By Carol Glatz
May 1 is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, who is depicted in this mosaic at Galway Cathedral in Ireland. (CNS photo/Crosiers)
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has a special devotion to St. Joseph — as the earthly father of Jesus and as a worker.
To help celebrate this feast of St. Joseph the Worker, here are a few snippets of some of the many things the pope has said about the importance of work and dignified working conditions.
On work as dignity:
“Work means dignity, work means taking food home, work means loving!”
– Meeting with workers and the unemployed in Cagliari, Sardinia, Sept. 22, 2013
“Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way share in the work of creation! …It gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one’s family, to contribute to the growth of one’s nation.”
– General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, May 1, 2013
On the problem of ‘an economy of exclusion:’
“Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.
The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.
– Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel #53, Nov. 24, 2013
Pope Francis wearing a hard hat during an audience with pilgrims from Terni Diocese in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall March 20, 2014. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)
On the problem of unemployment:
“It is the consequence of an economic system which is no longer capable of creating work, because it has placed an idol at the center that is called money!
Therefore, the various political, social and economic entities are called to promote a different approach based on justice and solidarity. This word now risks being removed from the dictionary. Solidarity: it seems like a dirty word! No! Solidarity is important, but this system is not very fond of it, it prefers to exclude it.
Such human solidarity should ensure that everyone have the possibility to carry out a dignified form (Read More)
Source: http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/all-work-and-no-pray/
