October 5, 2025 - Pastor Message
October 13, 2025JUBILEE 2025 GAUDIUM ET SPES (cont.)
JUBILEE 2025
GAUDIUM ET SPES (cont.)
“The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:24-27).
We reflected last week on the universal nature of moral truth, which forms the basis for Gaudium et Spes (GS). Contrary to the popular mantra of today, “You do you,” or, “Just follow your heart,” this means that what is morally true for one person is also true for every other person and vice versa. That is the very meaning of truth, that it doesn’t depend on the individual, but the individual can depend on it, because it does not change. It is true for everyone, like the compass that always points north and so gives us our moral bearing.
GS begins by reflecting on that universal moral bearing and its origin in God. GS also reflects very beautifully on the confusing and conflicted nature of life in the modern world, and I encourage you as always to go and read the actual document (https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_196512 07_gaudium-et-spes_en.html). But that just sets up its more profound reflection on what unites us as human beings, not what divides us. And what unites us is our common origin and common goal - God: “The people of God believes that it is led by the Spirit of the Lord who fills the whole world. Impelled by that faith, they try to discern the true signs of God’s presence and purpose in events, the needs and desires it shares with the rest of humanity today. For faith casts a new light on everything and makes known the full ideal which God has set for humanity, thus guiding the mind toward solutions that are fully human” (GS, 11).
In order to understand the teachings of GS, it is crucial to understand this common foundation and goal for humanity and thus for living a fully human life, which is what morality means. Morality is not about what is most popular, or what is trending on social media, or what the government has made into law, or what makes me as an individual feel good. It is about living a fully human life and creating the social conditions that enable every other person to do the same, what in Catholic social teaching we call the common good. That is what GS sets out to teach us, and I hope we can all grow in our understanding of this fundamental truth through our reflection together in the coming weeks as we wrap up the jubilee year.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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