A better Church for a better society

A lawyer who charges exorbitant fees causes hardship to needy people who are desperate for his services. A doctor who leaves his patients no alternative but to pay through the nose creates many problems in our society. An arrogant, ill-mannered driver builds a lot of tension. A store that sells electronic goods but does not offer a good after-sales service creates friction, anger and waste. A road contractor who digs up a newly laid road and covers up carelessly gives a shabby image of our country and instills frustration in road users - and taxpayers.

The Malta we live in today is riddled with these types of problems. These situations are not only of concern on a personal level but add up to a national crisis. Not just a crisis of an economic nature but even of an identity and social nature. Our country is in fact straining to cope in this competitive, demanding and ever-changing world in all respects.

The bottom line for most of our national problems is not in our systems. It is not so much that our electoral system is not good. It is not because the judiciary is flawed or that the police department is not well organised. It is not because the infrastructure is that bad or that our schools do not reach a reasonable standard.

There is always room for improvement in all systems but the main cause of our problems is people - the human element. Just like a building whose stones and materials are losing their quality which made them fit to support that structure, so is our society losing the human qualities that should keep it strong.

When we start losing so much on fortitude and happiness that we have to turn to drugs to keep us going; when our society starts being led by the forces of the market at the expense of the person and the environment; when we start losing the ability to discern what is wrong and what is right; and the strength to make the right decision; when we have no strong sense of direction in our lives but sway with what is trendy; when our married couples and families start breaking up; when we lose control over our children because their peers and the media have taken them over; when we become apathetic, grumpy and see no value in hardship and pain, then the stone (the person) which is the basic element of this society needs strengthening .

Our nation, while enjoying the comforts of the modern age, is also being strained and buckling under the many pressures of the pluralism of communications, ideals, religions and concepts of this same age. In this age of affluence, comforts, communications, travel and discoveries we are still faced with the great question of what we are doing here.

Where are we going? What is true? Who is right? Who is wrong? The same systems that are there to lead and govern society are feeling the strain because while their set-ups are good they are made up of people.

People who are asking: why shouldn't I be happy? What's in it for me? Why should I care when nobody else does? But who or what is going to give us our strength again? What is it that will give us happiness and peace of mind which we thirst for? What is going to give our lives a reason for taking on the commitment everyone else is shrugging?

Whom do we turn to that our society may offer a better future for ourselves and our children? Who is going to strengthen us and make us feel good no matter what we're going through? Don't we all give a better contribution to our society and our families when we feel good?

Right under our noses we have something that we take very much for granted. We are the heirs of a phenomenon that has the answers to so many of our ills. It is the Church.

The Catholic Church was intended to be a society of people that transcends borders and barriers whose fundamental beliefs, acts, spirit and direction would bring prosperity to its members if they meticulously followed the book and focused on the Word. Not through wars, not so much by the law but though the goodness that lies within each one of us.

The world has adopted many of its teachings but has rarely accepted the whole. The basic concepts of justice, love and freedom are cherished values but than the belief in Christ, in the authority of the Church to discern about what is good or bad, were hard to accept. But the answer lies there.

It is when man humbles his 'I know best' to 'He knows best' that things can take a different twist to the better. It is within this realisation that we are not just human animals but human beings with a divine dimension that we regain our dignity and value for our lives.

It is within the understanding that pain is not in vain and that every day we are moving towards our great destiny - the Kingdom of God - that everyone and everything takes a different meaning in our life. It is within this perception that a better person is reborn and in his new outlook contributes much more to himself and society.

If the street sweeper felt and appreciated that for his hardship and limited opportunities he could turn to God to give him value for what the world has given him, he would do a better job. If the minister realised that his is a very responsible calling and that he is accountable not just to the people but also to God. If the minister appreciated that his post is not coincidental but a God-given privilege and duty, then he would probably put in a much stronger effort to use wisely all that has been entrusted to him.

If a sick person believed that there is a good reason for everything, even though he doesn't always understand, and that life does not end with death but starts with it, it would help him to fight on and keep his morale high. If the exorbitantly expensive lawyer appreciated that greed made him a lonelier person and decided to charge reasonable fees; if the ill mannered driver could find peace within himself and changed his attitude; and if all this and much more happened to all these people, they would be an asset to our society.

To achieve this, we need a Church that is consistently teaching us and reminding us. We need to be Church to support each other and to share. This is what the good news was all about. That there is a more positive angle to life within a divine dimension than what the world presents to us. This is what the Church should be trying to communicate.

God gives many gifts to His Church. Among them we find peace, love, discernment, understanding and wisdom. With these gifts and qualities a person creates a better society. With this disposition a person becomes a strong stone in our society and supports the rest. We need to be inspired and we need to live the inspiration. Our society needs a healthy Church.

Unfortunately the word Church nowadays carries with it connotations of mundane rituals, of outdated beliefs and irrelevant functions. That is not what the Church which Christ founded was intended to be. The Church Christ had in mind was a people who acknowledged him, revered him and who, as a group, freely accepted to live their lives keeping his presence and him as a destination in their lives.

It has been proved over and over in history that when the people live and unite in this belief they are strong and prosper. In Malta we recall two great events that remind us of this fact: the Great Siege and World War Two. The Maltese who went through them appreciated the greatness of God.

He stood with His people against an enemy who was so strong. More than that, our 2,000-year-old Church has seen the hand of God work and keep it surviving against all odds proclaiming the great wonders of Christ, building Church communities giving respite to so many people and leading them to eternal happiness.

Somewhere beneath this little rock we live in called Malta we hope and sometimes believe that we have a wealth of oil just lying there ready to solve the government's and our nation's problems. Right in our midst we also have another great source of wealth - the Church. While already doing great wonders with so many people it could do so much more.

Our diocesan leaders, our parish priest and we, each baptised member of this Church, need to re-examine our role in the Church. We need to look at this Church as the solution and the motor to drive us to better ourselves, our families and our nation.

We need to rid ourselves and the Church of all that is keeping us from attaining the higher goals of our religion. We need to do away with all those things that Jesus would disapprove of. We need to look at the Church not as a moralistic pressure group of pious people but as a society that works in co-creating a new world order that started 2,000 years ago. Let us shine to the world as a light and as a solution to the many problems afflicting it.