John 6, 59-71 + CSDC and CV

John 6, 59-71 + CSDC and CV

CV 76c Development must include not just material growth but also spiritual growth, since the human person is a “unity of body and soul”[156], born of God's creative love and destined for eternal life. The human being develops when he grows in the spirit, when his soul comes to know itself and the truths that God has implanted deep within, when he enters into dialogue with himself and his Creator.

Notes: [156] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 14.

The Church has the right to the legal recognition of her proper identity   

 CSDC 426. The Church has the right to the legal recognition of her proper identity. Precisely because her mission embraces all of human reality, the Church, sensing that she is “truly and intimately linked with mankind and its history”,[870] claims the freedom to express her moral judgment on this reality, whenever it may be required to defend the fundamental rights of the person or for the salvation of souls.[871] The Church therefore seeks: freedom of expression, teaching and evangelization; freedom of public worship; freedom of organization and of her own internal government; freedom of selecting, educating, naming and transferring her ministers; freedom for constructing religious buildings; freedom to acquire and possess sufficient goods for her activity; and freedom to form associations not only for religious purposes but also for educational, cultural, health care and charitable purposes.[872] 

Notes: [870] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1: AAS 58 (1966), 1026. [871] Cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 747, § 2; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2246. [872] Cf. John Paul II, Letter to the Heads of State Signing the Final Helsinki Act (1 September 1980), 4: AAS 72 (1980), 1256-1258.  

(Jn 6, 59-71) You have the words of eternal life   

[59] These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. [60] Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" [61] Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? [62] What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? [63] It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. [64] But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. [65] And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." [66] As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. [67] Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" [68] Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. [69] We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." [70] Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?" [71] He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve. 

CSDC 486. Serious ecological problems call for an effective change of mentality leading to the adoption of new lifestyles,[1012] “in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of the common good are the factors that determine consumer choices, savings and investments”.[1013] These lifestyles should be inspired by sobriety, temperance, and self-discipline at both the individual and social levels. There is a need to break with the logic of mere consumption and promote forms of agricultural and industrial production that respect the order of creation and satisfy the basic human needs of all. These attitudes, sustained by a renewed awareness of the interdependence of all the inhabitants of the earth, will contribute to eliminating the numerous causes of ecological disasters as well as guaranteeing the ability to respond quickly when such disasters strike peoples and territories.[1014] The ecological question must not be faced solely because of the frightening prospects that environmental destruction represents; rather it must above all become a strong motivation for an authentic solidarity of worldwide dimensions.

Notes: [1012] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 36: AAS 83 (1991), 838-840. [1013] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 36: AAS 83 (1991), 839. [1014] Cf. John Paul II, Address to the UN Center, Nairobi, Kenya (18 August 1985), 5: AAS 78 (1986), 92.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]