Word of Life

"Integrity will bring peace; justice gives lasting security." (Is. 32:17)
"There will be poured on us the Spirit from above. Then shall the wilderness be fertile and fertile land become forest." This is said earlier in the passage that contains the Word of Life for this month. The prophet Isaiah, in the second half of the eighth century BC, was announcing a future of hope for humanity, almost a new creation, a new 'fertile land', a 'garden', inhabited by justice, and integrity, capable of generating peace and security.

This new era of peace will be the work of the divine Spirit, a life-force capable of renewing creation, and it will come about by respecting the pact between God and his people and among the people themselves, since communion with God and communion among people are inseparable.

"Integrity will bring peace; justice gives lasting security."
The words of Isaiah recall the need for serious and responsible commitment in following the common codes we need for life in society. They prevent selfish individualism and a blind doing just as we please, helping us to live together in harmony and to work for the common good.

Is it possible for us to live in integrity and practise justice? Yes, so long as we see everyone else as brothers and sisters, and humanity as one family, in the spirit of universal fraternity... And how can we see it this way without the presence of a Father of all? He has already written universal fraternity, so to speak, in the DNA of each person. What a father wants most, in fact, is for his children to treat each other as members of the same family, that they care for each other, that they love one another.

This is why the One who is supremely the 'Son of the Father', the Brother of each of us, came on earth and left us the norm for social living: mutual love. And one expression of love is to respect the rules of living together and carry out one's duties.

Love is the ultimate norm for every action. Love is what animates true justice and brings peace. Nations need laws that are increasingly suited to the needs of social and international life, but above all, they need men and women who order their own personal lives based on the rule of love. This order is justice, and only in this order do laws have value.

"Integrity will bring peace; justice gives lasting security."
How will we live the Word of Life this month? By devoting ourselves even more to our professional obligations with regard for ethics, honesty, and legality. We live it also by recognising others as people who belong to the same family we belong to, and who expect our attention, respect and close solidarity.

If you put mutual and constant love before everything else in your relationships with others, making it the foundation of your life and the fullest expression of your love for God, then your justice will truly be pleasing to God.

"Integrity will bring peace; justice gives lasting security."
A policeman in southern Italy decided to move with his family into one of the districts recently set aside for the most needy people in his city, wishing to share their lot. The roads were not yet paved; there were no street lights, running water or sewers, not to mention social services or public transportation.

He explained: "We tried to create a relationship with each family and individual in the district. We tried to get to know one another and start a dialogue, in an effort to overcome the huge gap between the citizens and the public administration. Through a committee expressly created for this purpose, the inhabitants of the district - about 3,000 of them - gradually became active in working with the public institutions.

"Eventually we were able to obtain public funds from the regional administration to reorganise the district. It has now become a pilot area that has given birth to formation programs for representatives of all the committees in other parts of the city."

(extracts from Chiara Lubich's writings)