Through us God can change society. It is enough to begin living out real love and to focus on the specific, real needs that exist around us

Integrity will bring peace, justice give lasting security (Isaiah 32:17)

‘There will be poured on us the Spirit from above; then shall the wilderness be fertile land and fertile land become forest.’ This is said earlier in the passage that contains the Word of Life for this month. The prophet Isaiah, in the second half of the eighth century before Christ, was announcing a future of hope for humanity, almost a new creation, a new ‘fertile land’, a ‘garden’, inhabited by justice and integrity, capable of generating peace and security.

This new era of peace (shalom) will be the work of the divine Spirit, a life-force capable of renewing creation. It will be the result of respecting the covenant between God and his people and among the people themselves, for it is impossible to separate communion with God and community among people.

Integrity will bring peace, justice give lasting security.

Isaiah’s words remind us of the need for serious and responsible commitment in following the common codes we need for life in society. They prevent selfish individualism and a blind doing just as we please, helping us to live together in harmony and to work for the common good.

Is it possible for us to live in integrity and practise justice? Yes, so long as we see everyone else as our brothers or sisters and humanity as one family, in the spirit of universal fraternity.

Yet how can we see things like this without the presence of the Father of all? He has already written universal fraternity into the DNA of each person. What a Father wants most, in fact, is that his children treat each other as members of the same family, that they care for each other, that they love one another.

This is why the One who is supremely the ‘Son’ of the Father, the Brother of every human being, came to earth and left ‘love one another’ as the principle to guide our life in society. It is an expression of love to respect the rules of living together and to fulfil our duties.

Love is the ultimate standard for every action. It gives life to true justice and brings peace. The nations need laws always better suited to the demands of society and international life. But above all they need men and women who order their inner lives on the basis of charity. This order is justice, and only in this order do laws have value.

Integrity will bring peace, justice give lasting security.

How can we live the Word of Life this month?

By carrying out our work duties with even greater devotion, doing them ethically, honestly, legally.

By recognizing other people as members of our own family, who are waiting for us to notice them, give them respect, and come close to them in solidarity.

If we put at the foundation of our lives the fullest expression of love for God, which is to have in our relationships with others mutual and constant charity (before anything else), then our justice will be truly pleasing to God.

Integrity will bring peace, justice give lasting security

A member of the city police in southern Italy wanted to be more involved with the lives of the most needy people in his town. He and his family decided to move to one of the newly-built areas. The roads were still dirt tracks, there was no lighting, no running water, no sewer, to say nothing of the complete lack of social services and public transport.

‘We tried,’ he said, ‘to create a relationship with each family or neighbour in the district, getting to know one another and really being able to talk. The idea was to overcome the huge gap between the people and our local government. Little by little, with the help of a committee we set up, the inhabitants of the district – about three thousand of them – became active in working with the various services.

‘Eventually, we were able to obtain funding for the reorganization of the district. It has now become a pilot region, and has given rise to training programmes for the members of all the neighbourhood committees in the city.’

Next Month: Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor. 3: 17)

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