Catholic Social Justice Themes

Connor Fitzgerald

Mr. Bluhm

Theology Credit Recovery

15 June 15

Theology Essay #1 - Catholic Social Justice Themes

There are four main areas that emphasize Catholic social teaching. The four areas are respect for creation, economics, solidarity among nations, and love for the poor. These four areas, if we follow them, will help us live a Christ-like life and take care of not only the world that God gave us, but ourselves and our neighbors. Respect for creation means that we take care of what God gave us, and we only use a small amount of what He gave us because what God gave us, is all we have forever and for generations ahead. This is one way recycling is put to really good use, especially with what we can’t replenish. One way recycling

They create an example so we can get a better grasp on what our religion wants us to do. The images of the Church are, marriage, pilgrim, building and farm, flock, and vineyard. In the first image, marriage in union with Christ, “Christ Jesus is the bridegroom; the Church is the Bride of Christ”(Our Catholic Faith 96). The purpose of the wedding is to bring us closer to God and make us more holy. Jesus, the groom, loves the bride, the Church so much that he gave his life for her and will care for her forever. Marriage has “existed eons before Christ and Christianity” (Bausch 214), but before Christ, marriage did not do anything. The second image of the Church is pilgrim. In this image, it teaches us that the Church is a community and it is on its way to its final destination, which is heaven. This image also “ In prayer, the pilgrim Church is associated with that of the saints” (CCC 2692). Another image of the Church is building and farm. This reminds us that Jesus has planted us, his disciples and that “God’s people are a building not built by human hands which God is constructing”(New Testament Images of the Church). This image also teaches us that God still cultivates the Church like He is a farmer tending to his crops. Flock is the next image of the Church. This image represents our sacrificing Good Shepherd and how he died

Marriage in union with Christ is at work in society today in many ways. One way people live out marriage in union with Christ is by just living a catholic and christ-like life. By doing this, we are getting closer to God because this is God’s goal for us, He wants us to live like Jesus and follow right in his footsteps because Jesus is just like God. Another way we live out marriage in union with Christ is by getting married to a catholic in a catholic way. In the catholic religion, marriage is very serious and once you get married, they do not want people to get divorced unless it is a very bad situation. So once we get married, we stay married and love each other. The next image at work in today’s Church is pilgrim. One way we live out pilgrim is by staying with our Church and with our community so we can make it to heaven, our final destination. Building and farm is the next image at work in today's Church. One way we live out building and farm in today’s Church is by raising and taking care of our own, whether it be a baby or a plant. By doing this, we are doing exactly what God is doing with us. He is raising us and influencing us to make good and mature decisions. The next image that is at work today is flock. We live out flock by staying safe and away from perils for our Good Shepherd. He calls to us to stay safe and shows us the right path and we need to follow it. The last image that is