The Evangelical Pope | Hearing God's Voice in Universal Harmony

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

               “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; that is why I did not presume to come to you myself. Just give the order, and my servant will be healed “ (Luke 7: 6-7). 

Reykjavik, Iceland, Sunday 4 June 1989 | If we repeat the centurion’s words when we approach Holy Communion, we do so because these words express a strong and deep faith.

The words are simple, but in a sense, they contain the fundamental truth which says who God is and who humankind is: God is all-holy; he is the Creator who gives us life and who makes all that exists in the universe. We are creatures and his children in need of healing because of our sins. 

In a highly developed society such as yours, where everyone has enough to eat, where education and health care are available to all, and where a high level of social justice has been achieved, it is easy to lose sight of the Creator from whose loving hands all things come. It is easy to live as if God did not exist.

               Indeed, there is a powerful attraction to such an attitude. It might seem that acknowledging God as the origin and end of all things lessens human independence and places unacceptable limits on human action.

               But when we forget God, we soon lose sight of the deeper meaning of our existence. We no longer know who we are (Cfr. Gaudium et Spes, 36). 

Is this not an essential part of the common dissatisfaction in highly developed societies? 

Is it not fundamental for our psychological and social well-being to hear God’s voice in the beautiful harmony of the universe? Is it not liberating to recognize that the stability, truth, goodness, and order that the human mind increasingly discovers in the cosmos reflects the Creator’s unity, truth, integrity, and beauty? 

A radical challenge facing the human family at the end of the twentieth century is to use the earth’s resources wisely and responsibly, which means with respect for the limits to which these resources are necessarily subject.

               To do this is to respect the will of the Creator.

               And in human affairs, the challenge is to build a world of justice, peace, and love, where the life and equal dignity of every human being, without discrimination, is defended and sustained.

               To do this is to recognize the face of God in every human face, especially in the tears and sufferings of those who long to be loved or justly treated. 

No single person can solve all the world’s problems. But every act of goodness is an essential contribution to the changes we all wish to see. 

Excerpted from:

APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE TO NORWAY, ICELAND, FINLAND, DENMARK, AND SWEDEN

HOLY MASS FOR THE FINNISH FAITHFUL HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II, Cathedral of Christ the King, Reykjavik, Iceland, Sunday, 4 June 1989

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1989/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19890604_reykjavik.html