Catholic Commission for Social Justice
During the Year of Faith, it is imperative that we remind ourselves of the teachings of our Church with regard to key elements of a just society. “The Church’s social Magisterium constantly calls for the most classical forms of justice to be respected: commutative, distributive and legal justice. Ever greater importance has been given to social justice…” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church #201).
Gospel Mk 12:38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”
Gospel Mk 12:28b-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
“Somebody got murdered on New Year’s Eve. Somebody said dignity was the first to leave.
I went into the city, went into the town; Went into the land of the midnight sun.
Searchin’ high, searchin’ low, Searchin’ everywhere I know
Askin’ the cops wherever I go, Have you seen dignity?” (Dignity by Bob Dylan, 1991)
I thought of this song as I watched a video from a CCTV camera shown on Crime Watch recently. I watched with deep sadness as two young men – one with a cutlass and the other with a sawn-off shotgun, “held up” the owner of a small parlour.