Making A More Just World

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that those who believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Child that we’ve been contemplating in the crib during these last few days is the Redeemer of the world and of everyone on it. He has come in the first place to give us eternal life as something to be looked forward to in this life and to be fully possessed after death.

He has become man to call sinners (Luke 5:32), as we’re told in St. Luke, to save what was lost (Luke 19:10), and to make divine life known to all men (Mark 10:45).

During the years of His public life, Our Lord had little to say about the political and social situation of His people, and this in spite of their oppression by the Romans. On different occasions, He makes it clear that He doesn’t want to be a political Messiah nor a liberator from the yoke of Rome.

He came to give us the freedom of the children of God: freedom from the sins we had committed, which had reduced us to a state of slavery. He came to give us freedom from eternal death, another consequence of sin; freedom from the dominion of the devil, since man could now overcome sin with the help of grace. And finally, He gave us freedom from life according to the flesh, which is opposed to supernatural life.

The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation, has said, “The freedom brought by Christ through the Holy Spirit has restored to us the capacity, of which sin had deprived us, of loving God above all and of remaining in contact with him” (SCDF, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation, Point 53, March 22, 1986).

Through His way of acting, Our Lord also pointed out the path His Church would take so as to continue His work here on earth until the end of time.

St. Paul VI said, “It behooves Christians, within the many opportunities we have for action, to contribute to a world order that is more just, more human, and more Christian without in any way compromising the Church as such” (cf. Paul VI, Encyclical, Populorum progressio, Point 81, March 26, 1967).

The Church’s concern for social problems is derived from her special mission and is kept within the limits of that mission. The Church, of her very nature, does not fulfill her purpose in solving temporal problems (ibid).

She follows Christ when He declared that His kingdom was “not of this world” (John 18:36) and absolutely refused to be considered a judge or a promoter of justice in purely human affairs (cf. Luke 12:14).

However, no Christian should stand aside from the need to do everything in their power to solve the enormous social problems that now afflict mankind. “[Let each one] examine himself,” exhorted St. Paul VI, “to see what he has done up to now and what more he could accomplish. It is not enough to cite general principles, make resolutions, condemn grave injustices, make denunciations with a certain prophetic daring.

“None of this will carry any weight unless accompanied in each person by a more lively realization of his own responsibility and by effective action. It is too easy to make other people responsible for today’s injustices, if, at the same time, we don’t realize that we too are responsible and that a personal conversion is therefore the first necessity” (Paul VI, Apostolic Letter, Octogesima adveniens, Point 48, May 14, 1971).

We ask ourselves in our prayer whether or not we are doing our best to become familiar with the social teachings of the Church. The social teachings of the Church contained in about ten or fifteen documents over the past one hundred fifty years are a beautiful treasure of doctrine or of teaching, possibly one of the least known aspects of Christian doctrine. It’s important that we try to become familiar with that teaching so as to make the social teachings of the Church a practical force in our personal lives.

We could examine our conscience and see: do we try, insofar as we are able, to make the laws and customs of our society conform to the teachings of the Church on the family, on education, on just wages, on the right to work?

Our Lord, whom we now contemplate in the stable in Bethlehem, will be content with us if we are really trying to make a more just world in the big city or small village where we live, in the district and in the company where we work, in the life of our own family.

In the final analysis, the establishment of justice and peace in the world finds its solution in the human heart. And, when the heart is not centered on God, man reverts to his original state of slavery and is subject to every kind of oppression from his fellow creatures (cf. SCDF, Instruction, Point 39).

We can never forget that when, through our personal apostolate, we try to make the world around us more Christian, we are also making it more human.

And, to the extent that we succeed in this, by creating a more just and more human environment in social, family, and working conditions, we are at the same time creating a climate in which Christ can be more easily known and loved.

A decision to put into practice the virtue of justice, without reservations, will lead us to pray daily for the leaders of government, for the leaders of business enterprises, and welfare services, because the solution to the major social and human problems of today to a large extent depends on such people.

And in doing so, we have to try to live up to this standard, without inhibitions and without leaving to others the practice of justice which the Church urges upon us.

This means full payment for services rendered. It entails a serious effort to improve the living conditions of people in need. It presupposes exemplary behavior in carrying out our work competently and well, showing responsibility and initiative in the exercise of our rights and duties as citizens.

The practice of justice will also lead us to join movements in which, together with other people of good will, we can foster more human and more Christian ideals. It can be a good thing to ask ourselves: what national or international organizations do I belong to which can be a vehicle for bringing about these changes?

All this, though it may seem to take up more time than is normally at our disposal, is not impossible, because if we really make an effort, God will enlarge our day.

Our Lord has left us a program of life which, if we put it into practice, is capable of transforming mankind.

Don Javier Echevarría, as Prelate of Opus Dei, went to visit Nigeria on one occasion. In a get-together there, somebody stood up and talked about corruption as the big Nigerian problem. He them, “You know, I have news for you, it’s not just the big Nigerian problem. But we’ve come to change the way the world does business.” Those sorts of words can lead us to dream and to think and to pray.

Our Lord has told us that we are all children of God, and therefore brothers and sisters of mankind. This has a profound impact on the relations between people.

God has given the goods of the earth to all, to administer them well. To all He has promised eternal life.

The doctrine of Christ has, over the centuries, led to great achievements: the abolition of slavery, the recognition of the dignity of women, the protection of orphans and widows, the care of the sick and the handicapped. These are a consequence of the sense of the brotherhood of man resulting from the Christian faith.

I was at a pro-life conference in Manila many years ago, in the 1980s. There was a lady GP from Liverpool who was one of the main speakers. She said a couple of things that really impressed me.

She said, “We can be very proud of our Church.” I’ve been a Catholic for forty years, a priest for ten. I never remembered anybody putting it like that. Often the media tells us we should be ashamed of our Church because we say no to contraception, no to abortion, no to euthanasia, no to divorce.

“But,” she said, “we can be very proud of our Church because our Church is the only Church in the world that has stood firm on the sanctity of every human life in the last fifty years. All the other churches have bent.”

And she said, “Our Church is the number one healthcare worker in the world. Whether it’s in major cities or in the last outpost of humanity, there’s always somebody working there in the name of the Catholic Church.”

We have an awful lot to be proud of, and in past centuries, we’ve been very proud of all the great things that the Church has achieved in education, and in healthcare, in the civilization of human persons.

In our professional and social surroundings, can it be really said that in word and deed we personally are contributing toward making the world more just and more human?

St. Josemaría said, “Perhaps you bring to mind all the injustices which cry for redress, all the abuses [which] go uncorrected, the discrimination passed on from one generation to the next with no attempt to find permanent solutions. … A man or a society that does not react to suffering and injustice and makes no attempt to alleviate them is still distant from the love of Christ’s heart.

“While Christians enjoy the fullest freedom in finding and applying various solutions to these problems, they should be united in having one and the same desire to serve mankind. Otherwise their Christianity will not be the word and life of Jesus; it will be a fraud, a deception of God and man” (Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By, Point 167).

“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16).

The problems of mankind can’t be solved by justice alone. Mercy and charity are also needed.

A number of years ago there was a major earthquake in San Francisco during the time of the presidency of the elder Bush. I remember President Bush making a national broadcast, and his opening words as he addressed the nation were, “Thank God for the volunteer effort.”

It was rather an interesting statement from the president of the most powerful nation on the planet, admitting that all the forces of law and order, the police, the army, all hands on deck, all official hands on deck, were not enough to solve the problems. We need every last pair of hands. We don’t just need justice; we need charity, we need generosity.

Justice alone is never enough to solve all the problems of mankind. We need all hands on deck.

St. Josemaría says, “With justice alone we cannot solve the problems of mankind” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 172).

He also says, “Even if we achieve a reasonable distribution of wealth and a harmonious organization of society, there will still be the sufferings of illness, of misunderstanding, of loneliness, of the death of loved ones, of the experience of our own limitations” (J. Escrivá, Christ Is Passing By, Point 168). Justice is enriched and complemented by mercy.

In his encyclical Rich in Mercy, Pope John Paul II said, “What is more, strict justice can lead to the denial and extinction of itself, if no allowance is made for that deeper kind, which is love, to form human life” and can end up in “a system of oppression of the weaker by the stronger, or in an arena of permanent struggle of the one against the other” (John Paul II, Encyclical, Dives in misericordia, Points 12, 14, November 30, 1980).

Justice and mercy mutually sustain and fortify each other. St. Josemaría says, “Justice alone is never enough to solve the great problems of mankind. When justice alone is done, don’t be surprised if people are hurt. The dignity of man, who is a son of God, requires much more” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 172).

Charity without justice would not be real charity. Rather, it would be simply an attempt to anesthetize one’s conscience. But one still meets people who call themselves Christians but “leave aside justice and limit their actions to a bit of welfare work, which they define as charitable, without realizing that they are doing only a small part of what in fact they have a strict duty to do.

“Charity, which is like a generous overflowing of justice, demands first of all the fulfillment of one’s duty. The way to start is to be just; the next step is to do what is most equitable…, but in order to love, great refinement is required, and much thoughtfulness, and respect, and kindness in rich measure” (ibid., Points 172-173).

The best way of promoting justice and peace in the world is the commitment to live as true children of God. If we Christians really decide to practice the demands of the Gospel in our personal lives, in our families, at work, and in our social life, we will change society, making it more just and more human.

We ordinary lay people in the middle of the world are called to transform the world from within. In St. Matthew we’re told, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened” (Matt. 13:33).

The people listening to Our Lord were quite familiar with this phenomenon. They had witnessed it many times in their own homes. By mixing a tiny quantity of yeast into a mass of dough, one would soon have a good loaf of bread.

In reflecting upon this comparison, we should first consider how little leaven is needed in order to transform the mass of dough. Despite outward appearances, the effect of the small portion of yeast is surprisingly great.

This can lead us to be daring in our apostolate of spreading the social doctrine of the Church, because the power behind the Christian ferment is not merely human; it’s the power of the Holy Spirit acting in the Church.

And Our Lord takes our limitations and frailties into account. “Is yeast, by its nature, better than dough? No. But it is what makes the dough rise and become good and nourishing food.

”[We could] reflect a moment, even if only in general terms, on the way yeast works in the making of bread—that simple, staple food which is available to [everyone]. In many places, the baking process is like a real ceremonial, ending up with a splendid product that you can almost taste with your eyes.

“They start with good flour, of top quality if possible. Then the dough is worked in the kneading-trough and the yeast is mixed in. It is a long and patient job. The dough must [now] be left to rest; this is essential for the leaven to do its work and make the dough rise.

“Meanwhile,” said St. Josemaría, “the oven is made ready, its temperature rising as the logs of wood burn bright. The risen dough is placed in the glowing oven and turns into high quality bread, wonderfully light and fresh.

“This result would never have been possible had it not been for the small amount of leaven, which dissolved and disappeared among the other ingredients, working effectively and passing unnoticed” (J. Escrivá, Friends of God, Point 257).

Without this little bit of leavening yeast, the mass of dough would have been something useless and inedible.

In the course of our daily lives we can be the cause of light or of darkness, of joy or of sadness, of peace or of anxiety. We can be a dead weight holding people back or we can be the ferment that transforms the mass of dough.

Our lifetime on earth is not something indifferent. We can bring others close to Christ, or we can also drive people away from Him. We can bring our grain of sand to make the world a better place, to lift up society, to give more glory to God, to fulfill its purpose. Or we can do the opposite.

Our Lord has sent us out to proclaim His message to the ends of the earth, to make that social teaching known in organizations, in businesses, in universities, in schools. We’re here to bring it to those who don’t know Christ personally, to bring it to them on a one-to-one basis, just as the first Christians did with their families, their colleagues, and their neighbors.

To do this type of apostolate, we don’t need to resort to strange behavior. “And when [they] see that we live the same life as they do, they will ask us: ‘Why are you so happy? How do you manage to overcome selfishness and comfort-seeking? Who has taught you to understand others, to live well, and to spend yourself in the service of others?’

“Then we have to disclose to them the divine secret of Christian existence. We must speak to them about God, about Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Our Lady. The time has [then] come for us to use our poor words to communicate the depth of God’s love which grace has poured into our [souls]” (ibid., Christ Is Passing By, Point 148).

Our Lord has the right to ask us: Are we that leaven in our family, in our place of work? Do we show by our spirit of peace and joy that Christ is alive?

We should also consider the fact that the leaven has an effect only when it’s in contact with the dough. Without being distinguishable from the dough, but working from within, the leaven does the work of transformation.

St. John Chrysostom says, “The woman not only inserts the leaven, but she also kneads it into the mass and hides its presence. In like manner, you have to mix in with other people and become identified with them. … Just as the leaven is hidden but does not disappear, so, little by little, all of the mass is transformed to the proper degree” (John Chrysostom, Homilies on St. Matthew’s Gospel).

Only in the middle of the world can we bring all things to be renewed by God. It’s for this task that we’ve been called by divine vocation.

Tertullian, a writer in the early centuries, said the first Christians acted as a fermenting yeast in a world that was in decay. In a short space of time, they were able to spread the faith to their families, to the Senate, to the army, and even to the Imperial Palace itself.

“We started only a short while ago,” he said, “and now we fill the world and everything that belongs to it—houses, cities, islands, towns, assemblies, even onto the army barracks, the clans and the classrooms, the palaces, the Senate, the Forum” (Tertullian, Apologeticus).

Without eccentricities, as ordinary faithful, we can show what it means to follow Christ closely. We should be known as persons who are loyal, sincere, honest, cheerful, and hard-working.

Our life, with all of our weaknesses, should be a sign that brings hope to people and brings people to Christ. Our good example should lead people to think, “That is the way to reach God.”

We could ask Our Lady that we might truly be true followers of her Son, true people who give good example in all our dealings, and people that make a more just world by putting into practice the principles of the social teaching that God has given to us.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

EW