Friday, February 29, 2008

Acts 19, 35-41 You must calm yourselves

(Acts 19, 35-41) You must calm yourselves
[35] Finally the town clerk restrained the crowd and said, "You Ephesians, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from the sky? [36] Since these things are undeniable, you must calm yourselves and not do anything rash. [37] The men you brought here are not temple robbers, nor have they insulted our goddess. [38] If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, courts are in session, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. [39] If you have anything further to investigate, let the matter be settled in the lawful assembly, [40] for, as it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's conduct. There is no cause for it. We shall (not) be able to give a reason for this demonstration." With these words he dismissed the assembly.
(CCC 1835) Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it. (CCC 1906) By common good is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily" (GS 26 § 1; cf. GS 74 § 1). The common good concerns the life of all. It calls for prudence from each, and even more from those who exercise the office of authority. (CCC 1907) First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the development of the human vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard… privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion" (GS 26 § 2).

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