St. Augustine and Social Justice
Toward the common good of all people.
Timeless Wisdom
Poverty, war, oppression, inequality, mass incarceration, and discrimination are some of the many social justice issues that were as present in the time of Saint Augustine as they are today.
As a pastor and Bishop, Saint Augustine frequently preached and wrote on what the Bible has to say about social justice issues. He begins the Rule he wrote for those who chose to follow his way of life with an exhortation referencing Matthew 22:36-40: “Before all else, dear brothers, love God and then your neighbor, because these are the chief commandments given to us.” (The Rule I, 1)
His Commitment to the Poor
Saint Augustine almost always included within his sermons an exhortation to not reject the poor (e.g., Sermon 41:6, Sermon 25:8, Sermon 122:6). Augustine is known for having even selling off sacred vessels in order to raise money to help the poor. Augustine’s commitment to the poor is clear. The ancient wisdom of Saint Augustine can still guide Christians today in following the command of Christ to love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40) and Church teaching.
An Augustinian Response
While the answers are not easy, the wisdom of Saint Augustine points us to a single question that can serve as the starting point for a individual and communal examination on what an appropriate Christian (and Augustinian response) to any social justice issue may be. That question is: which approach most supports the common good of ALL people? When one seeks what is good for all people (especially those who are often neglected) in a spirit that is free of possessiveness, they grow in the type of charity (Caritas) towards neighbor that Christ calls his followers to.
When people are united (Unitas) towards this same goal of seeking what is good for all people (rather than individuals or select groups of individuals), then societies grow in charity. When societies grow in charity, we begin to build what Augustine called the City of God, a world based on justice and equality oriented towards the God who transcends all human division and distinction. It is in this endeavor, united around love, that we discover the God of truth (Veritas).
Catholic Social Teaching
The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents.
Seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
Adapted from the USCCB Website on Catholic Social Teaching.
The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortionand euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. More on Life and Dignity of the Human Person.
The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society — in economics and politics, in law and policy — directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. More on Call to Family, Community, and Participation.
The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities–to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. More on Rights and Responsibilities.economy (favoring an extremely limited privileged few) rather than promoting an economy of inclusion, at the service of growth toward abundant life for all. Actions could include sustainable production and consumption, ethical investments, divestment from fossil fuels.
A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. More on Option for the Poor and Vulnerable.
The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in Gods creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected–the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative. More on Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers.
We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice.1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict. More on Solidarity.
We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of Gods creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored. More on Care for God’s Creation.
An Augustinian Response
From Augustine’s Rule we can derive 12 principles that can be used to examine our lives and generate discussion in our families, neighborhoods, parishes, schools, associations, workplaces, etc., on how to work together to build a more just and peaceful world.
12 Principles from the Rule of Augustine
Let all of you then live together in oneness of mind and heart, mutually honoring God in yourselves, whose temples you have become.
The Rule I, 9
To seek unity and harmony through respect for differences in community. Differences in needs, gifts, talents, personality, culture, skin color, socioeconomic background, etc. Read more here.
“Call nothing your own, but let everything be yours in common.”
The Rule I, 4
To have a willingness to generously share our time, our talents, and our treasures as if those things belonged to everybody rather than ourselves for the sake of ensuring that nobody goes without. Read more here.
“Each person should be given what he personally needs.”
The Rule, I, 4
To be truly open to the needs of others. It is easy to identify with those who have backgrounds and needs similar to our own, but what about those who are different than us and may have needs that we cannot completely understand? What about those with different political, educational, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds than our own? It is often tempting to help people only in the way we want to help and/or to minimize the complaints or stated needs of others who are different than us. Read more here.
“When you pray to God in psalms and hymns, think over in your hearts the words that come from your lips.”
The Rule II, 12
In our prayer and worship, are our hearts and minds along with our motivations and actions aligned with the God who shows love and concern for even the most vulnerable and impoverished of people (Matthew 25:40)? Read more here.
“As far as your health allows, keep your bodily appetites in check by fasting and abstinence from food and drink.”
The Rule III, 14
Do we keep our appetites in check in such a way that we are free to give from our surplus to help those who go without? While Augustine writes here of food, the principle applies to all areas of life, especially those areas where we tend to become so attached that we neglect attention and care for those who are vulnerable and poor. Such areas can include careerism, consumerism, biases, hobbies, the desire for accolades and recognition, etc. Read more here.
We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that if you want peace, work for justice.1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict. More on Solidarity.
“In your walking, standing, and every movement, let nothing occur to give offense to anyone who sees you, but only what becomes your holy state of life.”
The Rule IV, 21
Do we live what we believe? Do we model Jesus’ concern for the “least among us” (Matthew 25:40) only in private, or do we seek opportunities to invite others to join us in the search for opportunities to work for the common good and help those in need? Are we apathetic or silent on the injustices we see in the world around us, or do we challenge individuals, institutions, governments, and leaders to work for the common good? Are we open to change when others challenge us in this way? Read more here.
“… let them rather lift up their hearts and not seek after what is vain and earthly”
The Rule I, 7In our works for justice, are we trying to replace God with ourselves? Do we sometimes refuse to help some people because they are different than us? Are we only willing to help others in the way we want to help them rather than in the way they actually need? Are we willing to only help others who are similar to us or are we open if God were to invite us to share our gifts in other ways? Read more here.
“Whenever you show greater concern for the common good than for your own, you may know that you are growing in charity.”
The Rule V, 31
In what areas of our life are we looking more towards promotion or protection only of ourselves or our families or group of friends rather than the common good of all? How might this blind us to the needs of the least among us (Matthew 25:40). Read more here.
Whoever has injured another by open insult, or by abusive or even incriminating language, must remember to repair the injury as quickly as possible by an apology, and he who suffered the injury must also forgive, without further wrangling.
The Rule VI, 42
Social justice issues are often controversial issues (e.g., the issue of Racism or the Environment) with varying viewpoints across society about the extent of the issue and how to address it. As we express our own beliefs and/or work for justice in the way that we feel is the right way, it is often easy to offend others through our words and actions (or inactions). No issue can be solved by any one individual, unity in purpose and action is paramount to solving the issues of our day. Without reconciliation with those whom we offend (or are offended by), we cannot achieve unity, we cannot love God and neighbor (Matthew 5:23), and therefore will not be able to focus on the common good. Read more here.
“The superior, for his part, must not think himself fortunate in his exercise of authority but in his role as one serving you in love.”
The Rule VII, 46
By virtue of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) all Christians are called to leadership in one way or another by living in word and deed the Gospel values that Christ calls us to as a way to model and influence the world around us to adopt those values. Servant leadership is the model that Christ gave us and invites us to adopt ourselves. Are we in our words and actions modeling the heart and mind of Christ towards the issues of our day? Are we inviting others to join us in working for a more just and peaceful world through our words and our example? Read more here.
And that you may see yourselves in this little book, as in a mirror, have it read to you once a week so as to neglect no point through forgetfulness. When you find that you are doing all that has been written, give thanks to the Lord, the Giver of every good. But when one of you finds that he has failed on any point, let him be sorry for the past, be on his guard for the future, praying that he will be forgiven his fault and not be led into temptation.
The Rule VIII, 49
As stated before, the issues of our day are complex and the answers are not always clear, especially when it comes to developing (let alone achieving) unity around concrete solutions. Do we give up or turn apathetic towards the issues that are not easy? Do we persist in working towards solutions? Are we open to discern promptings we feel from the Spirit to get involved in an issue we are presently not involved in, even if it means stepping outside of our comfort zone? Are we open to admitting that we may need to learn more about certain issues and hear the perspectives of the people impacted by those issues before developing and communicating an opinion? Read more here.
The Rule of Augustine, from which these principles emerge, guides and governs the way of life of Augustinian Friars today, to include our ministries and the life we share by living together. We believe the Rule provides a way of life for all vocations: lay, religious, and ordained alike.
We therefore invite all people to join us in examining the Rule, our lifestyles, and the structures of our society with a special eye towards the poor and vulnerable. In this way, we can discern together how we can work together to create create a more just and peaceful world for all people.
Reflect & Respond Today
This day seeks to involve people, businesses and governments everywhere to take action on critical environmental challenges.
Human Rights Day reminds us that we are called to take a stand to defend and promote the basic rights dignity of all persons. We invite you to observe this day by learning, praying, speaking and acting to ensure that basic human rights are respected everywhere.
This day is an invitation to pray, reflect, witness, and take action to encourage elimination of discrimination against human beings on the grounds of race, color, or ethnic origin.
This Day highlights many of the family values that form a basic part of Catholic moral teaching. The observance recognizes the importance of the family as the basic unit of society.