Justice and Mercy

 Deuteronomy 24:1-25:4

14 You are not to exploit the hired servant who is poor and destitute, whether he is one of your brothers or a stranger who lives in your towns. 

15 You must pay him his wage each day, not allowing the sun to set before you do, for he is poor and is anxious for it; otherwise he may appeal to the Lord against you, and it would be a sin for you.

19 When reaping the harvest in your field, if you have overlooked a sheaf in that field, do not go back for it. Leave it for the stranger, the orphan and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.

20 When you beat your olive trees you must not go over the branches twice. Let anything left be for the stranger, the orphan and the widow.

21 When you harvest your vineyard you must not pick it over a second time. Let anything left be for the stranger, the orphan and the widow.

22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. That is why I lay this charge on you.

DO NOT JUDGE BY THE LOOKS

Et dixit Dóminus ad Samuélem: «Ne respícias vultum eius neque altitúdinem statúræ eius, quóniam abiéci eum; nec iuxta intúitum hóminis iúdico: homo enim videt ea, quæ parent, Dóminus autem intuétur cor».

--I Sam 16

Justice cannot be created in the world solely through good economic models, however necessary those are. Justice is created only where there are just people. There cannot be just people without a humble, daily work of conversion of hearts, or creating justice in hearts. Only thus does corrective justice spread itself. In this sense, the work of the pastor is fundamental, not only for the parish, but for humanity. As I’ve said, without just people, the concept of justice remains an abstraction. Good structures can’t be developed if they’re opposed by egoism, including that of competent people.

(Benedict XVI, Q&A With Priests of Rome, 26 Feb 2009)