Gaudium et Spes, Part 2

The Council, surveying the modern world in the 1960s, knew that it was time for the Church, as a wise mother, to speak to her children about all that was happening – the second part of Gaudium et Spes is written in this light. Modernization, the industrial revolution, war, genocide, the spread of atheistic totalitarian regimes, advances in technology and economic disparity among nations were but a few of the global societal pressures weighing upon humanity, not to mention difficulties threatening marriage and family.

God has endeavored throughout history to protect and nurture us by means of natural law, the commandments, and the new law of love in Jesus Christ. Because God loves us, He gives us law not to inhibit us or to diminish our dignity, but rather to allow us to live in total freedom. Parents know what is good for their children, teaching them and setting limits to protect them so that children may live fully and freely within those boundaries. In the same way, Jesus gave us the Church as our mother, to help us along our journey to the destiny God has intended for us – the eternal joy of heaven. Christ bore the Church from his pierced side, sanctified her by his precious blood, and sent the Holy Spirit to guide her. The mystery of the Church, as stated in Lumen Gentium, is that she is simultaneously a model of holiness and also a pilgrim on the way, insofar as she is made up of human beings. As a wise mother, she makes pronouncements and teaches us through her magisterium. She carries each of us in her maternal heart, guarding and guiding us, helping us to discern right from wrong, not to set down arbitrary laws or rules but to help us abide by God’s laws – for our own good, both here on earth and in eternity. If we view the Church as she really is – a wise and loving mother who seeks to nurture and deliver her children safely into the arms of God our father, rather than as merely an organization or hierarchical structure, we realize that she does have a say in the affairs of humanity.

The Council addressed several modern issues that were, and continue to be, pressing upon all of us: the sanctity of marriage and the family, respect for life, the proper role of culture in society and its relation to faith, and fostering peace and economic equality among nations and peoples. While the end of the twentieth century saw an end to the arms race and the superpowers, conflict has not subsided, the disparity of wealth increases and a Christian culture has been replaced by rampant materialism and a hyper-inflated sense of individualism over the common good.

The assault on the family has not abated; in fact, the last forty years has seen it increase to epidemic proportions, culminating in abortion, birth control, divorce, and seeking legalization for same-sex marriage. God instituted marriage and family to be holy and fruitful – it is the first cell of society and the domestic church where we learn to love and give ourselves selflessly. By weakening the fabric of the family, society will be weakened. For this reason the Council addressed first the necessity of protecting marriage and family. The Council affirmed the sanctity of marriage as an institution given to us by God in the garden – one man and one woman united exclusively – to achieve the holiness of the partners through the exclusive and mutual gift of self in marital love and the resulting fruitfulness of children. The Council reiterated the Church’s position as a wise mother, understanding there are times when the size of the family should be managed, but this should be done in such a manner so as not to close the spouses off from God or one another. This beautiful section of Gaudium et Spes was to lay the groundwork for Pope Paul VI’s later encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Pope John Paul II has written prolifically about the dignity of married love and family life in the Theology of the Body, Familiaris Consortio and other encyclicals and apostolic letters.

One often hears that the “Church needs to get with the times.” In actuality, it is we who need to “get with” the Church. She is the mother of each of us, the wellspring of the sacramental life, who is guarded and guided by Christ – her spouse. It is through the Church that we attain our salvation in Jesus Christ. We would do well to abide safely within her maternal heart and prayerfully consider where our own opinions do not correspond to the truth which she proclaims. Gaudium et Spes engaged the world in the present day – not to alienate, but to bring the Church’s children back into her heart for the good of the individual and of the world.

Saint John Bosco, in his famous dream, saw the Church as a flagship with the pope at the helm, being tossed about on the stormy seas of the world and under overwhelming attack from enemies. He watched the pontiff steer the flagship between two columns, one strong and sturdy, surmounted by the Blessed Sacrament – and a smaller one with a statue of Our Lady, inscribed Help of Christians at her feet. As the Holy Father safely moored the ship between the two columns, all the enemy ships flee in terror and the turbulent seas become calm and placid. Saint John Bosco, in interpreting this dream for his boys, emphasized that the Church would undergo grave trials in future centuries, to which we certainly may attest in our day. The only two things which can save humanity in such a grave hour, he said, are devotion to Mary and frequent reception of Jesus in communion. As Saint John Bosco recommends, let us stay in the heart of the Church and use these two means to be our calm amidst the storms and attacks of the world.

Pope John Paul II’s Implementation of Vatican II

There are many staggering statistics related to the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. Having entered into his twenty-sixth year as Vicar of Christ this October , the length of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate is surpassed only by Bl. Pius X and St. Peter. While there are undoubtedly many noteworthy acts for which he will always be remembered, it is for his relentless efforts to implement the authentic teachings of the Second Vatican Council for which he may be lauded most.

Pope John Paul II, then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow, Poland, was present and active in all sessions of the Second Vatican Council, of which the documents considered in Theology 101 this year have been the fruit. His massive output of papal teachings over the course of this time, including 14 encyclicals, 13 apostolic exhortations, 11 apostolic constitutions, and 42 apostolic letters, have served to expand upon and interpret the true teachings of Vatican II. Prior to the new millennium, Pope John Paul II wrote in Tertio Millennio Adviente, that the Church could prepare most fully for the jubilee by a “renewed commitment to apply, as faithfully as possible, the teaching of Vatican II to the life of every individual and of the whole Church.” (20) The promulgation of the New Code of Canon Law in 1983, as well as publication of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992, have, in a sense, “crowned” the implementation of the Council by this saintly Pontiff.

Closing Address of Second Vatican Council

In his closing address of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI summed up the aims of the largest gathering of the Church’s hierarchy and faithful in history. He issued a series of messages to various categories of people, including rulers, intellectuals, workers, artists, women, young people, the sick and the poor. His words are not so much concluding remarks, but the opening words of the dialogue in which the Council intended to engage the world. The following are excerpts from the Pope Paul’s address, delivered on December 8, 1965:

“This greeting…is extended and broadened to the entire world. How could it be otherwise if this council was said to be and is ecumenical, that is to say, universal? Just as the sound of a bell goes out through the skies, reaching each one within the radius of its sound waves, so at this moment does our greeting go out to each and every one of you. To those who receive it and to those who do not, it resounds pleadingly in the ear of everyone. From this Catholic center of Rome, no one, in principle, is unreachable; in principle, all ... can and must be reached…consider how our greeting, differently from what ordinarily happens in day-to-day conversation, would serve to terminate a relationship of nearness or discourse. Our greeting tends to strengthen and, if necessary, to produce a spiritual relationship whence it draws its meaning and its voice. Ours is a greeting, not of farewell which separates, but of friendship which remains, and which, if so demanded, wishes to be born…”

It is important to keep in mind that Pope Paul VI’s words are also directed to each one of us. What will our response be to the opening words of the Church’s dialogue with us?