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| Speech by Father Bernard |
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UNITY OF MAN FOR COMMUNIONAL PEACEINTRODUCTION Glory belongs to GOD, love and peace necessary for all men and women of goodwill. All human beings have a unified goal to seek and possess through love and obedience leading to the Supreme Good, namely GOD, in faith and reason. To this common need and goal we all journey together in loving solidarity, preferring each ones' freedom for rights and obligations by keeping the universal moral order in justice and discretion. Any violation of this socially binding order and structure should be restored and healed by forgiveness and reconciliation to witness to the unity of man. MUTUAL LOVE: We are the fruit of GOD's creative love which makes us children of GOD and image of GOD. A human being (person) loves and is loved. He is a seed of love and the power of love. When GOD offered Himself as our Father, He also bestowed on us our true dignity of being the children of GOD. Our supreme vocation is to be filial to our one divine Father; our noblest responsibility is to be brotherly/sisterly to all children of GOD and Father. By nature man is a 'relationship'; related and relating himself to all other human members. Thus man is primarily a social and sociable person endowed with filial and brotherly relationship. We all are united to live in one communional love. Our supreme charism is sealed with the image of GOD a Father Who is LOVE. Man is born into a membership of his unique and universal family. Hence the basic nature of man is to live, work and collaborate in communional relationship with fellow members. One should live and let live; grow and let grow in the bond and power of love. Love is the energy of relationship. Man experiences and expresses this wonder of love in his peace experience towards GOD and towards all fellow members. In seeking, having and promoting peace in his engagements and relationship, man is united in mind (right thinking), heart (communional love) and hands (collaboration for the good of the universal family) with other companions. The unity of man shines out when peace of soul thrives in each man. SOLIDARITY: Fraternal love should spread and become a human solidarity capable to develop a fraternal society towards a culture of peace. Knowledge about this truth Is insufficient unless internal and spiritual power dominates and leads on. Fraternal love should triumph to raise healthy relationship strong enough to banish every form and recourse to violence. Violence produces only chain of violence and hatred which are detrimental to human solidarity and peace. Religion never motivates violence; never it should be a cause for violence. On the contrary "religions teach and promote universal peace and reconciliation" (Pope Benedict at Naples). In any community individuals differ enormously in talents, power, wealth, skills and knowledge. These differences and the availabilities of talents should lend mutual assistance to the less gifted members to improve the common good of all in a spirit of solidarity. The various media of communication should abide by the norms of truth in the service of information. Universal common good requites friendly relations to be fostered and sustained with care and discretion. The United Nations Organization (UNO) was established on 26-1-1945. Its Universal Declaration on Human Rights (approved on 10-12-1948) manifests the unity of men in clearer light. Peace of GOD seeks seekers of peace; men of peace need GOD of peace; Then peace of GOD can thrive in the seeker of peace. The law of life demands to proceed gradually in the difficult issue of peace in humanity which all desire and need. Towards this communional peace an evolution of harmony and concord should be achieved through proper construction against destruction, pacification against passions and reconciliation against hatred. JUSTICE: Every citizen is an active member of the social order of justice as its subject, foundation and end/goal. Thus all men and women are equal in their natural dignity. Every community (in differing proportion) must have a governing authority and obeying community ultimately both subject to GOD, the Supreme law. Every individual member has freedom, obligations and rights to be also the basis of the community/society which in turn is invested with authority resting chiefly on moral order. This structure is bound to respect individuals' conscience in order to safeguard and promote the common good. The authority appeals to every individual to collaborate earnestly for the common good. The individuals on their part are obliged to contribute by bringing own interests into harmony with the needs and good of the community/society. The right to live and the obligation to serve the common good is of great importance to manifest the unity of men which is achieved through the generous contribution of every member of the society. At the same time the common good is to be impartially shared by its members within JUSTICE AND EQUITY. Unity and peace of the society, resulting from the common good, can be achieved when the legal structure works in conformity with the moral order. Leadership and authority should respect, protect and promote each members' rights and duties including the same of the governing authority. This means, leaders and members are reciprocally subjects of rights and duties. FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE: Peace thrusts its roots in the freedom of consciences open to transparent truth. Respect for the dictates of consciences of all citizens is basic for peace in any sphere of human life. Freedom of conscience should become the basic right of every man for choice, decision and fulfillment. Every person; in spite of frailty, weakness and limitations, has the right and duty to seek and pursue truth and reject error; to accept good and reject evil. Conscience is the most secret cere sanctuary of man commanding him to obey the divine law. Properly and well trained conscience responds to the most intimate law of GOD sommoning him to obey the right and shun the error/evil (Vat. II G.S.16; Rom. 2, 15). By nature conscience is related to objective truth which is universal and same for all. The freedom of consolence is justifiable on account of this relation of conscience to objective truth. This in turn requires that each individual's conscience be respected. "Truth imposes itself solely by the force of its own truth" (Pope Jn. Paul II). Truth enlightens conscience; Right educates conscience; Faith animates conscience. GOD alone is the absolute truth. Therefore search for truth and search for GOD go together. There; is intimate relationship between freedom of conscience and freedom of religion (religious freedom). Such freedom is always open to tolerance and reconciliation. Freedom of conscience is an active love ensuring such freedom and peace for all. Religious freedom is the most fundamental human right because the dignity of every person has its primary source in his relationship with GOD as Father. Conscience needs upright education. "Conscience on its own is not the (final) arbiter of the moral worth of the actions which it inspires. It must take account of the objective norms, and if necessary, reform and rectify itself" (Pope Paul VI, E.T.28). Right social moral order aimed at the common good can well provide one of the surest bases for progress and peace of the universal human family. (Pp John Paul II). In a pluralistic society/world careful education of conscience oriented to respect due freedom of consciences of others is necessary. This approach will help or even demand to acquire knowledge of other religions and cultures loading to common search for freedom, solidarity, cooperation and peace (Pp John Paul II). GOD Himself respects man's (His creature's) freedom. Freedom to seek Truth and adhere to it makes person free to live the splendour of Truth. When we all together seek the real objective Truth by deliberately respecting the consciences of others, the core treasure of every person, then the onward path of freedom will lead to PEACE the home of the children of GOD. HUMAN RIGHT: Society is fundamentally set on the principle that every human being is a person by nature endowed with intelligence and freedom having rights and obligations which are universal and inviolable. This human right binds all fellow members to acknowledge the unity of man. Therefore every person has the right to life, personal integrity, the means suitable and available for his development of life concerning food, clothing, shelter, health care and involvement in the social service. He has the right to respect for his person for his good reputation and communication with-in the limits of moral order and the common good. All are bound to live and observe the order GOD has established. Progressive learning and technological Inventions (which should continue) make man discover in the universe an astonishing order bearing witness to the greatness of man. "Does your soul desire to overcome your lower inclinations? Let it be subject to Him Who is on high and it will conquer the lower self: there will be peace in you, true, secure and well ordered peace. In what does that order consist? GOD commands the soul, the soul commands the body; and there is nothing more orderly than this" (St. Augustine: Sermon). One's fraternal relationship should generate love for peace because when love serves and cares, peace follows. Such peace of heart needs a communional attitude among all peoples which in turn becomes the peace of heart. All human beings have a natural call to love as well as to peace. All gains minus peace is less perfect. To serve with love means to be both a seeker of peace and a giver of peace to promote a culture of universal peace. Time should come to claim: 'your peace is my joy; your joy is my peace!' The joy resulting from fighting and triumphing over the evil is far superior to the shorter pleasure resulting from yielding to evil passions. Man has the right to worship GOD according to his conscience, faith and freedom. Religious belief should motivate all believers to become educators of peace, of human rights, of freedom to respect every person, of social bonds to take care of one another in a spirit of belonging to the universal family. No individual or individual community should be deliberately excluded on the ground of personal characteristic such as race, religion, culture etc. Peace education from family through all stages of character formation is necessary especially for adults and leaders. Peace thrives in active and multidimensional love. FORGIVENESS: The dignity of man makes him obliged to love and to forgive. Forgiveness is necessary to restore the broken relationship of love. GOD's fatherly love for His repentant child is a forgiving love. Accordingly, our fraternal love should be restored, whenever broken, by brotherly forgiveness. Forgiveness requires deep and faithful love founded on spiritual goodness. Commitment to peace and mutual love should encourage one to enter the battlefield to let forgiveness triumph over divisive evils. True forgiveness is total and permanent from the heart level. Forgiveness requires an uncommon spiritual ability and willingness to hate evil and to love the evil doer. CONCLUSION: "Peace is the fundamental good of humanity" (Pope Benedict). Since every man needs peace and the pursuit of peace, every citizen is duty bound to become a peaceful peace maker himself and peace promoter among the fellow members. Unity of man commands this common responsibility resting on every citizen. Interior riches (spirituality) capable to control exterior riches in the right order should animate one's moral conscience through active and benevolent love. Above all one should create/re-create peace in oneself before setting out to let peace in others. This may require liberal contribution of energy and sacrifice. True love is eminently operative for the peace of heart. Words need corresponding deeds for credibility. A civilisation based on quantity (wealth, growth ...) should respect a harmonization with the civilization based on spirituality and the power of virtues. Man is eminently spiritual over mere physical. Since every person is a member of a given community, peace always has a communional dimension. Peace is the harmony of human charisma with Divine law. GOD abides in peace. Let GOD abide in all peaceful peacemakers. Varieties set in harmony multiply delight in peace. Let mother India with all her varieties in multitudes, be also a mother of peace to all her children and so to the world at large! Peace, Shanti. Dom. Bernard OSB Asirvanam Benedictine Monastery |
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