Daily Thought For December 29, 2014
The Struggle For Justice
Thus, 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, business enterprises, welfare services etc. For the solution to the major social and human problems of today depends to a great extent on such people. And in doing so we must endeavor 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. Finally, the practice of justice will lead us to join movements in which, together with other people of good-will, we can foster more human and more Christian ideals. And all this, though it may seem to take up more time than is normally at our disposal, is not impossible; for if we really make an effort, God will enlarge our day.
Our Lord has left us a program of life which, if put into practice, is capable of completely transforming mankind. He has told us that we are all children of God and therefore brothers. This has a profound impact on the relations between, men. 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. They are a consequence of the sense of the brotherhood of man resulting from the Christian faith. In our own professional and social surroundings, can it really be said that in word and deed we are truly contributing towards making the world more just and more human?
Let us recall the words of Monsignor Escriva: Perhaps you bring to mind all the injustices which cry for redress, all the abuses that 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. God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son...
from In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez Volume 1 pp. 263-265