16 Rejoice always,
17 pray continually,
18 Give thanks in all circumstances; this is God’s will for you …
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (New International Version)
It is not enough for Christians to denounce injustices. They are asked to be authentic witnesses and promoters of justice. As Christians, you are called to be architects of justice, absolute freedom, and forgers of social charity. The modern technique creates a whole set of new problems and sometimes produces unemployment. But it also opens excellent possibilities that ask of the worker increasing qualifications, as well as the contribution of his human capacities and creative imagination.
For this reason, work must not be a mere necessity. It must be considered a genuine vocation, a call from God to build a new world in which justice and brotherhood dwell, a foretaste of the Kingdom of God in which there will certainly not be shortages or limitations.
Work must be the means so that the whole of creation will be subjected to the dignity of the human being and the son of God. Work offers the opportunity to commit oneself to the whole community without resentment, bitterness, or hatred, but with the universal love of Christ that excludes no one and embraces everyone.
Christ proclaimed to us the Gospel from which we know that God is love, the Father of all, and that we are all brothers and sisters.
The central mystery of our Christian life, the paschal mystery, makes us look to the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Excerpted from the words of His Holiness, Saint Pope John Paul II
Apostolic Journey to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Bahamas, Meeting With Workers In Guadalajara
Guadalajara, 30 January 1979
Read the Vatican text
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