Matthew 9, 27-36 + CSDC and CV

(CV 13b) Paul VI clearly understood that the social question had become worldwide [25] and he grasped the interconnection between the impetus towards the unification of humanity and the Christian ideal of a single family of peoples in solidarity and fraternity. In the notion of development, understood in human and Christian terms, he identified the heart of the Christian social message, and he proposed Christian charity as the principal force at the service of development. Motivated by the wish to make Christ's love fully visible to contemporary men and women, Paul VI addressed important ethical questions robustly, without yielding to the cultural weaknesses of his time.

Notes: [25] Cf. Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 3: loc. cit., 258.

This right of the Church is a duty and a responsibility of her fidelity to Christ

CSDC 71a. This right of the Church is at the same time a duty, because she cannot forsake this responsibility without denying herself and her fidelity to Christ: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). The warning that St. Paul addresses to himself rings in the Church's conscience as a call to walk all paths of evangelization, not only those that lead to individual consciences but also those that wind their way into public institutions: on the one hand, religion must not be restricted “to the purely private sphere”[96], on the other, the Christian message must not be relegated to a purely other-worldly salvation incapable of shedding light on our earthly existence[97].

Notes: [96] John Paul II, Message to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2 December 1978): AAS 71 (1979), 124. [97] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 5: AAS 83 (1991), 799.

(Mt 9, 27-36) The Sabbath was made for man

 [27] And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed (him), crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" [28] When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. [29] Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." [30] And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." [31] But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. [32] As they were going out, a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, [33] and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." [34] But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the prince of demons." [35] Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. [36] At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.

CSDC 261. During his earthly ministry Jesus works tirelessly, accomplishing powerful deeds to free men and women from sickness, suffering and death. The Sabbath — which the Old Testament had put forth as a day of liberation and which, when observed only formally, lost its authentic significance — is reaffirmed by Jesus in its original meaning: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27). By healing people on this day of rest (cf. Mt 12:9-14; Mk 3:1-6; Lk 6:6-11, 13:10-17, 14:1-6), he wishes to show that the Sabbath is his, because he is truly the Son of God, and that it is the day on which men should dedicate themselves to God and to others. Freeing people from evil, practising brotherhood and sharing: these give to work its noblest meaning, that which allows humanity to set out on the path to the eternal Sabbath, when rest will become the festive celebration to which men and women inwardly aspire. It is precisely in orienting humanity towards this experience of God's Sabbath and of his fellowship of life that work is the inauguration on earth of the new creation.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]