"Catholic Social Thought": BIBLICAL ASPECTS

• 255.
• “The Old Testament presents God as the omnipotent Creator who fashions man in his image and invites him to work the soil, and cultivate and care for the garden of Eden in which he has placed him.”
• Genesis 2:2
• Job 38-41
• Psalms 104
• Psalms 147
• Genesis 2:5-6
• Genesis 2:15
• “In the Creator’s plan, created realities, which are good in themselves, exist for man’s use.”
• Psalms 8:5-7
• 256.
• “Work is part of the original state of man and precedes his fall; it is therefore not a punishment or curse.”
• 257.
• “Work has a place of honor because it is a source of riches, or at least of the conditions for a decent life, and is, in principle, an effective instrument against poverty.  But one must not succumb to the temptation of making an idol of work, for the ultimate and definitive meaning of life is not to be found in work.  Work is essential, but it is God –– and not work –– who is the origin of life and the final goal of man.”
• Psalms 10:4
• 258.
• “The apex of biblical teaching on work is the commandment of the Sabbath rest.”
• “The memory and the experience of the Sabbath constitute a barrier against becoming slaves to work, whether voluntarily or by force, and against every kind of exploitation, hidden or evident.”

• 259.
• “In his preaching, Jesus teaches that we should appreciate work.”
• John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens, 6: AAS 73 (1981), 591.
• 260.
• “In his preaching, Jesus teaches man not to be enslaved by work.  Before all else, he must be concerned about his soul; gaining the whole world is not the purpose of his life.”
• Mark 8:36
• 261.
• “During his earthly ministry Jesus works tirelessly, accomplishing powerful deeds to free men and women from sickness, suffering and death.”
• 262.
• “Human activity aimed at enhancing and transforming the universe can and must unleash the perfections which find their origin and model in the uncreated Word.”
• John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 1: AAS 71 (1979), 257.
• John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 8: AAS 71 (1979), 270.
• 263.
• “Work represents a fundamental dimension of human existence as participation not only in the act of creation but also in that of redemption.”
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2427.
• John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens, 27: AAS 73 (1981), 644-647.

• 264.
• “The awareness that ‘the form of this world is passing away’ is not an exoneration from being involved in the world, and even less from work, which is an integral part of the human condition, although not the only purpose of life.”
• 1 Corinthians 7:31
• 2 Thessalonians 3:7-15
• 265.
• “The Fathers of the Church do not consider work as an ‘opus servile’ –– although the culture of their day maintained precisely that such was the case –– but always as an ‘opus humanum,’ and they tend to hold all its various expressions in honor.”
• Saint John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts, in Acta Apostolorum Homiliae 35,3:PG 60, 258.
• Saint Basil, Regulae Fusius Tractatae 42: PG 31, 1023-1027.
• Saint Athanasius, Life of Saint Antony, ch. 3: PG 26, 846.
• Saint Ambrose, De Obitu Valentiniani Consolatio, 62: PL 16, 1438.
• 266.
• “By his work and industriousness, man –– who has a share in the divine art and wisdom –– makes creation, the cosmos already ordered by the Father, more beautiful.  He summons the social and community energies that increase the common good, above all to the benefit of those who are neediest.”
• Saint Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, 5, 32, 2: PL 7, 1210-1211.
• Theodoret of Cyr, On Providence, Orationes 5-7: PG 83, 625-686.
• John Paul II, Address during his Pastoral Visit to Pomezia, Italy (14 September 1979), 3: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 1 October 1979, p. 4.

Address during his Pastoral Visit to Pomezia, Italy

Catechism of the Catholic Church

"For more than a decade bishops, theologians, and other experts worked on a 'compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals.' The fruit of their work was the catechism, an organized presentation of the essential teachings of the Catholic Church in regards to both faith and morals, 'in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the church’s tradition.'”  - USCatholic.org

Holy Bible

Laborem Exercens

"Exhorting Christians everywhere to be involved in the transformation of existing socio-economic systems, John Paul II presents work as a fundamental dimension of human existence through which the "social question" must be viewed. The meaning of work can only be properly understood when the dignity of labor is taken as an underlying premise."  - http://www.cctwincities.org/CatholicSocialTeachingMajorDocuments

Redemptor Hominis

"Above all, I implore Mary, the heavenly Mother of the Church, to be so good as to devote herself to this prayer of humanity's new Advent, together with us who make up the Church, that is to say the Mystical Body of her Only Son.  I hope that through this prayer we shall be able to receive the Holy Spirit coming upon us and thus become Christ's witnesses 'to the end of the earth,' like those who went forth from the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost."

Saint Ambrose, De Obitu Valentiniani Consolatio

Saint Athanasius, Life of Saint Antony

Saint Basil, Regulae Fusius Tractatae

Saint Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses

Saint John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts

Theodoret of Cyr, On Providence