Today, my 4 year-old son had an assignment to go to school dressed up as a Community Helper. We thought of many things; doctor, fireman, police among others. We ended up with...musician. So Sev brought to school all his musical instruments; a flute, a ukulele, a toy xylophone, and a small bongo. Although being a musician is not the typical concept of a community helper, but then i thought that if no one actually wrote songs or played music for the community, then we would be like robots without artistry, expression, and emotion. Without musicians, then we would have not much entertainment (clean entertainment, that is) that can relax us from a hectic day and refresh us for the next. So we figured, a musician is a community helper.
Are you a community helper? How is the product you are selling or your field of study benefiting the society? More so, are you helping build a Christ-centered society? I believe that whatever profession or business we are in, we can all be community helpers.
But then, let us not also be blind if we know what we are doing destroys community. There might be things we are involved in that are environmental hazards and yet we are more concerned of profit. What are the values that our work or product promote? Are these products helping others become better people? Are we justly compensating workers?
As community helpers, we are concerned with justice, love, and peace.
Justice according to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 201 (CSDC) states, "According to its most classical formulation, it consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor ." As a community helper, we give what is due.
When we do things out of love for neighbor, we are building a "civilization of love." Again, from the Church's Social Doctrine (580), "Christians must be deeply convinced witnesses of this, and they are to show by their lives how love is the only force that can lead to personal and social perfection, allowing society to make progress towards the good." Are we helping the community out of love or out of mere duty?
Peace is the fruit of justice and love (CSDC, 494). Without justice and love, there will surely be crime, violence, and the failure of peace which is war. Therefore, as Community Helpers who work towards a Christ-centered society, we carry justice and love as our virtue and our posture. May our day-to-day work lead us to God's will for our society.
Are you a community helper? How is the product you are selling or your field of study benefiting the society? More so, are you helping build a Christ-centered society? I believe that whatever profession or business we are in, we can all be community helpers.
But then, let us not also be blind if we know what we are doing destroys community. There might be things we are involved in that are environmental hazards and yet we are more concerned of profit. What are the values that our work or product promote? Are these products helping others become better people? Are we justly compensating workers?
As community helpers, we are concerned with justice, love, and peace.
Justice according to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 201 (CSDC) states, "According to its most classical formulation, it consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor ." As a community helper, we give what is due.
When we do things out of love for neighbor, we are building a "civilization of love." Again, from the Church's Social Doctrine (580), "Christians must be deeply convinced witnesses of this, and they are to show by their lives how love is the only force that can lead to personal and social perfection, allowing society to make progress towards the good." Are we helping the community out of love or out of mere duty?
Peace is the fruit of justice and love (CSDC, 494). Without justice and love, there will surely be crime, violence, and the failure of peace which is war. Therefore, as Community Helpers who work towards a Christ-centered society, we carry justice and love as our virtue and our posture. May our day-to-day work lead us to God's will for our society.
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