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. BIBLE . Diary . Rich in Mercy [ I ] [ II ] [ III ] [ IV ] [ V ] [ VI ] [ VII ] [ VIII ]
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IOANNES PAULUS PP. II |
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VI.
"MERCY...FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION" 10. An Image of Our Generation We
have every right to believe that our generation too was included in the words
of the Mother of God when she glorified that mercy shared in "from
generation to generation" by those who allow themselves to be guided by
the fear of God. The words of Mary's Magnificat
have a prophetic content that concerns not only the past of Israel but also
the whole future of the People of God on earth. In fact, all of us now living
on earth are the generation that is aware of the approach of the third
millennium and that profoundly feels the change that is occurring in history.
The
present generation knows that it is in a privileged position: progress
provides it with countless possibilities that only a few decades ago were
undreamed of. Man's creative activity, his intelligence and his work, have
brought about profound changes both in the field of science and technology
and in that of social and cultural life. Man has extended his power over
nature and has acquired deeper knowledge of the laws of social behavior. He
has seen the obstacles and distances between individuals and nations dissolve
or shrink through an increased sense of what is universal, through a clearer
awareness of the unity of the human race, through the acceptance of mutual
dependence in authentic solidarity, and through the desire and possibility of
making contact with one's brothers and sisters beyond artificial geographical
divisions and national or racial limits. Today's young people, especially,
know that the progress of science and technology can produce not only new
material goods but also a wider sharing in knowledge. The extraordinary
progress made in the field of information and data processing, for instance,
will increase man's creative capacity and provide access to the intellectual
and cultural riches of other peoples. New communications techniques will
encourage greater participation in events and a wider exchange of ideas. The
achievements of biological, psychological and social science will help man to
understand better the riches of his own being. It is true that too often this
progress is still the privilege of the industrialized countries, but it
cannot be denied that the prospect of enabling every people and every country
to benefit from it has long ceased to be a mere utopia when there is a real
political desire for it. But
side by side with all this, or rather as part of it, there are also the
difficulties that appear whenever there is growth. There is unease and a
sense of powerlessness regarding the profound response that man knows that he
must give. The picture of the world today also contains shadows and
imbalances that are not always merely superficial. The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes of the Second
Vatican Council is certainly not the only document that deals with the life
of this generation, but it is a document of particular importance. "The
dichotomy affecting the modern world," we read in it, "is,,in fact, a symptom of a
deeper dichotomy that is in man himself. He is the meeting point of many
conflicting forces. In his condition as a created being he is subject to a
thousand shortcomings, but feels untrammelled in
his inclinations and destined for a higher form of life. Torn by a welter of
anxieties he is compelled to choose between them and repudiate some among
them. Worse still, feeble and sinful as he is, he often does the very thing
he hates and does not do what he wants. And so he feels himself divided, and
the result is a host of discords in social life."109 Towards
the end of the introductory exposition we read: ". . .in the face of
modern developments there is a growing body of men who are asking the most
fundamental of all questions or are glimpsing them with a keener insight:
What is man? What is the meaning of suffering, evil, death, which have not been eliminated by all this progress? What is the
purpose of these achievements, purchased at so high a price?"110 In
the span of the fifteen years since the end of the Second Vatican Council,
has this picture of tensions and threats that mark our epoch become less
disquieting? It seems not. On the contrary, the tensions and threats that in
the Council document seem only to be outlined and not to manifest in depth
all the dangers hidden within them have revealed themselves more clearly in
the space of these years; they have in a different way confirmed that danger,
and do not permit us to cherish the illusions of the past. |
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11. Sources of Uneasiness Thus,
in our world the feeling of being under threat is increasing. There is an
increase of that existential fear connected especially, as I said in the
encyclical Redemptor hominis,
with the prospect of a conflict that in view of today's atomic stockpiles
could mean the partial self-destruction of humanity. But the threat does not
merely concern what human beings can do to human beings through the means
provided by military technology; it also concerns many other dangers produced
by a materialistic society which-in spite of "humanistic" declarations-accepts
the primacy of things over persons. Contemporary man, therefore, fears that
by the use of the means invented by this type of society, individuals and the
environment, communities, societies and nations can fall victim to the abuse
of power by other individuals, environments and societies. The history of our
century offers many examples of this. In spite of all the declarations on the
rights of man in his integral dimension, that is to say in
his bodily and spiritual existence, we cannot say that these examples
belong only to the past. Man
rightly fears falling victim to an oppression that will deprive him of his
interior freedom, of the possibility of expressing the truth of which he is
convinced, of the faith that he professes, of the ability to obey the voice
of conscience that tells him the right path to follow. The technical means at
the disposal of modern society conceal within themselves not only the
possibility of self-destruction through military conflict, but also the
possibility of a "peaceful" subjugation of individuals, of
environments, of entire societies and of nations, that for one reason or
another might prove inconvenient for those who possess the necessary means
and are ready to use them without scruple. An instance is the continued existence
of torture, systematically used by authority as a means of domination and
political oppression and practiced by subordinates with impunity. Together
with awareness of the biological threat, therefore, there is a growing
awareness of yet another threat, even more
destructive of what is essentially human, what is intimately bound up with
the dignity of the person and his or her right to truth and freedom. All
this is happening against the background of the gigantic remorse caused by
the fact that, side by side with wealthy and surfeited people and societies,
living in plenty and ruled by consumerism and pleasure, the same human family
contains individuals and groups that are suffering from hunger. There are
babies dying of hunger under their mothers' eyes. In various parts of the
world, in various socio-economic systems, there exist entire areas of
poverty, shortage and underdevelopment. This fact is universally known. The
state of inequality between individuals and between nations not only still
exists; it is increasing. It still happens that side by side with those who
are wealthy and living in plenty there exist those who are living in want,
suffering misery and often actually dying of hunger; and their number reaches
tens, even hundreds of millions. This is why moral uneasiness is destined to
become even more acute. It is obvious that a fundamental defect, or rather a
series of defects, indeed a defective machinery is
at the root of contemporary economics and materialistic civilization, which
does not allow the human family to break free from such radically unjust
situations. This
picture of today's world in which there is so much evil both physical and
moral, so as to make of it a world entangled in contradictions and tensions,
and at the same time full of threats to human freedom, conscience and
religion-this picture explains the uneasiness felt by contemporary man. This
uneasiness is experienced not only by those who are disadvantaged or
oppressed, but also by those who possess the privileges of wealth, progress
and power. And, although there is no lack of people trying to understand the
causes of this uneasiness, or trying to react against it with the temporary
means offered by technology, wealth or power, still in the very depth of the
human spirit this uneasiness is stronger than all temporary means. This
uneasiness concerns-as the analyses of the Second Vatican Council rightly
pointed out-the fundamental problems of all human existence. It is linked
with the very sense of man's existence in the world, and is an uneasiness for the future of man and all humanity; it
demands decisive solutions, which now seem to be forcing themselves upon the
human race. |
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12. Is Justice Enough? It
is not difficult to see that in the modern world the sense of justice has
been reawakening on a vast scale; and without doubt this emphasizes that
which goes against justice in relationships between individuals, social
groups and "classes," between individual peoples and states, and
finally between whole political systems, indeed between what are called "worlds." This deep and varied trend,
at the basis of which the contemporary human conscience has placed justice,
gives proof of the ethical character of the tensions and struggles pervading
the world. The
Church shares with the people of our time this
profound and ardent desire for a life which is just in every aspect, nor does
she fail to examine the various aspects of the sort of justice that the life of
people and society demands. This is confirmed by the field of Catholic social
doctrine, greatly developed in the course of the last century. On the lines
of this teaching proceed the education and formation of human consciences in
the spirit of justice, and also individual undertakings, especially in the
sphere of the apostolate of the laity, which are developing in precisely this
spirit. And
yet, it would be difficult not to notice that very often programs which start
from the idea of justice and which ought to assist its fulfillment among
individuals, groups and human societies, in practice suffer from distortions.
Although they continue to appeal to the idea of justice, nevertheless
experience shows that other negative forces have gained the upper hand over
justice, such as spite, hatred and even cruelty. In such cases, the desire to
annihilate the enemy, limit his freedom, or even force him into total
dependence, becomes the fundamental motive for action; and this contrasts
with the essence of justice, which by its nature tends to establish equality
and harmony between the parties in conflict. This kind of abuse of the idea
of justice and the practical distortion of it show how far human action can
deviate from justice itself, even when it is being undertaken in the name of
justice. Not in vain did Christ challenge His listeners, faithful to the
doctrine of the Old Testament, for their attitude which was manifested in the
words: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."111 This was the form of distortion of
justice at that time; and today's forms continue to be modeled on it. It is
obvious, in fact, that in the name of an alleged justice (for example,
historical justice or class justice) the neighbor is sometimes destroyed,
killed, deprived of liberty or stripped of fundamental human rights. The
experience of the past and of our own time demonstrates that justice alone is
not enough, that it can even lead to the negation and destruction of itself,
if that deeper power, which is love, is not allowed to shape human life in
its various dimensions. It has been precisely historical experience that,
among other things, has led to the formulation of the saying: summum ius, summa iniuria. This statement does not detract from the value
of justice and does not minimize the significance of the order that is based
upon it; it only indicates, under another aspect, the need to draw from the
powers of the spirit which condition the very order of justice, powers which
are still more profound. The
Church, having before her eyes the picture of the generation to which we
belong, shares the uneasiness of so many of the people of our time. Moreover,
one cannot fail to be worried by the decline of many fundamental values,
which constitute an unquestionable good not only for Christian morality but
simply for human morality, for moral culture: these values include respect
for human life from the moment of conception, respect for marriage in its
indissoluble unity, and respect for the stability of the family. Moral
permissiveness strikes especially at this most sensitive sphere of life and
society. Hand in hand with this go the crisis of truth in human
relationships, lack of responsibility for what one says, the purely
utilitarian relationship between individual and individual, the loss of a
sense of the authentic common good and the ease with which this good is
alienated. Finally, there is the "desacralization"
that often turns into "dehumanization": the individual and the
society for whom nothing is "sacred" suffer moral decay, in spite
of appearances. |
I. HE WHO SEES ME
SEES THE FATHER
IV. THE PARABLE
OF THE PRODIGAL SON
VI.
"MERCY...FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION"
VII. THE MERCY
OF GOD IN THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
VIII. THE
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH IN OUR TIMES
>>DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE
Diary Come Back To Me Rich in Mercy
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