Finishing up the topic of “Integral Human Promotion,” the Aparecida bishops share some words of Pope Benedict, suggesting that the basic human longing for meaning and purpose can be found in the search for God. While there are certainly self-motivated persons who soar through life without faith, many more struggle to make connections in the midst of the darkness of the world, and a sense of not being able to escape.
Let’s read:
405. Indeed, we cannot forget that the greatest poverty is that of not recognizing the presence of the mystery of God and his love in the life of the human being, which alone saves and liberates. In fact, “Anyone who excludes God from his horizons falsifies the notion of ‘reality’ and, in consequence, can only end up in blind alleys or with recipes for destruction.”(Benedict XVI, Introductory Address 3) The truth of this statement is obvious given the failure of all systems that put God in parenthesis.
For deeper examination, an English translation of the 2007 document from the Aparecida Conference.
Catholic Sensibility 