Lent 2026 - Reading #12 - Justice
Reading
Pope Leo XIII, in his landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum, addresses justice in the context of human labor and economic life: "The following duties bind the wealthy owner and the employer: not to look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character. They are reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful, to a man, since it enables him to earn an honorable livelihood." Leo XIII continues: "It is shameful and inhuman to treat men like chattels to make money by, or to look upon them merely as so much muscle or physical power. Furthermore, the employer must never tax his work people beyond their strength, or employ them in work unsuited to their sex and age. His great and principal duty is to give every one what is just. The rich must not think it lawful to destroy the dignity of the human person for the sake of gain." The encyclical established the principle that justice requires not merely individual charity but systemic attention to the conditions under which people live and work. The structures of economic life are themselves matters of justice, and Christians cannot be indifferent to them.
Reflection
Twelve days into our Lenten journey, we encounter justice in its most concrete social form. From Aquinas's definition to Augustine's critique to the prophets' cry, and through Lewis's transcendent vision, we have been building toward this: the recognition that justice must take institutional shape. Virtues are not only personal qualities but forces that must reshape the world. Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum during the Industrial Revolution, when the exploitation of workers was reaching crisis proportions. His words remain cutting today, because the temptation to reduce human beings to their economic utility is perennial. Every age finds new ways to treat people as instruments rather than ends. The Christian virtue of justice insists that this is not merely unfortunate but sinful, a violation of the dignity God has bestowed on every person. Lent invites us to examine not only our personal sins but our complicity in unjust structures. Do you know where your goods come from? Do the institutions you participate in treat people justly? These are uncomfortable questions, and they may not have easy answers. But the Lenten discipline of honest self-examination demands that we ask them. Justice is not only about what you do; it is also about what you tolerate, what you benefit from, and what you choose not to see.