Pope at Mass: May no one be
without work, dignity, a just wage
Pope Francis offered his Mass on Friday for all workers as
the Church celebrates the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, and reflects on the
importance of dignity and justice in the world of work.
By Devin Watkins
At the start of Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on the feast of
Saint Joseph the Worker, Pope Francis prayed for workers around the globe.
“Today, on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker and the day
dedicated to workers, let us pray for all workers, so that no one might be
without work and all might be paid a just wage. May they benefit from the
dignity of work and the beauty of rest.”
A special statue of St. Joseph the Worker was present in the
chapel as the Pope celebrated Mass.
Continuing God’s work of Creation
In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s reading
(Gen 1:26-2:3) which recounts the creation of man and woman in the image and
likeness of God.
He focused his attention on God’s “work” of Creation. God,
he said, entrusted mankind with the task of continuing that effort.
“Work is exactly the continuation of the work of God.
Human labor is the vocation that mankind received from God ever since the
creation of the universe. It is work that makes us similar to God, because
through work men and women act as creators, and are capable of creating many
things, even of creating a family.”
Vocation to work
The Pope said the Bible describes God surveying what He had
done and finding it "very good”.
“Work contains goodness within itself, creates harmony
between things – beauty, goodness – and involves every part of the person,” he
said. “This is man’s first vocation: work. This gives dignity to mankind.
Dignity makes us similar to God.”
Providing dignity
Pope Francis went on to tell a story about a man who visited
a local Caritas center to find food for his family. One Caritas employee told
him: “At least you can bring some bread home.” The man replied: “But it’s not
enough to bring food home. I want to earn my daily bread.”
The Pope said this man was lacking dignity, the “dignity to
‘make’ his own bread through his work.”
Trampled underfoot
The Pope added that the dignity of work has been widely
trampled upon throughout history. Examples range from the African slaves
dragged to the Americas, to the modern “slave” who toils for just enough to get
by on.
“Today there are many slaves – many men and women who are
not free to work: they are forced to work for enough to live on, nothing more.
They are slaves to forced labor... and poorly paid.”
Day laborers, miserable pay
He specifically mentioned day laborers who toil 12 to 14
hours a day for a miserable stipend. “This doesn’t happen only in Asia,” he
said. “It happens here.”
“Every injustice inflicted upon a person who works means
trampling upon human dignity, even the dignity of the person who carries out
the injustice… On the other hand, the vocation God gives us is much higher: to
create, re-create, work. But this can be done only when the conditions are just
and human dignity is respected.”
Fighting for justice and dignity
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis urged everyone to unite
ourselves to all those who work, to those who fight to achieve justice in their
work, and to businesspeople who treat those in their employ with justice.
“We ask St. Joseph – with this beautiful image with the
tools of work in hand – to help us fight for the dignity of work, so that there
might be work for all and that it might be dignified work, not the work of a
slave.”
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