Christians' responsibility for peace

Young children are sometimes led to believe that they are powerless to make decisions that truly impact the important things in life. Unfortunately, some adults too maintain a sentiment of apathy because they cannot or will not see the impact of their positive actions and words for the wider world.

Against the fatalism and conviction that choices that truly make an impact on the world stage are only made by a chosen few who are in positions of power or prestige, Benedict XVI encourages all Catholics to take seriously their personal responsibility for promoting peace in our world.

In Chapter 7 of his book Values in a Time of Upheaval, the Holy Father outlines three parts to the action plan by which Christians can contribute concretely to strengthening the forces of good:

• First, we have the promise of the future Jerusalem, which is not made by man but comes from God;


• Second, we have the prediction about the history of our world, that human freedom will continualy be misused and that injustice will seize power again and again in the world;


• Finally, the third part of the Christian response involves ethos and responsibility. (pp, 120-121)

Trusting in the promise of a kingdom which is yet to come, we live as people of hope as we await the fulfillment of the Lord's promise that we will all one day partake in the fullness of life and light in Heaven.

While we wait, we live in the world, where God allows the freedom to choose evil considerable space, but he never lets the world fall completely out of his hands, so no matter what evil can do, the world belongs to God, not to evil.

Conscious of the fundamental character or spirit of our local culture (and that of the world in general), Christians also draw upon our established norms of morality in order to inform our beliefs, customs or practices. God holds the world together but also grants us great freedom. We must use this - as a freedom to choose the good - to oppose the freedom of evil. Faith does not create a better world, but it does call forth and strengthen the freedom of the good against the temptation to misuse our freedom to do evil. (p. 121)

Christians, called to live in a world which naturally tends toward the good, but which also leaves lots of room for freedom on the part of humanity, are therefore the sentinels of a promise which will only come to its fruition in the future. In the meanwhile, it is our responsibility to work devotedly each day at promoting peace by the way we interact with others, showing them the mercy, justice and love of the Lord.

• Photo: The Return of the Prodigal Son; Rembrandt, H. The State Hermitage Museum