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HOMILIES

13. Homily - Friday, May 1, 2020

Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker and Consecration of the diocese (Mt 13:54-58)

God created humankind in his image.

“God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female
he created them.” We read this in the first chapter of the Bible, in the opening chapter of
Sacred Scripture. A text from thousands of years ago, a very special text among the greatest
writings in the history of humankind.

It is the affirmation of the dignity of every human being, each and every one of them. It is the
profound acknowledgment of their dignity, no matter their health, their profession, or their
age. The dignity of each one of them is affirmed by recognizing the human being as created in
the image of God. This places our respect for the human dignity of each individual on a solid
foundation. Today, we ask that by the grace of God we will become even stronger in
recognizing this dignity in each member of every family, of every society, of every people all
over the earth.

Especially during this pandemic, but really always in particularly difficult times throughout
history, we must keep our sight fixed on the importance of the dignity of each human being.
We must remember the dignity of those who are sick, who are exposed to the virus, suffering
in many ways, all those who are now isolated and alone during this time of confinement.

We must not forget the dignity of workers, no matter their employment situation. We
remember the dignity of those who have recently lost their job and of those who have been
unemployed for some time. We remember that what gives dignity to each human being is not
what they do. It is not dependent on the kind of work they do.

What gives dignity to a worker in the workplace is that it is a human person who works, no
matter what work they do. We must never forget this. When someone has lost their job, it is
a human person who has lost their job. Among workers, all workplace positions matter. The
dignity of the worker does not depend on their place in the organizational chart. This equality
of dignity is the equality of dignity of each human being.

In this time of pandemic, we turn not only to Joseph but also to Mary. In every crisis, in every
health or humanitarian crisis, the Church reaches out to those afflicted. She does so through
the work of lay people, priests and deacons, and men and women of the consecrated life. They
respond in a thousand ways.

(cont’d)

Collection of texts by the Most Rev. Christian Lépine 140