Common Good
by Fr. Richard Bayuk, c.pp.s., Editor
This issue reports and reflects upon various parts of our 2017 Provincial
Assembly in early June. Our overall focus was community life. Several
weeks later we celebrated the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ—
the source and summit of our unity. And as I write this, we are anticipating
Independence Day, a national observance of origins, values, and hopefully
community. All of this is part of the same fabric.
At the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching is the concept of the “com-
mon good” (a concept and goal which seems to have diminished greatly
in our national conversation and practice in the last 30 years). To pursue
the common good is to work towards the greatest good for all persons. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church describes three essential elements of the
common good.
Respect people. First is “rights,” namely, the common good presupposes
respect for each person, which the government, or public authorities,
must protect.
Help people. Second is needs, or prosperity. The common good requires
the social well-being and development of the group itself, thus making
accessible that which is needed, such as food, clothing, work, education,
health.
Protect people. The common good requires peace. Public authority
should ensure a morally acceptable means of security and defense of
its people.
We are also called to pursue a Universal Common Good. In an increas-
ingly interdependent world, we all rely on other countries for our own
well-being. We are all a part of one human family and, therefore, we seek
a universal common good. This means that nations must also help those
who are not from their country.
Coincidentally, on the Sunday following July 4 th , we will hear these
words in the Gospel: “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life
burdensome.” Those familiar words resonate for me with what is inscribed
at the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your
huddled masses yearning to breathe free”—a powerful and poetic asser-
tion of the universal common good (from which we are perhaps straying
as well).
In conclusion, the connection to the Eucharist. After Vatican ii, the feast
of Corpus Christi was combined with feast of the Precious Blood (still
celebrated by our community on July 1 st , of course), and is now called the
Solemnity of Body and Blood of Christ. This was part of an effort to return
continued on page 4
2 • The New Wine Press • July 2017