Feast of St Joseph the Worker: Affirming the Dignity of All Work
economies should be at the service of the person, the family and
the common good. His treatment of these themes in "Caritas in
Veritate" (Charity in Truth) must be seriously examined by
Catholics who hope to inform their thinking on economic issues,
first, with the teaching of the Church. The Catholic Catechism
reminds us: "Human work proceeds directly from persons created
in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation
by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. Hence work
is a duty: "If any one will not work, let him not eat." Work
honors the Creator's gifts and the talents received from him. It
can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work in
union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one
crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with
the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a
disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he
is called to accompl