Catholic social teaching inspires and guides how we are to live and work in the world. In this principle, Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Jesus reminds us that we are all made in God's image and likeness. That means that every human being has a special value and a purpose. We need to care for each other so we can be the people God calls us to be.
"...There are serious seekers, contemporary magi, all around us. They are young people who are consciously hungry for a spiritual nourishment that they have not found in our churches and catechisms. They are women, young and old, who feel they have been treated like unwelcome outsiders when they come to the temple to offer their gifts. They are the more than 10 percent of the U.S. population who identify as “former Catholics,” not necessarily because they lack faith, but because they have been injured, feel rejected or believe that the church has so betrayed her vocation that their conscience does not allow them to participate in it. These are the people whose sincere seeking, like that of the Magi, can be a wake-up call to those practicing in the church. As we begin our new year, today’s liturgy urges us to listen to the seekers who want more than they have found in conventional religion. Their searching reminds us that God is bigger than any ritual or tradition and is always waiting to encounter us anew, somewhere beyond our expectations..."