Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - “The times we are living appear ever less capable of “adapting the walls of the earthly city to those of the heavenly Jerusalem ”, to use an expression dear to the heart of Giorgio La Pira. It is as if we were unable to describe a path of life which takes others in consideration: the poor in our cities, people touched by suffering and sickness, families with hard and painful conflicts; people who have lost their jobs and find it difficult to get to the end of the month on one wage packet; foreigners rejected and those accepted and employed often underpaid to help families left at home far away; young people always searching for new horizons but not always helped to build a solid future.
Today we read so many articles on the new commandments, or how the old - forgive the term- Commandments need to be reread and updated, priorities moved and faults and sins added or removed. Perhaps they should only be applied, lived and interpreted in their old and ever new vitality and wisdom. Perhaps the longing to build a new life made to measure leads us to interpret, to correct: here then is God who gives us the Ten Commandments; and to us he appears like a judge difficult to understand, ready to punish.
But we are mistaken! God is love above all else, he is the builder who founds his construction on solid bases and asks us only to respect the rules for making the house grow and stand firm. Was it not Christ himself, the Son of God, who gave us the commandment which contains them all: love your neighbour as yourself!
So what have we done with our love for others who suffer, who are in difficulty; for the foreigner who asks help to start a new life; for the young person who cannot build a family or a home.
The Commandments challenge us every day; they challenge men and women, politicians and ordinary citizens of this city, which we should build like the heavenly Jerusalem but we will never succeed in giving it the same harmony.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini writes: “it can happen that we are ashamed of the Gospel, that we try to live it in some sectors of life but then abandon it, allowing many other sectors to be ruled by worldly judgements, mentalities and life styles which obey present day idols. And it can happen that even people who know and love the Gospel appear to be mute and ‘disorientated’ in the face of the circumstances and events of economic, social, civil and political life, they dare not take a position or illuminate the decisions to be made with the light of knowledge of Jesus. It is not so much a question of crying out ‘Lord, Lord’ but rather of expressing those judgements which stem from the Gospel and help people view with objectivity and serenity the problems and the values at stake”.
This is the path we must take, how else can we respond to those who ask us the reasons for our hope?” (Paola Bignardi) (Agenzia Fides 30/7/2004 - Righe 33; Parole 480)
