Hope leads to life

MANILA, Philippines - Like so many Filipino Catholics, I have always considered Lent as a season of grace, that time of the year when we take a break for reflection and renewal within the context of our Christian faith. So this season — made more memorable by the history-making abdication of Pope Benedict XVI — I have again picked up and revisited two books written by the late great Pope John Paul II: Crossing the Threshold of Hope and The Gospel of Life. 

At a time when tabloid novels like The Da Vinci Code sensationalize the origins of Christianity, or a National Geographic documentary challenges Christian orthodoxy with a “newly found” Gospel of Judas, I find Crossing the Threshold of Hope a confirmation of my faith.  From questions that range from “How can you prove there is a God?” to “is Jesus the Son of God?” the successor of St. Peter writes from a rock-solid foundation of human, moral and religious experience.  “Faith,” he says, “is a gift of divine grace. But another divine gift is reason.” And, echoing the exhortations of ancient Church Doctors, he points out that not only does “the Christian believe in order to understand,” but that the Christian must also “understand in order to believe.”    

These books bring to a relatively accessible level the great theological concerns of ordinary Christians like me. I say “relatively” because as a world-class philosopher, John Paul II’s casual references to Church Doctors like Augustine and Aquinas or modern philosophers like Heidegger and Levinas may not be on the same level of understanding of the uninitiated. Still, both books leverage the grand intellectual heritage of the Roman Catholic Church covering over two millennia into a simple focused message of Hope: that it has been confirmed through Christ, and that it is offered to anyone who accepts it.

In re-visiting Crossing the Threshold of Hope, I have developed a better understanding of the late philosopher-evangelist pope’s words — “Be not afraid!”  — when he first began his remarkable Petrine ministry. As emphasized by John Paul II in his book, these were the same words that Christ proclaimed to His witnesses at His Resurrection. 

“Be not afraid!” resonates, because it makes me realize that while following the Gospel can be difficult, I am reassured nevertheless that God’s demands never exceed my own human limitations.  At the end of the book, John Paul II invites us not only to cross the threshold of hope, but more importantly, to be led by it into the fullness of a Christian life. 

The sanctity of life is at the core of the late pope’s other formidable book, The Gospel of Life. Long before opportunistic politicians apportioned for their crafted speeches the soundbite “culture of life,” John Paul II used the concept, rooted in the Bible, to dramatize the struggle between relativism in the contemporary world and the values of orthodox Christianity. The Gospel of Life presents the institutional Church’s authoritative position on contentious issues like abortion, euthanasia, ecology and even genetic engineering. More meaningfully, it also provides a strong defense of the weak, the despised and the defenseless, and offers thoughtful insights on sickness, suffering, old age and death. 

Presciently, John Paul II raises the alert in following a perverted idea of “freedom” that overshadows a sense of God and of man. He cautions about values of “being” replaced by those of “having,” where “quality of life” is understood solely through economic efficiency, unrestricted consumerism, the vain pursuit of narcissistic pleasures — while neglecting the more profound aspects of human existence. 

It is an admonition that takes on some urgency when one realizes that there are some governments that turn a blind eye to the impact of pollution and global warming due to economic self-interests. Or that, on a more personal level, there are trendy seminars promising “self-improvement” for attendees yet insidiously espousing a nihilistic “way of living,” where there is no right or wrong, where man is simply a machine, and life is really meaningless.     

In the face of such relativism, John Paul II argues that Christian values contain universal truths that hold true across cultures. Though not entirely fashionable by today’s selectively selfish tastes, these fundamental values define actions and relationships of and for society itself. He reminds us of the moral imperative to uphold these values with an appeal to “respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!” 

 The Gospel of Life, intrinsic to Christianity’s message, is not only a priestly meditation; it is very real in the proclamation of the very person of Jesus, God-made-man. Surely, the value of human life must be priceless if the Son of God Himself has taken up a human shell and made it the instrument for man’s salvation!

In his last years, the deterioration of John Paul II due to sickness and old age was plain for all to see. Yet till the very end, he was a powerful witness to his own teachings and his faith by his own courageous example. To paraphrase Blaise Pascal, John Paul II’s last days were an eloquent reminder of the transcendent nature of man, and what it means to be fully human. 

On the other hand, it makes for interesting comparison that his successor, Benedict XVI, presents a different perspective on sickness and old age, by opting to abdicate his office — an act no less courageous, but equally as powerful a witness to another intellectual pope’s appreciation of his own very human limitations. 

Personally, I feel there are lessons to be learned from both examples.  My grandmother reached the ripe old age of 100, and I could see up close the challenges of being so long-lived. While still feisty and sharp of mind, her declining faculties limited her world, even as she valiantly and stubbornly insisted on being independent and self-reliant. Her faith never wavered, and daily she would give thanks to God for all her blessings. She loved life, and did not fear death. When she eventually left, she did so, by God’s mercy, in her sleep.    

John Paul II’s Crossing the Threshold of Hope and The Gospel of Life are truly extraordinary books worth reading and re-reading, and I will keep on returning to them again and again in the future. Both books are intellectually vigorous as they are intensely passionate in their apostolic zeal, and their message is timely as it is timeless. They proclaim the glory of universal truths that forms consciences — truths that serve as a steadfast moral compass in today’s increasingly secular world. Hope, therefore, becomes a message that is not only for Lenten reflection, but a gift to be enjoyed always. For to have hope is to have life, and every day that we live in Christ’s love is truly a season of grace.    

THIS WEEK’S WINNER

C. Horatius Mosquera was educated in the Augustinian and Jesuit traditions. An MBA degree holder, his day job is in marketing. He has special avocations in professional development and publishing.  He enjoys reading, writing, cooking and watching films in his spare time.  He is the recipient of a Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature and the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award.