Pope Francis discussed the subject of work during his General Audience. He says that through St. Joseph, Jesus would have learned much about “the dignity of labor.”
Work, says the Popes, is “essential for our human development and for our growth in holiness.” He insists that it is a “means of giving sense, worth, and shape to our lives, and teaching us to spend ourselves generously for others.”
He continued to express his closeness to all the workers in the world who struggle to make a living or are victims of exploitation, and asked for the intercession of St. Joseph in protecting the rights of workers.
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on Saint Joseph, we now consider Joseph’s life as a worker. The Gospels tell us that Joseph was employed as a carpenter of modest means, engaged in physically demanding work. Jesus himself would have learned much about the dignity of labor from Saint Joseph.
Work is in fact essential for our human development and for our growth in holiness. Indeed, work is not simply a matter of material benefit or mere profit, but a means of giving sense, worth and shape to our lives, and teaching us to spend ourselves generously for others.
Today, we can think of all those workers in our world who struggle to make a living or raise a family, and who often encounter injustice, exploitation and the threat of unemployment. Let us pray, through the intercession of Saint Joseph the Worker, for the protection of the fundamental rights of all workers, for an increased awareness of the worth of human labour, and for an economic order that will promote the dignity and prosperity of all peoples.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
