Citizens of two cities

Oct 18, 2024

Canvas - Fr Richard Anthonysamy, SJ
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”

With these powerful and directional words, the very first sentence from Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Vatican Council II), those present in the nearly five-year long Council situated and directed the path of the Church. Pondering and praying for the second session of Synod on Synodality taking in Rome, I found myself revisiting some of the reflection and teachings found in Gaudium et Spes (GS).

Unlike the Dogmatic Constitution of the Catholic Church (Lumen Gentium) which serves to clarify and identify who were as Church to ourselves, Gaudium et Spes aims to clarify our relationship with the world. Thus, Gaudium et Spes complements Lumen Gentium.

Gaudium et Spes calls us to engage the world of which we are part of especially in societal issues with the hope of ensuring human dignity and equality. This includes political engagement, the promotion of peace and human development, and dialogue. Areas such a human rights, social justice, marriage, family, and war are mentioned.

Underlying such engagement is the firm belief that God loves and cares for everyone (Matthew 5:43-48). It is a belief that God is actively at work to bring about the good of all. Thus, one could say, our engagement in the world is essentially to find God in all things and all things in God. This call resonates very much with the prayer of Jesus (John 17:15) ”I am not asking y ou to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” So, engage the world as we are protected, but not removed. Quite clearly, then, we cannot run away from the world or pretend we have nothing to do it.

Each one of us who claims to be a follower of Christ must engage the world. In paragraph 43 of Gaudium et Spes we read, “This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation.” Thus, as Christian professionals (doctors, lawyers, teachers, armed forces, caregivers, engineers, scientists, politicians, nurses, etc) we are called to engage “conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit.” One is reminded of the words of Jesus in gospel according to St Matthew (5:13- 16): “You are the salt of the earth…y ou are the light of the world….”

Journeying the synodal way has, in my opinion, brought us back to the foundational insights of Gaudium et Spes. The fact that the delegates of the Synod are not limited to clerics is significant. We are, one could say, engaging the world within Church even as we strive to engage the world outside. Perhaps, as we await of the outcome of the Synod on Synodality, we can ask ourselves if we have taken to mind and heart what Gaudium et Spes exhorts us to do. Put simply, am I being a good Christian lawyer, doctor, caregiver, administrator, scientist, etc where I am? Ho w can we engage more fruitfully the world in which we have been placed? Every small effort makes a difference.

In conclusion, allow me to share with you a prayer by St John XXIII, the Pope who convened Vatican Council II found in his own prayer journal,

O Lord, do not let us turn into “broken
cisterns,” that can hold no wat er….
Do not let us be so blinded by the
enjoyment of the good things of earth
that our hearts become insensible
to the cry of the poor, of the sick,
or orphaned children and those
innumerable brothers of ours who lack
the necessary minimum to eat, to cloth
their nakedness, and to gather their
family under one roof.

(Fr Richard Anthonysamy SJ is involved in parish ministry, spiritual direction, and faith formation work.)