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Home / Economic Crisis / Christ Our Hope Pastoral Letter / Part One: the common good
Part One: Our overall vision - the common good
Ultimately, the economy is not just about money; it is about people — about us — fellow human beings made in the image and likeness of God. Our spiritual well-being and our human dignity do not depend on the fluctuations of the stock market. No matter what happens to industry or big business, we belong to God and have rights and responsibilities for one another. At times, we may feel anxious about things we cannot control, we need to meditate all the more on God's investment in us and His desire that we live as His family supporting one another.
God made us social creatures. We grow and thrive in our relationships and by life together in our families and in communities of faith and service. None of us can live for very long all on our own. We crave the loving support, and challenge, of being with and for others. Each of us has something to give and each of us has some need to receive. We are all at our best when we are part of a healthy flow of giving and receiving in respectful relationships.
Every aspect of our Western culture has trained us to think and act competitively. We often speak of "winners and losers." Mistakenly, these dynamics can suddenly be transferred to larger economic concerns. As the Advent Scriptures remind us, instead of giving into divisiveness, each day we need to renew our commitment to the common good, remembering we are truly brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of one same God and Father. As the birth of the Son of God in our midst teaches us, we are called to live together in solidarity.
When Pope John Paul II visited the archdiocese two decades ago, he spoke eloquently about the virtue of solidarity to which the Polish people gave special witness and testimony during the darkest hours of Communism. He spoke poetically about how the word "solidarity" rose up from the shores of the shipyards along the Baltic Sea and became part of our universal vocabulary as a word and virtue that "rolls like a wide wave over the face of the whole world which realizes we cannot live according to the principle of 'all against all' but only according to another principle 'all with all,' 'all for all.' Solidarity must take precedence over conflict… "
For prayerful reflection:
- When I make decisions about economic matters for myself and my family and my co-workers, in what ways do I take into account the larger common good?
- Do I approach people and things in a competitive or collaborative manner?
- To what degree am I willing to sacrifice my own convenience or my own desires for Christmas gifts so that I can offer assistance of time or talent to others?
 Data: Economic crisis
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