Wednesday, January 10, 2023

- January 04, 2024

Psalm 56, Verse 3-5

³ My foes treat me harshly all the day; yes, many are my attackers. O Most High, ⁴ when I am AFRAID, in you I place my trust. ⁵I praise the word of God; I trust in God, I do not fear. What can mere flesh do to me?

No, we must be in the world but not of the world. Christ in His Sermon on the Mount taught us how our lifestyle is to be.

1. Be not afraid but be brave in the world loving even the loveless.

2. Do not become prideful and self-important but show humility; reverence and respect to all: for they are created by the hand of God.

3. Do not envy the wicked; but let your desire be to be kind remembering they must account for themselves before God; respect and be loyal to them.

4. Let your anger be at injustice, showing patience, compassion, and forgiveness to the sinner.

5. Be temperate and do all things in moderation; do not greedily take things to yourself but share your wealth with those in need. Remember to show true charity by helping them with their troubles thus empowering them to become greater; to pursue righteousness.

6. Do not become slothful or failing to resist evil but be diligent to build the Kingdom of God; one day and one person at a time: begin with yourself.

7. Do not be gluttonous; avoid excess and exclusivity (the country club mentality) but be temperate; sacrifice, give up and surrender to the Spirit of God.

8. Do not look on others as objects to be used for lustful needs but see them as created by the hand of God; your chase purpose is to help them achieve God’s dream for them.

Imagine the change in the world if parents used this as the yardstick to train their children.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST

SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

CHAPTER TWO-THE HUMAN COMMUNION

1877 The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole.

Every Wednesday is Dedicated to St. Joseph

The Italian culture has always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass. You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous, you could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night, perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do, make the day special.

· Do the St. Joseph Universal Man Plan.

· Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St. Joseph

· Be a model worker.

Work is both an obligation and a right. Both workers and employees have responsibilities under God.

What does the Catholic Church teach about work?[1]

Here are some excerpts from the USCCB, which detail several of the Church's teachings on work.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Work is an important part of who we are. It is a common boast how long people work and how much they earn as a result of their labor. We identify so powerfully with our work that a common question upon meeting another person tends to be, "What do you do for work?"

While the question isn't always welcome, for it suggests the dignity of a person is primarily attached to their work, it tells a lot about our society. And indeed, work does build dignity.

We spend a lot of time talking about work, the value of labor, and what we should do with those who cannot or choose not to work. What should the poor do? Should the working poor be paid more? Or should they work doubly hard for the same pay?

While we grapple, sometimes fiercely with these questions, the Catholic Church has already provided some direction. Read these excerpts, courtesy of the USCCB, and then consider these questions again. Do these statements change your mind? Or to they reinforce what you already know?

Scripture

Genesis 2:1-3

God rests on the seventh day.

Genesis 2:15

God settles man in the garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it.

Deuteronomy 5:13-15

The Sabbath is for everyone-all are allowed to rest from their work.

Deuteronomy 14:28-29

The Lord blesses our work so that we may share its fruits with others.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15

Do not withhold wages from your workers, for their livelihood depends on them.

Sirach 34:20-22

To deprive an employee of wages is to commit murder.

Isaiah 58:3-7

To observe religious practices, but oppress your workers is false worship.

Jeremiah 22:13

Woe to him who treats his workers unjustly.

Matthew 20:1-16

All workers should be paid a just and living wage.

Mark 2:27

The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.

Luke 3:10-14

Practice integrity in your work.

Luke 12:13-21

One's worth is not determined by an abundance of possessions.

James 5:1-6

Those who become rich by abusing their workers have sinned against God.

Tradition

Work is, as has been said, an obligation, that is to say, a duty, on the part of man. . . Man must work, both because the Creator has commanded it and because of his own humanity, which requires work in order to be maintained and developed. Man must work out of regard for others, especially his own family, but also for the society he belongs to, the country of which he is a child, and the whole human family of which he is a member, since he is the heir to the work of generations and at the same time a sharer in building the future of those who will come after him in the succession of history. On Human Work (Laborem Exercens)

Work is a good thing for man-a good thing for his humanity-because through work man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfilment as a human being and indeed, in a sense, becomes "more a human being." On Human Work (Laborem Exercens)

The obligation to earn one's bread by the sweat of one's brow also presumes the right to do so. A society in which this right is systematically denied, in which economic policies do not allow workers to reach satisfactory levels of employment, cannot be justified from an ethical point of view, nor can that society attain social peace. The Hundredth Year (Centesimus Annus)

In many cases, poverty results from a violation of the dignity of human work, either because work opportunities are limited (through unemployment or underemployment), or "because a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and his or her family." Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate)

All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions, as well as to organize and join unions or other associations. A Catholic Framework for Economic Life.

All these rights, together with the need for the workers themselves to secure them, give rise to yet another right: the right of association, that is to form associations for the purpose of defending the vital interests of those employed in the various professions. These associations are called labor or trade unions. On Human Work (Laborem Exercens)

As the Church solemnly reaffirmed in the recent Council, "the beginning, the subject and the goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person." All people have the right to work, to a chance to develop their qualities and their personalities in the exercise of their professions, to equitable remuneration which will enable them and their families "to lead a worthy life on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level" and to assistance in case of need arising from sickness or age. A Call to Action (Octogesima Adveniens)

The economic sphere is neither ethically neutral, nor inherently inhuman or opposed to society. It is part and parcel of human activity and precisely because it is human, it must be structured and governed in an ethical manner. Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate)

I would like to remind everyone, especially governments engaged in boosting the world's economic and social assets, that the primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, the human person in his or her integrity: "Man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life." Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), quoting The Church in the Modern World. (Gaudium et Spes)

Daily Devotions

· Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: End Sex Trafficking Slavery

· Religion in the Home for Preschool: January

· Carnival Time begins in Catholic Countries.

· Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

· Drops of Christ’s Blood

· Universal Man Plan

· Have a hot toddy

· Rosary