The Evangelical Pope | Justice and Solidarity – Everyone's Hope

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.

               ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

               Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith

               and pierced themselves with many griefs.

               __ 1 Timothy 6: 10 (New International Version NIV)

The Vatican, 7 January 2003 | 2. Our age, regrettably, is particularly susceptible to the temptation toward selfishness, which always lurks within the human heart. In society generally, and in the media, people are bombarded by messages that more or less openly exalt the ephemeral and the hedonistic.

Concern for others is undoubtedly shown whenever natural disasters, war, and other emergencies strike, but generally, building a culture of solidarity is difficult. The spirit of the world affects our inner propensity to give ourselves unselfishly to others and drives us to satisfy our particular interests.

The desire to possess ever more is encouraged. Indeed it is natural and right that people, through their gifts and labor, should work to obtain what they need to live. But an excessive desire for possessions prevents human beings from being open to their Creator and brothers and sisters. The words of Paul to Timothy remain relevant in every age: “The love of money is the root of all evils.” Through this craving, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6: 10).

The exploitation of others, indifference toward the suffering of our brothers and sisters, and violation of fundamental rules of morality are just a few fruits of the thirst for gain. Faced with the tragic situation of persistent poverty, which afflicts so many people in our world, how can we fail to see that the quest for profit at any cost and the lack of compelling, responsible concern for the common good have concentrated immense resources in the hands of a few? The rest of humanity suffers from poverty and neglect.

Appealing to believers and all people of goodwill, I would like to reaffirm a self-evident yet often ignored principle: our goal should not be the benefit of a privileged few but rather the improvement of the living conditions of all. Only on this foundation can we build that international order marked by justice and solidarity, which is the hope of everyone.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” When believers respond to the inner impulse to give themselves to others without expecting anything in return, they experience a profound interior satisfaction.

The efforts of Christians to promote justice, their commitment to the defense of the powerless, their humanitarian work in providing bread for the hungry, and their care for the sick by responding to every emergency and need draw their strength from that sole and inexhaustible treasury of love which is the complete gift of Jesus to the Father.

Believers are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, who, in perfect obedience to the will of the Father, emptied himself (Philippians 2: 6) and humbly gave himself to us in selfless and total love, even unto death on a cross. Calvary eloquently proclaims the message of the Blessed Trinity’s love for human beings of all times and places.

Saint Augustine points out that only God, as the Supreme Good, can overcome our world’s various forms of poverty. Mercy and love for one’s neighbor must therefore be the fruit of a living relationship with God and have God as their constant point of reference since it is in closeness to Christ that we find our joy (cf. De Civitate Dei, X, 6; CCL 39:1351ff).

Excerpted from:

The message of His Holiness John Paul II for Lent 2003, the Vatican, 7 January 2003

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/lent/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20030206_lent-2003.html