Prayer for Vocations

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Pope argues for ethical economics

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power,” promises Saint Paul in this Sunday’s excerpt from 1 Corinthians. Pope Benedict XVI would like to see world economic powers raise their ethical standards and create systems that benefit all humanity, he said Monday in his keynote speech for the New Year. The pope said the “grave and disturbing developments of the global economic and financial crisis” that had started in industrialized countries were now infecting the rest of the world and leaving many, particularly the young, disoriented and frustrated. "The crisis can and must be an incentive to reflect on human existence and on the importance of its ethical dimension," he said in French, addressing diplomats from nearly 180 countries. Changes in the economy should not only be "an effort to stem private losses or to shore up national economies, but to give ourselves new rules that ensure that all can lead a dignified life and develop their abilities for the benefit of the community as a whole." A document issued last October by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace called for sweeping reforms of the world economy and the creation of an ethical global authority to regulate financial markets. Source: An article by Philip Pullella for Reuters

common good benedict xvi economics economy financial reform business ethics

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Is there a vaccine against unfounded rumors?

26 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Peter falls under suspicion with Jewish authorities in this Sunday’s first reading for curing a crippled man. Vaccines that have prevented crippling diseases in children for decades have lately fallen under suspicion thanks to unfounded internet rumors about their supposed risks. But a bill that would require nearly all children in California to be vaccinated by eliminating “personal belief” exemptions advanced through the state legislature on Wednesday. If approved, California would become one of only three states that require all parents to vaccinate their children as a condition of going to school, unless there is a medical reason not to do so. Homily hint: The common good sometimes has to come before “personal choice.” We can’t “choose” to run red lights because to do so would clearly put others at risk. Choosing not to have children vaccinated based on bad science puts every child at risk. Let’s take a broader view of social responsibility. For more on vaccination requirements, see: Bill Requiring Vaccination of Children Advances in California, but Hurdles Remain

common good public health

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Homily stories

14 Nov 2010 - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Jesus' words "by your perseverance you will secure your lives" call to mind the experiences of birds as they make a seasonal migration. Multiple times a year various species of birds travel thousands of miles in response to changes in food availability, habitat, or climate. Despite the threat of predators and exhaustion, every bird is biologically cued to make the migration with its species. During these migrations, many species work together as a team. Large birds, for instance, will often travel in a V-formation to help individuals save 12 to 20 percent of the energy they would need to fly alone. In some species birds will accompany an individual bird to the ground if it is falling to its death during the migration. The reading today seems to be not so much about surviving as an individual or a community but more about working together toward the common good. Just as every species of bird reacts to its environment to determine when it is time for migration, we as humans react to problems in our world and attempt to solve them. Jesus warns us that although these issues will always arise, it is up to us to use his teachings to work through them and make the world a better place.

Authors Brother Nathaniel Pierce, S.J.C.

perseverence common good migration

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Homily stories

16 Nov 2025 - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Jesus' words "by your perseverance you will secure your lives" call to mind the experiences of birds as they make a seasonal migration. Multiple times a year various species of birds travel thousands of miles in response to changes in food availability, habitat, or climate. Despite the threat of predators and exhaustion, every bird is biologically cued to make the migration with its species. During these migrations, many species work together as a team. Large birds, for instance, will often travel in a V-formation to help individuals save 12 to 20 percent of the energy they would need to fly alone. In some species birds will accompany an individual bird to the ground if it is falling to its death during the migration. The reading today seems to be not so much about surviving as an individual or a community but more about working together toward the common good. Just as every species of bird reacts to its environment to determine when it is time for migration, we as humans react to problems in our world and attempt to solve them. Jesus warns us that although these issues will always arise, it is up to us to use his teachings to work through them and make the world a better place.

Authors Brother Nathaniel Pierce, S.J.C.

common good

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