The Earth & Our Stewardship by Pope John Paul II |
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Books by the John Paul II,
Crossing the
Threshold of Hope, ($12.00) or about him--His Holiness:
John Paul II, & the Hidden History...
(by Carl Bernstein &
Marco Politi--$19.25). |
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The Apostle Paul states that "our homeland is in heaven" (Phil 3: 20), but he does not conclude that we can passively wait for our entry into this homeland; rather he urges us to be actively involved. "Let us not grow weary in well-doing", he writes, "for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal 6: 9-10).
Biblical revelation and the best philosophical wisdom agree in stressing that, on the one hand, humanity strives for the infinite and eternity but, on the other, it is firmly planted on earth, within the coordinates of time and space. There is a transcendent goal to be reached, but along a path that unfolds on earth and in history. Unfortunately, man often carries out this mission assigned to him by God not as a wise artisan but as an overbearing tyrant.In the end, he finds himself in a devastated
and hostile world, in a shattered and divided society. This is the result of
original sin, that is, of the rebellion which occurred at the very beginning of
the plan entrusted to humanity by God.
Therefore, with the grace of Christ the Redeemer we must once again make our own
the plan of peace and development, of justice and solidarity, of the
transformation and wise use of earthly and temporal realities foreshadowed in
the first pages of the Bible. We must continue humanity's great adventure in the
field of science and technology, discovering nature's secrets. We must develop
through the economy, trade and social life--well-being, knowledge and
victory over poverty and over every degradation of human dignity. In a certain
sense, God has delegated his creative work to man, so that it will continue both
in the extraordinary feats of science and technology and in the daily commitment
of workers, scholars, and those who, with their minds and hands, seek to
cultivate and care for the earth and to increase solidarity among men and women.
Christians are called to cooperate with the Creator to build on earth a "home for man" in greater conformity with his dignity and the divine plan, a home in which "mercy and faithfulness shall meet, justice and peace shall embrace" (Ps 85: 11).
The complexity of modern society makes ever more arduous the commitment to animate the political, cultural, economic and technological structures, which are often soulless. In this difficult but promising horizon, the Church is called to recognize the autonomy of earthly realities and also effectively to proclaim "the priority of ethics over techniques, the primacy of the person over things, the superiority of the spirit over matter".
Only in this way will Paul's prediction be fulfilled: "Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God ... who subjected it in hope; because creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom 8: 19-21).
Condensed from www.vatican.va and © L’Osservatore Romano, 27 Dec 2000, from the Holy Father’s catechesis at the General Audience of Wednesday, 13 Dec 2000
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other articles in the February 2001 edition of