The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement for 2017–18 is titled: ‘Everyone’s Business: Developing an inclusive and sustainable economy’ and is built around today’s Gospel from Matthew 20:1-16.

Pope Francis has called for an economic system that places men and women at the very centre – one that meets the needs of all people and is just and sustainable. He denounces economic structures that take a purely utilitarian view of human beings, treating them as mere elements of production, to be thrown away if they are not seen as useful or productive.

An excerpt from the Prayer for Economic Justice: May we be instruments of your compassion as we take up the needs of the poor, May we be instruments of your mercy as we bring truth to greed and neglect, May we be instruments of your creative spirit as we seek to make our world anew.