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INTENTION : |
FOR WORKING CONDITIONS.
Let us pray that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanised.
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FOCUS
Pope Francis' prayer intention for May 2025, focuses on working conditions, reflects his constant concern for social justice and human well-being in the workplace.
Pope Francis emphasises the importance of work not only as a means of subsistence but also as a path to personal fulfillment. Work should enable people to develop their abilities and contribute to the common good, respecting their dignity and rights. This means that working conditions must ensure that families can live with dignity, providing a fair income that covers basic needs and allows for integral development. This includes fair wages, job security, and access to social services.
He sees dignified work as a key element in building a more humane and just society. Employment that respects human dignity contributes to social cohesion, reduces inequality, and promotes peace and stability. On multiple occasions, the Pope has criticised exploitative labour practices such as modern slavery and precarious employment. He advocates for reforms that protect workers from exploitation and promote safe and healthy working conditions. He criticises the pursuit of profits at the expense of workers and proposes an economic model that prioritises integral human development, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive, contribute to society, and allow families to live with dignity. The Pope emphasises the importan3ce7 of solidarity and social responsibility, both of companies and consumers, to promote fair labour practices. This includes supporting policies that foster dignified employment and consumption in ways that respect human labour.
This intention can be a starting point for reflecting on how we can contribute individually and collectively to improving working conditions, promoting work that is a source of dignity, family sustenance, and progress toward a more just and humane society.
ATTITUDES FOR DAILY LIFE
Promoting work that fosters humanity
"The management of employment is a great human and social responsibility which cannot be left in the hands of a few or be divinised by the 'market'... I am saddened when I see people without work... who do not have the dignity of bringing bread home... Work is sacred, work gives dignity to a family." (Pope Francis).
What responsibility do you have in the social framework to help guarantee employment and that bread earned with dignity reaches families? Can you think of a way to reach out to a family suffering from unemployment? Your testimony and work responsibility can help a lot.
Fostering collaborative contexts
"Of a serious, honest person, the most beautiful thing that can be said is: 'He is a worker', he is precisely someone who works, who does not live at the expense of others in the community... He does not live off others." (Pope Francis).
Do you appreciate the job you have and your relationships with your colleagues? Remember that you are a member of a social body. If you do your part well, you are helping to make the work go well and generate more jobs for others.
Recognising and contributing my talents
"To work - I repeat, in many ways - is proper to the human person and expresses their dignity of being created in the image of God. This is why it is said that work is sacred. And for this reason, the management of work is a great human and social responsibility." (Pope Francis).
You are unique and unrepeatable. Do you know your gifts? Do you use them to serve others in your work? God trusts you to offer what He has given you for the good of all.
Sharing the learnings
"The family educates in work with the example of parents: the father and mother who work for the good of the family and society." (Pope Francis).
Do you share with others what you received from God, in your family, in your surroundings? What you learned is meant to be given, especially to those who need to learn how to make a living. Think of a concrete initiative in your surroundings.
Taking care of workplace justice
"May the voices of the poor be heard during this time of preparation for the Jubilee (2025), which, according to the biblical mandate, returns to each one access to the fruits of the earth... All this will be possible if we are able to recover the sense of universal fraternity, if we do not close our eyes to the tragedy of rampant poverty that prevents millions of men, women, young people, and children from living in a humanly dignified manner." (Pope Francis).
Open your eyes. Who around you needs your help, a decent job? Ask the Lord how you can get involved to make brotherhood not just a utopia, at least with those who are closest to you.
WORDS OF POPE FRANCIS
Excerpts from GENERAL AUDIENCE Wednesday, 19 August 2015
WORK - I repeat, in its many forms - is proper to the human person. It expresses the dignity of being created in the image of God. Thus, it is said that work is sacred. And thus, managing one's occupation is a great human and social responsibility, which cannot be left in the hands of the few or unladen onto some divinised "market". Causing the loss of jobs means causing serious harm to society. It makes me sad to see people without work, who don't find work and don't have the dignity of bringing bread home. And I rejoice greatly when I see governments go to great lengths to find jobs and try to see to it that everyone has work. Work is sacred, work gives dignity to a family. We have to pray that no family is left without work.
THE EARTH becomes beautiful when it is worked by man. When work is detached from God's covenant with man and woman, and it is separated from its spiritual qualities... the life of society is corrupted and the habitat breaks down. And the consequences fall most of all on the poor and on poor families. The modern organisation of work sometimes shows a dangerous tendency to consider the family a burden, a weight, a liability for the productivity of labour. But let us ask ourselves: what productivity? And for whom? The so-called "smart city" is undoubtedly rich in services and organisation; but, it is often hostile to children and the elderly. At times those in charge are interested in managing individuals as a workforce, assembling and utilising them or throwing them away on the basis of economic benefit. The family is a great workbench. When the organisation of work holds it hostage, or even blocks its path, then human society has begun to work against itself!
CHRISTIAN FAMILIES are posed a great challenge and a great mission. They bring to the field the foundations of God's Creation: the identity is the bond between man and woman, the procreation of children, the work which harnesses the earth and renders the world habitable. The loss of these foundations is a very serious matter... In this difficult moment of our history, may God grant us the ability to accept with joy and hope His call, the call to work to give dignity to ourselves and to our families.
PRAYER
Jesus,
You knew work in this world,
and You understand its hardships and joys...
Hear our prayer today.
Working is a human trait...
Work is sacred...
The beauty of the earth and the dignity of work were meant to be united...
The earth becomes beautiful when man works...
Lord, You see that we believe this with conviction,
but we desire even more for it to become a reality among us.
We are saddened when people can't find work
and lack the dignity of bringing bread to their home.
Give us the light of Your Spirit,
open our hearts,
do not let indifference overcome us.
Help us recover the gift of universal brotherhood.
We ask for a heart as big as Jesus'
so we can embrace the call to work
to give dignity to people and families. Amen.
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