We are all aware that T&T’s 2017 Budget will result in further tightening of our collective belts. In spite of this, we have a duty to work with our Government to ensure that whatever limited resources we have at our disposal, they are used to build the common good.
The social doctrine of our Church makes it clear that the common good can be achieved if we have discerning leaders and virtuous citizens who are not only concerned with their own personal aggrandisement/individual self-interests.
During this Year of Mercy, we have an opportunity to strengthen Christian virtues that will enable us to weather any storm. And while T&T has dropped 5 places to 94 out of 138 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index Rankings 2016-2017, with Jamaica and Barbados placing higher than T&T at positions 75 and 72 (Switzerland was in first place), we must be grateful that we have thinkers such as Dr Terrence Farrell, Chairman of the Economic Development Advisory Board, whose insights, if acted upon, can help us to lift ourselves out of the micro and macro-economic problems we face.
Indeed, we must be grateful for the many gifts that God has bestowed upon each of us. Like Dr Farrell, we should use these to build God’s kingdom here on earth. Let us develop a culture of ‘gratitude’ in our hearts. Christian virtues such as gratitude, love and compassion will help us to live our faith in a world in which such virtues are sorely needed.
Raffique Shah’s September 28 article in the Daily Express entitled ‘Never lose human compassion’, is instructive. Inter alia, he said: “You think we have problems in this country? With days to go before Finance Minister Colm Imbert delivers the Government’s 2017 budget, Trinis by the thousands sit in bars across the country sipping beers or whisky, and amidst the din that is common to such establishments, shout to be heard: ‘Breds, we better drink up, yes…from Friday, we may not be able to afford Johnny Walker Blue!’ Big problem, that… Okay, I plead guilty to trivialising some serious issues we face—the state of the economy, shortages of foods and medications, the near-collapse of institutions that are critical to us enjoying life in a civilised society, and so on. But by comparison with many other countries, from the highly developed to failed states, really, we should count ourselves lucky. Yes, life in Trinidad and Tobago is tough, but it could have been worse…”
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He draws our attention to the current situation in Syria: “My heart reaches out to those starving, suffering people I saw on television, especially the children who are dying from hunger, disease and death-from-the-skies…Whatever our woes, they pale by comparison with the suffering I referenced here. We must never lose our compassion for fellow human beings, especially children. That is what distinguishes us from lesser mortals.”
In April 2015, Pope Francis reminded us that one of the “key words” of social doctrine is “solidarity, which is a word that perhaps some people thought had seen its day, but in reality, it maintains its prophetic force”.
St John Paul II emphasised the importance of this virtue in his 1987 encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (The concern of the Church for the Social Order). He said “solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.”
Spend some time today to reflect on our Church’s mission, remembering that, as the US Bishops remind us, “The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching.”
And let us remember our moral duty to maintain our own lives. As I have discovered recently, even when we ignore signs of ill-health, God intervenes and leads us to take action.
One of the messages in today’s Gospel reading about the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8), is that we should persevere in our faith. Even when the odds seem stacked against us, we must continue to pray and not lose heart.
Let us thank God for His many graces and mercies. God is in charge!
