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In today's opening prayer, we ask God to help us to look forward in hope to the coming of our Saviour. God helps us through the gifts He gave us at creation. God helps us by guiding us. Isaiah today affirms that God teaches us and leads us through His commandments. The Psalms reaffirm the wisdom enshrined in God's commandments. The First commandment is a great liberating principle, since it sets us free from all supersition: there is no God but God. As children of God, we are not under the control of spirits or demons, starts or fate. Liberated by faith, we face the future with hope. People with no faith often think that looking towards a better future is no better than day-dreaming or wishful thinking. Worse, they rather believe in horoscopes and fortunetellers in the mistaken belief that they can control the future. We cannot control the future, and equally the future cannot control us. We can look forward to the future as the vehicle and the time of God's greater gifts. With God's help we can create the future by co-operating with God who is love. Strengthened by God's loving grace we can build a new civilization of love. Teach us, Lord, to live by Your wisdom and to create the new civilization of love. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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That the celebration of the Jubilee may become the source of a new commitment in men and women of good will to protect and promote human life.
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In the threshold of the year 2001, it is our duty to renew our commitment to safeguarding the dignity of the poor and marginalised and to recognise in a practical way the rights of those who have no rights. This is the spirit of the new millennium which presupposes the following: The basic right to life which is inviolable which involves a positive choice for life. The development of a culture of this kind embraces all the circumstances of life and ensures the promotion of human dignity in every situation. Recent developments in the field of genetic engineering present a profoundly disquieting challenge. In order that scientific research in this area may be at the service of the person, it must be accompanied at every stage by careful ethical reflection, which will bring about adequate legal norms safeguarding the integrity of human life. Life can never be downgraded to the level of a thing. To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence. In every circumstance, the right to life must be promoted and safeguarded with appropriate legal and political guarantees. Let us raise our voices on their behalf. | |
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