May 23. Laudato Si’ Week.  Catholic Social Teaching has long spoken out against unjust labour practices and exploitation of workers.  Justice and Peace Desks in dioceses and parishes too have taken up that message which on the whole has not always been well received, often too by families when they feel personally criticised for not paying their servants, while they may stand up for justice in the workplace.  On one side it took Pope Francis to speak out more publicly on behalf of the poor and oppressed. In our country, while all political parties do express concern for the poor the EFF, the Economic Freedom Fighters are the most vocal and active in mobilising people on that issue.   

Reflect, share, Scripture:  Cry now, you rich. Behold the wages of the labourers, who mowed your fields which you kept back by fraud. They cry out. and the cries of the harvesters have reach the ears of the Lord of Hosts. James 5:1-4. Pope Francis: Man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life. Nonetheless, once our human capacity for contemplation and reverence is impaired it become easy for the meaning of work to be misunderstood.  LS127  . “One expression of the attitude of serene attentiveness to others and to everything is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals. I ask all believers to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom. That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labours provide us with these goods and it affirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.  LS227  ACTION.  How aware am I of Catholic Social Teaching on this and other issues?  Let us pray:  As families let us be seeds of hope in our lives and our world, rooted in faith and love.