{"id":50930,"date":"2024-05-13T21:32:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T21:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/?p=50930"},"modified":"2026-07-28T16:50:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:50:37","slug":"st-joseph-the-worker-and-the-dignity-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/es\/2024\/05\/st-joseph-the-worker-and-the-dignity-of-work\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Joseph the Worker and the Dignity of Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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St. Joseph the Worker and the Dignity of Work<\/span><\/h1>\n

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by CAPP-USA<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\"St.<\/p>\n

St. Joseph the Worker exemplifies the dignity of work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Each year in celebrating the feast of St. Joseph the Worker we remember: \u201cWe were created with a vocation to work.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Francis, 128)<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On May 1st, 1955, the inaugural feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Pope Pius XII said \"the humble craftsman of Nazareth not only embodies the dignity of the manual worker<\/strong> before God and the Holy Church, but he is also always the provident guardian of you and your families.\" (Speech on the Solemnity of St. Joseph the Artisan)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Dignity of Work<\/span><\/h2>\n


<\/span>Work\u00a0\u201cis something\u00a0willed<\/strong>\u00a0and approved<\/strong>\u00a0by God<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. Paul VI, 27)<\/a> In fact, <\/span><\/span>\"the door to the dignity of a man is work.<\/strong>\" (Address to CAPP Members)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWork constitutes a fundamental dimension<\/strong> of man\u2019s existence<\/strong> on earth.\u201d (Pope St. John Paul II, 4)<\/a> and \"makes the human person similar to God, because with work man is a creator\". (Pope Francis)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus<\/strong>, by his life as a worker<\/strong>, \u201csanctified human labor<\/strong> and endowed it with a special significance\u201d. (Pope Francis, 98)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[W]ork is a key, probably the essential key, to the whole social question\u201d. (Pope St. John Paul II, 3)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Example of St. Joseph the Worker<\/span><\/h2>\n


<\/span>St. Joseph humbly lived the reality that \"the human person must indeed work\". (Pope Benedict XVI)<\/a> and \"is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up\". (Pope St. John Paul II, 24)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth.\" (Pope St. John Paul II, 22)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption<\/strong>.\u201d (Pope St. John Paul II, 22)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Spirituality of Work<\/span><\/h2>\n


The Church rejects a purely secular<\/strong> understanding<\/strong> of work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the work of man, the Christian\u00a0finds a small part of the cross of Christ\u00a0and accepts it in the spirit of redemption with which Christ accepted his cross for us.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 27)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"The importance of work in human life demands that its meaning be known and assimilated in order to 'help all people to come closer to God'\". (Pope St. John Paul II, 23)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis Christian\u00a0spirituality of work\u00a0must therefore become the\u00a0common heritage\u00a0of all.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 25)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"It is necessary to live a spirituality that helps believers to sanctify themselves through their work, imitating St Joseph\". (Pope Benedict XVI)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Rights of Workers and Dignified Work<\/span><\/h2>\n


Pope Pius XII chose May 1st as the day of St. Joseph the Worker to challenge the secular and narrow Communist view of work. <\/span><\/p>\n

Every \u2018May Day\u2019 the Soviet Union, celebrating \u2018International Workers Day\u2019, boasted it was the defender of workers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, \u201cthe basis for determining the\u00a0value of human work\u00a0is not primarily the kind of work being done but the fact that the one who is doing it\u00a0is a person.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 6)\u200b<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Work is of<\/strong> fundamental importance <\/strong>to the fulfilment of the human being and to the development of society.\" (Pope Benedict XVI)<\/a> and it \u201cmust serve the true good of humanity\u201d. (Pope Benedict XVI)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLabor\u2026is not a mere commodity. On the contrary, the worker\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0human dignity<\/strong>\u00a0in it must be<\/strong>\u00a0recognized<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Pius XI, 83)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

And the lost of dignified work is tragic! \"[T]here is no poverty worse than that which takes away work and<\/strong> the<\/strong>\u00a0dignity of work<\/strong>\".\u00a0(Pope Francis, 162)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XVI outlined seven defining principles of\u00a0what\u00a0\u201cdecent\u201d\u00a0work\u00a0is in his encyclical\u00a0(Caritas in Veritate, 63)<\/a> and we invite you to review this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Go to Joseph<\/span><\/h2>\n


\u201cSo, if you want to be close to Christ, We also today repeat to you \u2018Ite to Ioseph<\/em>\u2018: Go to Joseph!\u201d (Speech on the Solemnity of St. Joseph the Artisan)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"[L]et us ask Saint Joseph... with the tools of his trade in his hand, that he might help us fight for the dignity of work<\/strong>, so that there may be work for everyone and that the work may be dignified.\" (Pope Francis)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Your Company Paying \u201cJust\u201d Wages?<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Union and What Does the Church Teach?<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Work Ethic and Catholic Social Teaching<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Great Resignation and the Rights of Workers<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Quotes about Hard Work from the Church<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Dignity of Work by Mr. Michael S. Davison, III<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

More About the Dignity of Work<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Learn More About the Poor and Helping Them<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Back to Articles<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\"Three<\/div>

Three Key Principles<\/a><\/h2>

Catholic social teaching is built on three foundational principles -\u00a0<\/strong>Human Dignity<\/strong>,\u00a0Solidarity\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Subsidiarity.\u00a0<\/strong>Human Dignity, embodied in a correct understanding of the human person, is the greatest. The others flow from it. Good governments and good economic systems find ways of fostering the three principles.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Human Dignity<\/a><\/h2>

This means a correct understanding of the human person and of each person\u2019s unique value. All Catholic social teaching flows from this: the inherent dignity of every person that comes from being made in God\u2019s image.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Solidarity<\/a><\/h2>

Solidarity is not \u201ca feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of others. It is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good\u201d. (Pope St. John Paul II, 38)<\/a> Love of God and love of neighbor are, in fact, linked and form one, single commandment.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Subsidiarity<\/a><\/h2>

Subsidiarity \u201cis a fundamental principle of social philosophy, fixed and unchangeable, that one should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry. So, too, it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and a disturbance of right order to transfer to the larger and higher collectivity functions which can be performed and provided for by the lesser and subordinate bodies\u201d. (Pope Pius XI)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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