Faith at Home:
Living the Common Good
This month’s Catholic Social Teaching focus is on the Common Good — the call to work for what benefits everyone, not just ourselves.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches (CCC 1925), the Common Good includes three essential elements:
Respect for the person
The well-being of society
Peace and security for all.
To live for the Common Good means to love as Christ loves: seeking the good of all, especially those who may have less voice, power, or comfort. When we act with compassion, fairness, and mercy, even in simple ways, we help others experience God’s love through us.
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mark 12:31)
Every time we share kindness, offer help, or speak with gentleness, we live our faith theme:
Small things done with great love.Small Things
Try This Together as a Family
Gather as a family and talk about what “the Common Good” means in your home and community.
Ask each other:
Who around us might need a little extra care, kindness, or encouragement right now?
What’s one small thing our family can do with great love this week to help someone else?
Then pray together:
“Lord, help us think beyond ourselves and see Your face in others.
May our small acts of love bring peace and joy to our community.
Amen.”
For Kids
Make a “Kindness for the Common Good” Chart for the week.
Each day, add one small thing you did with great love — helping someone, sharing, or bringing a smile.
At the end of the week, count how many ways your family shared kindness, and talk about how those small actions helped others feel loved.
Download the Kindness Template Chart Below!
For Parents
Spend a few quiet moments reflecting:
When have I focused more on my own comfort than the needs of others?
How can I live this week’s faith theme — doing small things with great love — in my home, parish, or workplace?
Consider reaching out to someone who might need encouragement or connection. Every act of compassion, however small, builds up the Common Good.
Faith in Action
The Common Good begins in the heart and takes root in our families and communities.
When we choose love over convenience, peace over frustration, and service over self, we reflect the heart of Christ.
“Every act of love is a step toward the Common Good.”
Through small things done with great love, we help God’s goodness grow — one kind word, one helping hand, one heart at a time.
A Prayer for the Common Good
Loving God,
In this time when our classrooms are quiet and our schools are still,
remind us that Your presence is never absent.
You continue to work in small and hidden ways —
through compassion, patience, forgiveness, and acts of understanding.
Bless our work as leaders of this Catholic community.
When days feel uncertain or heavy,
help us to remember that we are never alone in Your mission.
Guide us to see the dignity in each person —
teachers, students, parents, and colleagues —
and to act always for the common good with humility and grace.
May we be faithful to Your call
to do small things with great love,
building unity, hope, and peace within our community. Amen