"...loss of trust is a great loss..."

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing to read Pope Benedict XVI"s encyclical, “Caritas in veritate” (Charity in truth) I’m posting a short but important paragraph. Anytime we are seeking to understand a social issue we need to be patient with the many different factors involved, it seems to me. Human persons are each unique and unrepeatable and each has therefore unique gifts from God. God certainly gifted Pope Benedict XVI with wisdom to see deeply into the human situation we faced in 2009 and continue to face today:

1. In a climate of mutual trust, the market is the economic institution that permits encounter between persons, inasmuch as they are economic subjects who make use of contracts to regulate their relations as they exchange goods and services of equivalent value between them, in order to satisfy their needs and desires. The market is subject to the principles of so-called commutative justice, which regulates the relations of giving and receiving between parties to a transaction. But the social doctrine of the Church has unceasingly highlighted the importance of distributive justice and social justice for the market economy, not only because it belongs within a broader social and political context, but also because of the wider network of relations within which it operates. In fact, if the market is governed solely by the principle of the equivalence in value of exchanged goods, it cannot produce the social cohesion that it requires in order to function well. Without internal forms of solidarity and mutual trust, the market cannot completely fulfil its proper economic function. And today it is this trust which has ceased to exist, and the loss of trust is a grave loss. It was timely when Paul VI in Populorum Progressio insisted that the economic system itself would benefit from the wide-ranging practice of justice, inasmuch as the first to gain from the development of poor countries would be rich ones. According to the Pope, it was not just a matter of correcting dysfunctions through assistance. The poor are not to be considered a “burden”, but a resource, even from the purely economic point of view. It is nevertheless erroneous to hold that the market economy has an inbuilt need for a quota of poverty and underdevelopment in order to function at its best. It is in the interests of the market to promote emancipation, but in order to do so effectively, it cannot rely only on itself, because it is not able to produce by itself something that lies outside its competence. It must draw its moral energies from other subjects that are capable of generating them.

The next excerpt will continue to develop what is posted today. It is enough, however, for me to ponder this much, prayerfully. “The loss of trust” goes far deeper than most think, it seems to me. If you have any comments, I’d be grateful to hear from you.

 

[Casilda]

Trust is a concept that is very hard for me to accept EXCEPT when it comes to trusting God. All my life I have trusted Him, only Him, as I lost trust in my parents who took us away from the church, my husband after an infidelity, employers who lie and cheat, demons who have placed themselves in churches to lie and confound the faithful. I trust no one, except God.

For all have sinned (Romans 3:23). I finally forgave my parents because the church had dramatically changed when they were young adults raising children. They were trying to protect us. I forgave my husband, for better or for worse, been married 30+ years. I am self employed and volunteer occasionally. It’s the demons I am confronting now, alas. They have sinned and are beyond God’s redemption and they are relentless.

 

[MariaChristi]

Trust is a concept that is very hard for me to accept EXCEPT when it comes to trusting God. All my life I have trusted Him, only Him, as I lost trust in my parents who took us away from the church, my husband after an infidelity, employers who lie and cheat, demons who have placed themselves in churches to lie and confound the faithful. I trust no one, except God.

For all have sinned (Romans 3:23). I finally forgave my parents because the church had dramatically changed when they were young adults raising children. They were trying to protect us. I forgave my husband, for better or for worse, been married 30+ years. I am self employed and volunteer occasionally. It’s the demons I am confronting now, alas. They have sinned and are beyond God’s redemption and they are relentless.

Dear Casilda,

So good to hear from you again. Yes, I agree trust is only perfectly safe when we are trusting In God! He alone is Perfect Love. In the encyclical, it seems to me that Pope Benedict is speaking to the human family created in the Image and Likeness of God and setting before them God’s beautiful plan for His Family in Christ.

The saints who have been parents like the mother and father of St. Therese of Lisieux give us hope that it is possible for human persons to become holy by God’s Grace. Husbands like St. Thomas More of England and St. Louis of France can show love for wives and their families even as they dealt with huge social problems.

We cannot trust everyone, God’s Word cautions us not to trust every spirit but to discern:

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world…(1 John 4:1)

By God’s Grace you were able to forgive those who hurt you, as Christ and His Mother did on Calvary. All the saints learned to love as Christ loved us. We in our time, – as the Pope encourages us in this encyclical – need to bring His Charity in Truth, to a dark world.

Without Him we can do nothing, but with Him nothing is impossible.

 

[patricius79]

Jesus emphasized trust in His private revelations to St. Faustina. He said that he cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he appeals to His Compassion, and that He delights particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in His Mercy

If we trust God, it is easier to trust others, because even if they cheat us, we know God will make things work for good.

 

[MariaChristi]

Jesus emphasized trust in His private revelations to St. Faustina. He said that he cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he appeals to His Compassion, and that He delights particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in His Mercy

If we trust God, it is easier to trust others, because even if they cheat us, we know God will make things work for good.

Dear brother Pat,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, that is an important point you made – reminding us that if we trust God, then we can trust Him even when human persons disappoint us. We can make mistakes in discerning whom we might trust, and find ourselves deceived by some or we can make a poor decision to trust a person who is simply not trusty-worthy. Some persons think they are doing something good when they may simply lack both natural and supernatural prudence to distinguish good from evil.

God, however, is always worthy of our complete faith, hope and love. He sees all hearts and knows all our true needs. When He permits something, which we find difficult to endure or to overcome, we can still believe that God is able to work ALL things unto good. ( cf Romans 8:28). We can always trust Him to do what is loving and good for all.

Pope Benedict XVI in this encyclical is speaking to all of us to examine our motives carefully to see if we are truly seeking the common good. It is a call for all of us to seek to love others as God has loved us. The encyclical’s title is an excellent one because Love without truth is not really the Love God shares with us. We can be “selfish” and loving only ourselves, but God is Love and He alone can teach us how to love in truth – that is to have “Charity in Truth”.