From our Perspective: Life and Dignity of the Human Person
This Lent, Catholic Charities of Acadiana invites you to join us as we take our prayer, fasting and almsgiving to the world around us, allowing the Gospel to inform and transform our relationship with God, our neighbor and the society in which we all live.
Each Friday during Lent, get a view from our perspective and discover a theme from Catholic social teaching. Read a short story from our St. John Street campus to learn how we at CCA live out the Gospel in our core values and in our work.
Then we encourage you to go, pray, discuss, and respond.
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From our Perspective: Life and Dignity of the Human Person
The life and dignity of the human person is the foundational belief of all Catholic social teaching. It originates from the fact that each person is uniquely and loving created by God in His image and likeness. It is from this foundation that all moral teaching regarding human life comes. Consider this:
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7)
“...being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. Further, he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, article 108)
“Men and women, in the concrete circumstances of history, represent the heart and soul of Catholic social thought. The whole of the Church’s social doctrine, in fact develops from the principle that affirms the inviolable dignity of the human person.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, article 107)
Story from our St. John Street campus: Dignity of the Human Person
We value the sacred dignity of the human person because we believe all humanity is made in the image and likeness of God. Dignity does not come from what we do but from who we are. -CCA Statement of Core Values
“Just because we’re homeless, doesn’t mean we need to look like it,” said a jovial voice. The candid conversation floated around the corner in the Stella Maris Hygiene Center to where I sat quietly observing during my first week of employment. The buzz of voices, the persistent pecking of shower spray, the gentle whooshing and the rhythmic clicking of the clothes washers and dryers created a busy backdrop. The comment was simple, unsolicited and profoundly expressive of the reason that Stella Maris Hygiene Center exists - to restore the dignity of the human person - one shower at a time.
We realized in 2012 that individuals experiencing homelessness in Acadiana did not have a way to care for their basic, essential hygiene needs. We witnessed human beings taking care of their needs for restroom facilities, bathing, and clothing changes in our parking lot, behind our dumpster, and in the water spigot outside St. Joseph Diner. We recognized that a grave offense against human dignity was occurring and we needed to respond.
The Stella Maris Hygiene Center was born.
The mission of Catholic Charities of Acadiana is to care for the essential needs of those experiencing homelessness, hunger and poverty here in Acadiana. Our belief in the life and dignity of the human person informs who we serve, how we serve and what we offer in service. Those we serve, these are our clients. Those living on the streets are individuals experiencing homelessness. Those who join us at St. Joseph Diner is not “the disabled” or “low-income,” they are our brothers and sisters. Our housing first model, distribution of clothing through shopping with vouchers at local thrift stores, taking pains to guard client privacy, partnering with Our Lady Lourdes to provide nutrition consultation, healthy menu planning and a free-clinic on campus. Life and human dignity is the underpinning of it all.
Taking it to the world around you:
Pray
● Pray for a change in the attitudes and behaviors you have recognized as contrary to the dignity of the human person.
● Pray for our neighbors in Acadiana who live in circumstances that diminish and distort their human dignity
Fast
● Fast from a regular but non-essential expense and collect the money to support those who need to be reminded of their human dignity
● Fast from speaking to yourself or treating yourself in ways that are contrary to your own human dignity
Give Alms
● When you encounter someone, be it a new person in your school or an individual begging in the parking lot of your local shopping store, give the alms of extending a hand, granting a smile and asking a name
● Make a monetary or in-kind donation to the Stella Maris Hygiene Center or St. Joseph Diner to support some of the most vulnerable in our community. You can donate by clicking here.
Hungry for More:
Genesis 1:27 - God created man in his own image
Psalm 139 - Fearfully and wonderfully made
Isaiah 43:1 - I have called you by name, you are mine
Make Friends With the Saints: St. Peter Claver recognized the great dignity of every human person and it compelled him to serve African Slaves, who were looked on not as human beings but as objects to be bought, sold and used. St. Peter Claver, Pray for us.
Study the Catechism of the Catholic Church ( CCC 1699-1715, 2258-2336 )
Read from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church (Introduction, Parts 1-3)
Online Resources
CRS Catholic Social Teaching 101 Videos, Discussion, and Teaching Materials: https://www.crs.org/resource-center/CST-101 (Spanish and English)