Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father,��You hold each of us in your loving hands.�Come fill our hearts, minds and bodies afresh with hope.�Help us to cast our worries upon you, so that we can embrace our learning today.�Bless us as we learn and grow together.�Lord, watch over us all, keep us safe within your Almighty hand.��Amen.�
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This principle challenges us to recognize our duty to protect the rights that all people have according to the human dignity given to them by God. The only way to protect community and the rights and dignity of the human person is for each of us to take responsibility and duty to one another, family, and the society in which we live.
Catholic Social Teaching:
Rights and Responsibilities
Let’s watch a video to remind us why Catholic Social Teaching is important
You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength; you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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Solidarity is a moral and spiritual principle that recognizes the interconnectedness of all people as one human family. It involves a commitment to the common good, acting with and for others to achieve justice, and recognizing that the well-being of one person affects all. This commitment is not merely an emotion but a firm determination to address the root causes of suffering, both globally and locally.
Catholic Social Teaching:
Solidarity
Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
Role of the Church ->
Everyone is called, everyone is sent out . . . The call of God can reach us on the assembly line and in the office, in the supermarket and in the stairwell, i.e., in the places of everyday life. Pope Francis (1/30/14)
Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family.
Catholic social teaching is a central and essential element of our faith. Its roots are in the Hebrew prophets who announced God's special love for the poor and called God's people to a covenant of love and justice. It is a teaching founded on the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came "to bring glad tidings to the poor . . . liberty to captives . . . recovery of sight to the blind"(Lk 4:18-19), and who identified himself with "the least of these," the hungry and the stranger (cf. Mt 25:45). Catholic social teaching is built on a commitment of mercy. This commitment arises from our experiences of Christ in the Eucharist.
We are called to care for our neighbor
Think for a moment about Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem. . . . They were alone, in a strange land, just the three of them.
Then, all of a sudden, people began to appear: shepherds, people just like them who had to leave their homes to find better opportunities for their families. Their lives were also affected by harsh weather but by other kinds of hardship too. When they heard that Jesus had been born, they went to see him. They became neighbors.
In an instant, they became a family to Mary and Joseph. The family of Jesus.
This is what happens when Jesus comes into our lives. It is what happens with faith. Faith brings us closer. It makes us neighbors. It makes us neighbors to others. Faith awakens our commitment to others.
Pope Francis (7/12/15, Address)
Horton Hears a Who
This is a story about an elephant named Horton. One day he discovers a group of very tiny people who live on a speck of dust in the jungle. Even though other jungle animals tease him and try to trap him, Horton does his best to protect the tiny people from harm.
As you listen to the story, think about how you might protect those who need your help.
Click above to start video
Why did Horton feel he had to help the Whos?
What are some ways you can help others in need?
What are some other lessons Horton taught us…..
It is vital for us humans, like Horton, to concern ourselves with the smallest and most helpless among us, those who don't always have a voice. We must speak out for them and respect their needs.�
Horton has faith in the unseen. Horton has the openness and sensitivity to make room in his heart for a larger worldview.
You might say his ears are “Godlike”. He cares for his neighbor even though he can’t see them, he is faithful 100%.
No effort is too small to make a difference!��We are all connected. What we do or don’t do has an impact on others.�
Lord, we pray for the power to be gentle; the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding; and the endurance to accept the consequences of holding to what we believe to be right.
� May we put our trust in the power of good to overcome evil and the power of love to overcome hatred.
� We pray for the vision to see and the faith to believe in a world emancipated from violence, a new world where fear shall no longer lead men to commit injustice, nor selfishness make them bring suffering to others.
� Help us to devote our whole life and thought and energy to the task of making peace, praying always for the inspiration and the power to fulfill the destiny for which we and all men were created . Amen