Matthew 6, 14-18 + CSDC and CV

(CV 8a) In 1967, when he issued the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, my venerable predecessor Pope Paul VI illuminated the great theme of the development of peoples with the splendour of truth and the gentle light of Christ's charity. He taught that life in Christ is the first and principal factor of development [6] and he entrusted us with the task of travelling the path of development with all our heart and all our intelligence [7], that is to say with the ardour of charity and the wisdom of truth.

Notes: [6] Cf. no. 16: loc. cit., 265. [7] Cf. ibid., 82: loc. cit., 297.

An integral and solidary humanism that is up to the standards of God's plan of love in history  

CSDC 19. The Church, the sign in history of God's love for mankind and of the vocation of the whole human race to unity as children of the one Father[21], intends with this document on her social doctrine to propose to all men and women a humanism that is up to the standards of God's plan of love in history, an integral and solidary humanism capable of creating a new social, economic and political order, founded on the dignity and freedom of every human person, to be brought about in peace, justice and solidarity. This humanism can become a reality if individual men and women and their communities are able to cultivate moral and social virtues in themselves and spread them in society. “Then, under the necessary help of divine grace, there will arise a generation of new men, the moulders of a new humanity”[22].

Notes: [21] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 1: AAS 57 (1965), 5. [22] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 30: AAS 58 (1966), 1050.

(Mt 6, 14-18) The treasures in heaven are imperishable   

 [14] If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. [16] "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. [17] But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18] so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

CSDC 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 (cf. Mk 8:36). The treasures of the earth, in fact, are consumed, while those in heaven are imperishable. It is on these latter treasures that men and women must set their hearts (cf. Mt 6:19-21). Work, then, should not be a source of anxiety (cf. Mt 6:25,31,34). When people are worried and upset about many things, they run the risk of neglecting the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (cf. Mt 6:33), which they truly need. Everything else, work included, will find its proper place, meaning and value only if it is oriented to this one thing that is necessary and that will never be taken away (cf. Lk 10:40-42).

 
[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]   

Matthew 6, 5-13 + CSDC and CV

(CV 7d) Man's earthly activity, when inspired and sustained by charity, contributes to the building of the universal city of God, which is the goal of the history of the human family. In an increasingly globalized society, the common good and the effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family, that is to say, the community of peoples and nations [5], in such a way as to shape the earthly city in unity and peace, rendering it to some degree an anticipation and a prefiguration of the undivided city of God.

Notes: [5] John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris (11 April 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 268-270.  

Social doctrine offers a contribution of truth to the question of man's place in nature and in human society

CSDC 14. By means of the present document, the Church intends to offer a contribution of truth to the question of man's place in nature and in human society, a question faced by civilizations and cultures in which expressions of human wisdom are found. Rooted in a past that is often thousands of years old and manifesting themselves in forms of religion, philosophy and poetic genius of every time and of every people, these civilizations and cultures offer their own interpretation of the universe and of human society, and seek an understanding of existence and of the mystery that surrounds it. Who am I? Why is there pain, evil, death, despite all the progress that has been made? What is the value of so many accomplishments if the cost has been unbearable? What will there be after this life? These are the basic questions that characterize the course of human life[17]. In this regard, we can recall the admonition “Know yourself”, carved on the temple portal at Delphi, which testifies to the basic truth that man, called to be set apart from the rest of creation, is man precisely because in his essence he is oriented to knowing himself.

Notes: [17] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 10: AAS 58 (1966), 1032.

 (Mt 6, 5-13) Peace is reconciliation with one's brothers and sisters

[5] "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. [6] But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. [7] In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. [8] Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. [9] "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. [11] Give us today our daily bread; [12] and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; [13] and do not subject us to the final test, 10 but deliver us from the evil one.  

CSDC 492. The peace of Christ is in the first place reconciliation with the Father, which is brought about by the ministry Jesus entrusted to his disciples and which begins with the proclamation of peace: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!”' (Lk 10:5; cf. Rom 1:7). Peace is then reconciliation with one's brothers and sisters, for in the prayer that Jesus taught us, the “Our Father”, the forgiveness that we ask of God is linked to the forgiveness that we grant to our brothers and sisters: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12). With this twofold reconciliation Christians can become peacemakers and therefore participate in the Kingdom of God, in accordance with what Jesus himself proclaims in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Mt 5:9).  

 

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)] 

Matthew 6, 1-4 + CSDC and CV

(CV 7c) Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis. When animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater worth than a merely secular and political stand would have. Like all commitment to justice, it has a place within the testimony of divine charity that paves the way for eternity through temporal action.

The Church seeks to carry forward the work of Christ himself

CSDC 13b. In this perspective, the Church is “inspired by no earthly ambition and seeks but one solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. For Christ entered this world to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to sit in judgment, to serve and not to be served”[16].

Notes: [16] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 3: AAS 58 (1966), 1027.

(Mt 6, 1-4) Solidarity and equality among men and peoples

[1] "(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. [2] When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. [3] But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, [4] so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

CSDC 194. The message of the Church's social doctrine regarding solidarity clearly shows that there exists an intimate bond between solidarity and the common good, between solidarity and the universal destination of goods, between solidarity and equality among men and peoples, between solidarity and peace in the world [420]. The term “solidarity”, widely used by the Magisterium[421], expresses in summary fashion the need to recognize in the composite ties that unite men and social groups among themselves, the space given to human freedom for common growth in which all share and in which they participate. The commitment to this goal is translated into the positive contribution of seeing that nothing is lacking in the common cause and also of seeking points of possible agreement where attitudes of separation and fragmentation prevail. It translates into the willingness to give oneself for the good of one's neighbour, beyond any individual or particular interest[422].

    

Notes: [420] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 17, 39, 45: AAS 80 (1988), 532-533, 566-568, 577-578. International solidarity too is required by the moral order; peace in the world depends in large part on this: cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 83-86: AAS 58 (1966), 1107- 1110; Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 48: AAS 59 (1967), 281; Pontifical Commission “Iustitia et Pax”, At the Service of the Human Community: an Ethical Approach to the International Debt Question (27 December 1986), I, 1, Vatican Polyglot Press, Vatican City 1986, p. 11; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1941, 2438. [421] Solidarity, though not yet with that explicit name, is one of the basic principles of Rerum Novarum (cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961], 407). “What we nowadays call the principle of solidarity ... is frequently stated by Pope Leo XIII, who uses the term ‘friendship', a concept already found in Greek philosophy. Pope Pius XI refers to it with the equally meaningful term ‘social charity'. Pope Paul VI, expanding the concept to cover the many modern aspects of the social question, speaks of a ‘civilization of love' “ (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 10: AAS 83 [1991], 805). Solidarity is one of the basic principles of the entire social teaching of the Church (cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Libertatis Conscientia, 73: AAS 79 [1987], 586). Starting with Pius XII (cf. Encyclical Letter Summi Pontificatus: AAS 31 [1939] , 426-427), the term solidarity is used ever more frequently and with ever broader meaning: from that of “law” in the same encyclical to that of “principle” (cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 [1961] , 407), that of “duty” (cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 17, 48: AAS 59 [1967], 265-266, 281) and that of “value” (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38: AAS 80 [1988], 564-566), and finally that of “virtue” (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38, 40: AAS 80 [1988], 564-566, 568-569).[422] Cf. Congregation for Catholic Education, Guidelines for the Study and Teaching of the Church's Social Doctrine in the Formation of Priests, 38, Vatican Polyglot Press, Rome 1988, pp. 40-41. 

[Initials and Abbreviations].- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]  

Matthew 5, 46-48 + CSDC and CV

(CV 7b) To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity. To take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally, making it the pólis, or “city”. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them.   

This document is an act of service on the part of the Church to the women and men of our time

CSDC 13a. This document is an act of service on the part of the Church to the women and men of our time, to whom she offers the legacy of her social doctrine, according to that style of dialogue by which God himself, in his only-begotten Son made man, “addresses men as his friends (cf. Ex 33:11; Jn 15:14-15) and moves among them (cf. Bar 3:38)”[14]. Drawing inspiration from the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, this document too places “man considered whole and entire, with body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will” [15] as the key to its whole exposition.

Notes: [14] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, 2: AAS 58 (1966), 818. [15] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 3: AAS 58 (1966), 1026.

(Mt 5, 46-48) Everyone has social responsibilities that must be fulfilled

 [46] For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? [47] And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? [48] So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

CSDC 83. The first recipient of the Church's social doctrine is the Church community in its entire membership, because everyone has social responsibilities that must be fulfilled. The conscience is called by this social teaching to recognize and fulfil the obligations of justice and charity in society. This doctrine is a light of moral truth that inspires appropriate responses according to the vocation and ministry of each Christian. In the tasks of evangelization, that is to say, of teaching, catechesis and formation that the Church's social doctrine inspires, it is addressed to every Christian, each according to the competence, charisms, office and mission of proclamation that is proper to each one[127]. This social doctrine implies as well responsibilities regarding the building, organization and functioning of society, that is to say, political, economic and administrative obligations — obligations of a secular nature — which belong to the lay faithful, not to priests or religious[128]. These responsibilities belong to the laity in a distinctive manner, by reason of the secular condition of their state of life, and of the secular nature of their vocation[129]. By fulfilling these responsibilities, the lay faithful put the Church's social teaching into action and thus fulfil the Church's secular mission[130].

   

 Notes:  [127] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2039. [128] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2442. [129] Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, 15: AAS 81 (1989), 413; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 31: AAS 57 (1965), 37. [130] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 43: AAS 58 (1966), 1061-1064; Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 81: AAS 59 (1967), 296-297.  

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]