and objective truth and universally valid principles are no longer upheld, then laws can only be seen as
arbitrary impositions or obstacles to be avoided.
Theneed to protect employment
124. Any approach to an integral ecology, which bydefinitiondoes not excludehuman beings, needs
to take account of the value of labour, as Saint John Paul II wisely noted in his Encyclical
Laborem
Exercens
. According to the biblical account of creation, God placedman andwoman in the garden he
had created (cf.
Gen
2:15) not only to preserve it (“keep”) but also to make it fruitful (“till”).
Labourers and craftsmen thus “maintain the fabric of the world” (
Sir
38:34). Developing the created
world in a prudent way is the best way of caring for it, as this means that we ourselves become the
instrument used by God to bring out the potential which he himself inscribed in things: “The Lord
createdmedicines out of the earth, and a sensiblemanwill not despise them” (
Sir
38:4).
125. If we reflect on the proper relationship between human beings and the world around us, we see
the need for a correct understanding of work; if we talk about the relationship between human beings
and things, the question arises as to themeaning and purpose of all human activity. This has to do not
only with manual or agricultural labour but with any activity involving a modification of existing
reality, from producing a social report to the design of a technological development. Underlying every
form of work is a concept of the relationship which we can and must have with what is other than
ourselves. Together with the awe-filled contemplation of creation which we find in Saint Francis of
Assisi, the Christian spiritual tradition has also developed a rich and balanced understanding of the
meaningofwork, as, for example, in the life ofBlessedCharles de Foucauld and his followers.
126. We can also look to the great tradition ofmonasticism. Originally, it was a kind of flight from
the world, an escape from the decadence of the cities. The monks sought the desert, convinced that it
was the best place for encountering the presence ofGod. Later, Saint Benedict ofNorcia proposed that
his monks live in community, combining prayer and spiritual reading with manual labour (
ora et
labora
). Seeing manual labour as spiritually meaningful proved revolutionary. Personal growth and
sanctification came to be sought in the interplay of recollection and work. This way of experiencing
work makes us more protective and respectful of the environment; it imbues our relationship to the
worldwith ahealthy sobriety.
