Paul's Trials, Big and Small

Paul's Example and Teaching*

"proclaim the word;

be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;

convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching."

--2Timothy 3:10-17

In the days of one's life there come many joys and many sorrows. These sad times are a trial; many of them have to do with personal relationships. And yet despite the angst, the stress and the grief they may also be times of personal growth. For if we master our troubles, they will only make us stronger. Resolving the glitches and contradictions of life are the times when a 'bomb it and pave it' mentality just won't do.

The Gospels tell of a story, James 1:2-3  about the importance of patience; there is another view of trials, they may be opportunities to new ways, better things or a mastery of what formerly bedeviled us. This leads to a calm tranquility, to patience and to the special love that patience may bring to us.
The story of the Christ brings us to the sure knowledge that day in and day out we can make our way, we can succeed, despite the sometimes erratic and dismal behavior of those around us; when we manipulate others, when we fail to see them in their dignity as creation, when we deceive or injure, when they treat us in like ways. Yet the message remains the same: bear the wrongs of others patiently.

Contrary to the secular view, bearing wrongs patiently is not the same as bearing them stupidly, and not the same as if the one who wrongs and supposes they remain undetected--in arrogance or ignorance. 
 Do remain steadfast; hold out hope that there will come a view, a light, a vision which guides one to the love that our hearts yearn for; that we may not be abandoned for convenience or spite.

On Eagle's Wings

by Michael Joncas

Listen Here

...And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

The snare of the fowler will never capture you
And famine will bring you no fear
Under His wings your refuge
His faithfulness your shield.

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand...


* Refers to Saint Paul, the disciple of the Christ

The Worker

If I Had A Hammer
by Peter, Paul and Mary

Listen Here

I'd hammer in the morning

I'd hammer in the evening

All over this land

I'd hammer out danger 

I'd hammer out a warning 

I'd hammer out love between 

my brothers and my sisters 

All over this land 

If I had a bell I'd ring 

it in the morning I'd ring it 

in the evening All over 

this land I'd ring out 

danger I'd ring out 

a warning I'd ring out 

love between my brothers 

and my sisters 

All over this land 

If I had a song I'd sing 

it in the morning I'd sing it

in the evening All over this land

I'd sing out danger 

I'd sing out a warning

I'd sing out love between 

my brothers and my sisters

All over this land

Well I've got a hammer

And I've got a bell 

And I've got a song to sing 

All over this land It's the hammer

of justice It's the bell of freedom I

t's the song about love between 

my brothers and my sisters 

All over this land  

A bit about Jesus, the Worker: In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The common good is critical to the Worker. The Church teaches that civil law is legitimate only when it is rooted in the natural law and, because of that, the civil law will always be subsidiary, or subordinate to, natural law. The Church has long taught that civil laws that are not rooted in the moral law must be resisted and disobeyed. In fact, there is a long tradition in Catholic doctrine recognizing that an unjust law is no law at all.

In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas:
"Human law is law insofar as it corresponds to right reason and therefore is derived from the eternal law. When, however, a law is contrary to reason, it is called an unjust law; in such a case it ceases to be law and becomes instead an act of violence."  Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 93, a. 3

It follows, then, that Catholic Christians have an obligation to resist or disobey unjust civil laws, even unto arrest or imprisonment. In the words of the Compendium: “Recognizing that natural law is the basis for and places limits on the positive (civil) law means admitting that it is legitimate to resist authority should it violate in a serious or repeated manner the essential principles of natural law.”

When some in the legal profession, however, use the civil law to thwart the rights of workers, they interfere with the natural moral law. This is a matter of grave concern for it threatens the very livelihood of workers and their families. Catholics, in particular, who employ the civil law to frustrate worker rights and the contribution that labor unions make to the common good, demonstrate, at a minimum, ignorance of Catholic teaching on the central importance that unions may play in the wider economic and social order.

Because of its conviction that the natural moral law is rooted in the eternal law, the Church has from its earliest days recognized the right of free association that can never be abridged by civil law. During the Medieval period recognition of the right to free association extended to merchant and craft guilds each of which united to seek benefits for their members and, because they were inspired by Catholic teaching, for the common good of society. In optimal circumstances, merchant and craft guilds worked together for fair prices and quality products for consumers, as well as for just wages and job stability for workers.
Source: http://www.catholicscholarsforworkerjustice.org