St. Vincent de Paul, Solidarity, and Subsidiarity

… We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause. Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. -Saint Vincent de Paul

All who follow Christ are called to love the poor to care for the needy. And we humans, each being one composite unity of body and soul, have needs that are both spiritual and temporal (temporal, meaning of time and of the body while here on earth). Hence, the Church has formulated the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. It is important that we—Catholics, Christians, Members of the Mystical Body of Christ, followers of Christ—love the needy and provide assistance to them. It’s not the job of the government; it’s our job. That’s what the Church teaches: subsidiarity, try to solve the problems and meet the needs of human persons at the most basic level possible. We need brothers helping brothers—not Big Brother lording it over the helpless. “Entitlements” and government handouts have to stop. Honest, diligent work is precisely one of those activities that are in accord with the dignity of the human person. We should not be paying tribute to the government so that the government can give more handouts and make more and more people dependent upon “Big Brother” or “Uncle Sam.” The more people become dependent upon the State, the more the State has a hold on them and the more the State will be able to take away the rights of persons. The dignity and rights of each and every human person comes from God, the Creator of all, and not from the State. We pay our tribute (that is, worship) to God alone. Our trust is in God alone. Just look at the dollar bill, and hurry—before these secularists print out new bills that leave out the divine reference.