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Reflection on Gaudium et Spes

Reflection on Gaudium et Spes

Last updated on: August 7, 2024 at 7:00 am by Mark Wilson

Reflection on Gaudium et Spes 2024-07-13T21:21:07-05:00 Mark Wilson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Written on October 7th 2005

“There is a painstaking search for a better material world, without a parallel spiritual advancement.” (GS 4)

There has been more advancement in almost every area of human development in the last 100 years then in the history of recorded time. We have advanced in technology, medicine, social sciences, biology and psychology. We have sent a man to the moon. We can communicate with someone half way around the world by either picking up our phone, or turning on our computer and TV. I must say I am grateful for all of these advancements in mankind, and would not want to go back to living by lamp light. I am happy not to have to worry about certain diseases that might have killed me off before arriving at the ripe age of 34. However, as the above quote states, we as the family of mankind have strived in making a more advanced world without advancing in the deepest core of our humanity.

“Increase in power is not always accompanied by control of that power for the benefit of man.” (GS 4)

Knowledge has certainly taken us very far in improving our world and it is thought by some that if we had even more knowledge then we do now, our world would be an even better place to live. But if our minds grow and expand and our hearts do not, we then have advanced knowledge with hearts that are more like wild animals then like enlighten human beings. The Nazis were defiantly advanced in knowledge and technology. They however did not use that technology to advance society but to destroy it. The same is true with the Communists, and various other groups whom used human advancement to create what they thought was a better world, but instead created a world of fear and darkness. How is it that with all the luxuries this world can offer, there are so many whom become stressed, depressed and suicidal?

“In probing the recesses of his own mind man often seems more uncertain then ever of himself”. (GS 4)

It would seem that from within and without, mankind has advanced in all areas except his inner being.

“What is man? What is the meaning of suffering, evil, death, which have not been eliminated by all this progress? What’s the purpose of these achievements, purchased at so high a price?” (GS 10)

These questions have been answered by the 2nd Vatican Council in the document Gaudium et Spes. An answer that has been proclaimed for the last 2000 years. An answer so simple and so hard that man would rather delude himself with a false answer rather then listen to the real one. So simple an answer that a child can understand it. So hard an answer that a proud man confident in his own abilities will not be humble enough as a child to comprehend it. The hard and simple answer to man’s dilemma of self is the God-man, Jesus Christ.

“The Church believes that Christ, who died and was raised for the sake of all, can show man the way and strengthen him through the Spirit in order to be worthy of his destiny: nor is there any other name under heaven given among men by which they can be saved.” (GS 10)

Christ is available to everyone who calls upon his name. Nevertheless, it seems that a great many would rather ignore God and try to relieve the problem of evil without Him. “Greater numbers are falling away from the practice of religion. In the past it was the exception to repudiate God and religion to the point of abandoning them, and then only in individual cases; but nowadays it seems a matter of course to reject them as incompatible with scientific progress and a new kind of humanism. (GS 7)

Old Washington, Ohio has a 1,250 student district. Recently the members of the school board allowed the go-ahead of a controversial school play to be performed by the students. The play “Bang, Bang, You’re Dead,” is about a troubled teenager that scares his teachers and classmates with violent threats. ‘Buckeye Trail Principal’ Tim Van Camp, very much opposed to the play, suggested a series of programs run by the sheriff’s office and guidance counselors before and after the show because of the subject material being presented in the play. “Bang Bang, You’re Dead” was actually one of two controversial plays that were up for consideration for the students to perform. The other controversial play was Godspell The board members thought “Bang Bang, Your Dead,“ would be less controversial then the play based on the “The Gospel of St. Matthew’, because that would violate the separation of church and state.

“Nor is it unusual to find people who having lost faith in life extol the kind of foolhardiness which would empty life of all significance in itself and invest it with a meaning of their own devising. ( GS 10)

“The people of our time prize freedom very highly and strive eagerly for it. In this they are right. Yet they often cherish it improperly, as if it gave them leave to do anything they like, even when it is evil.” (GS 17)

It would seem, as in the case of the school district, that darkness is often chosen over light. Both the Nazis and Communists used freedom to practice evil on the rest of humanity. With so many using their freedom to choose against the good, you would think ‘What is there to hope for?’ Saintly figures such as Pope John Paul 2nd say to the world, “Be Not Afraid”. After being told all the problems of the church one night before going to bed, Blessed Pope John the 23rd uttered this quote, “Well, I did the best I could Lord. It’s your church. I’m going to bed. Good night”. There is no reason to fear if one puts his hope and trust in Christ. It is this basis, which gives him the fuel for his freedom. If man can use his freedom to choose evil, he can also use it to choose good.

“It is, however, only in freedom that man can turn himself towards what is good.” (GS 17)

“Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses forward towards his goal by freely choosing what is good, and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end.” (GS 17)

When man uses his gift of freedom to choose good, he raises himself to the standard for which God has made us. There are many who choose evil, but there are many who also choose good, and it is radically possible for everyone through the help of the Holy Spirit to be transformed in Christ so that they may use their freedom to choose good.

“Redeemed by Christ and made a new creature by the Holy Spirit, man can, indeed he must, love the things of God’s creation: it is from God that he as received them, and it is as flowing from God’s hand that he looks upon them and reveres them.” (GS 37)

One of the main reasons for embarking on to graduate school was to gain more education for a better and more meaningful job, seeing that I did not really have one that was gaining me financial independence. Financial independence would mean that I have achieved general human growth as a person and have developed a more mature character, having developed the skills to actively contribute to my own welfare and to that of society.

“Human activity proceeds from man: it is also ordered to him. When he works, not only does he transform matter and society, but he fulfills himself. He learns, he develops his facilities, and he emerges from and transcends himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is more precious then any kind of wealth that can be amassed. It is what a man is , rather then what he has that counts. (GS 35)

I want to use my freedom to contribute to society. I want to use my freedom to choose good and not evil. Having a better job that can support me would not only benefit myself but the society in which I live. However, if I advance in knowledge and not in heart, I do not help either myself nor society for the greater good. That is why there are more reasons for me going back to school, then to just gain a better job after graduation.

“Freedom can be strengthened by accepting the inevitable constraints of social life, by undertaking the manifold demands of human fellowship, and by service to the community at large.” ( GS 31)

For several years I floated about through life, wanting to do something more then to get up and go to work and socialize with my friends. I wanted to use my talents that God had given me to advance His kingdom on earth and to win souls for heaven. Left to my own devices I tend to sit around and not do anything more meaningful then stare at my wall. I knew that a college environment is the only type of atmosphere that has really ever stimulated me to act outside of myself. I choose the Catholic school ‘Franciscan University of Steubenville’ not just to gain more job skills but to advance as a person in all areas of life. I knew that FUS was a school where people actively lived out their calling as the people of God. By surrounding myself by members of Christ’s Church, which is

“a visible organization and a spiritual community” (GS 40),

I was more likely to get involved with various ministries, spiritual, and creative activities. By surrounding myself around Christ’s Church I was more likely to grow in heart and spirit and not just in mind. My freedom to choose to help others has been strengthen by being involved in a social atmosphere which fosters that type of outlook.

“For by his innermost nature man is a social being; and if he does not enter into relations with others he can neither live nor develop his gifts.” (GS 12)

We as the Church are urged by the Love of Christ to use our freedom to advance society in the only way that gives meaning to every other aspect of life.

“The Church is entrusted with the task of opening up to man the mystery of God, who is the last end of man; in doing so it opens up to him the meaning of his own existence, the innermost truth about himself.” (GS 40)

Only the power of God through his church enables man to use his God given freedom in a way which helps mankind rather then ruins it. Mother Teresa though poor and un-advanced by the standards of the world exemplified how far one can advance in heart and spirit if united to God. Instead of trying to destroy the world through power, she helped a destroyed world through pure love. She built up people with hope instead of trying to kill them with the fear and poverty that had destroyed their bodies. She used freedom to build up instead of tear down. We as Christians are called to do nothing less then to use our freedom to build up society by introducing Christ in our actions and words.

“Today there is an inescapable duty to make ourselves the neighbor of every man, no matter who he is , and if we meet him, to come to his aid in a positive way. (GS 27)

‘Gaudium et Spes’ is a document that reflects the reality of evil and the hope of redemption. It shows that God is actively alive in our world and that He is and always has been the answer to all of life’s problems. A council is usually brought about to challenge an opposing opposition. What makes this ecumenical council so different is that it was brought about to let the breath of the Holy Spirit breathe new life into the church in this new era of human development and achievement. It seeks to act positively toward the growth of the Universal Church and how it relates to the world around it.

The hope and inspiration that came out of the 2nd Vatican council reflects the pope whom called the council into being. Blessed Pope John 23rd said “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” Gaudium et Spes, as all the documents of the 2nd Vatican council, are indeed a gift of the Holy Spirit, as it is not just God speaking to his church, but to the world through his church.

“The people of God believes that it is led by the Spirit of the Lord who fills the whole world. Moved by that faith it tries to discern in the events, the needs, and the longings which it shares with other men of our time, what may be genuine signs of the presence or of the purpose of God. (GS 11)

We as Christians are to use our freedom to build up our spiritual lives and by doing so encourage others to use their freedom in the same way. We can only do this through growing in love with others whom share the same world view. The most effective way to do this is in and through the Church that Christ has given us.

“The laity are called to participate actively in the whole life of the Church; not only are they to animate the world with the spirit of Christianity, but they are to be witnesses to Christ in all circumstances and at the very heart of the community of mankind. (GS 43)

There are plenty of reasons to despair about the state of the world with all the evil inflicting itself on good people, but there are also just as many reasons to hope with virtuous people using their freedom to choose good by loving their neighbors. I am proud to be part of a church that does not give last rites to a world that seems to be dying, but instead stands ready with baptismal water ready to birth it to new life in Christ. I know that the Church has given me the hope and inspiration to choose in freedom to become a better person who helps society advance not just in the material world but also in the spiritual world. Moreover, what the Church has done for me it has done for millions of others and hopes, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to do for a world that has separated itself from God. “Whether it aids the world or whether it benefits from it, the Church has but one sole purpose-that the kingdom of God may come and the salvation of the human race may be accomplished. Every benefit the people of God can confer on mankind during its earthly pilgrimage is rooted in the Church’s being

”the universal sacrament of salvation,” at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God’s love for men.” (GS 45)

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