Day 15 – PEACE and JUSTICE
It would not be Augustinian to condone arbitrary socio-economic inequality and exploitation of one’s brother, or to claim that economics is answerable only to itself and has nothing to do with universal brotherhood, unity and peace. Those who desire to have an Augustinian mode presence in the world take as their specific apostolate making unity and peace a reality in the Church and in human society: This requires us to rid ourselves of narrowness and selfishness, and become attuned to a broader social love, joining ourselves to others in such wise that we may have only “one mind, the mind of Christ.” If we are to realize the apostolate of unity and peace in love, we must tirelessly defend justice and denounce injustice in accord with Gospel values. Peace which is the hoped for good of everyone is “the tranquility of order,” and therefore peace itself, cannot exist, unless we succeed in having everything in its proper place according to its nature, and unless we act according to the will of God, seeing to it that the rights of every person are respected.
Every injustice no matter how small, is contrary to the cause of peace, for justice and peace cannot be separated. (Ps. 84:11; Rom. 14:17; Is. 32:7) Christian formation in Augustinian values, therefore, cannot be derived from an attitude that takes the common good seriously. Love, when it is true, is always directed away from oneself; it is transcendent. The two-fold commandment of love translates into working for the common good; working for the common good is service.