Justice and love for other in many societies around the world have been points of concern, not only to people of old generation but also to those of modern times. This paper is a discussion of the lecture given by Father Pedro Arrupe to the Jesuit community, Valencia in 1971 titled "Men for others”. The two main ideas discussed in this paper are justice and love for one another. According to Father Arrupe, justice is the act of ensuring that people live together in harmony and relation to the expectation of God to us. Similarly, he states that the love for other and out neighbors makes it possible for us to decide the typ4s of people we want to create or become.
1. The article states that work for justice is important because it enables people to create a liberal world. Working for justice ensures that people live in harmony with one another. It creates love for the neighbor and love for God. Justice does not only create men for God but also creates men for others- Men who are cable of fighting for the good; not only of their own but also the right of their neighbors (Arrupe 124). The work for justice connects to previous efforts by continuing education that the church needs to promote love and understanding of the act of liberating people in different societies around the world. It also helps educators to train student from various communities to uphold love for one another to create the world in which people live for each other and Christ. It is important also that the love of Christ be part and portion of the daily lives of individuals in a community. The love of Christ promotes the desired justice and love for fellow human being. This also enhances understanding of the ways in which love and values for life are entrenched in the human race. The work for justice helps in bridging the gaps that exist in Jesuit education of old times. The lessons stress on the need for peaceful co-existence amongst the members of a community. This love and justice should be spread beyond the borders of the neighborhood.
2. At this point, Father Arrupe defines justice as those ideas that help the people to deepen their understanding of the concepts of the gospel and the signs of the times. He also equates justice to the act of creating the type of men they want to become, the kind of men they want to transform into, and those that the generations coming after them should emulate. Justice provides a platform for equity and understanding. Some of the now- negotiable ideas of Father Arrupe are the justice in the world and the love for the neighbors. Some of the tensions that erupted due to the discussion of working for justice include the dichotomies and contradictions which are as a result of stress but not the contradiction in ideas. The tensions also arose when people questioned where they were supposed to put their stress. They asked whether they should put their tress on their attitudes, activities or lifestyles. For example, they questioned whether they should work for justice for God or among men, practice love of God or love for their neighbors or whether they should fight for human justice or Christian charity (Arrupe 128).
3. According to Father Arrupe, the structure of this world does not promote the kind of justice that Christ requires from the people living on earth. Instead of fighting for the good of others, the current structures only functions for self-sacrifice (Kolvenbach). Thus, the kinds of men found in the world today do not work for the societal good, but only for the good of the individual. These structure of the world which include political, economic, customs, social systems, and commercial relations that people have created for themselves lead to sin because they have injustice built into them. Arrupe states that these structures are the structures in which sin is objectified. Furthermore, they are the objects that people use to promote even more sin in the world. Therefore by using and relying on these structures, the world does more harm than good to the quest of promoting justice. Justice exists, therefore, to promote moral good for all men.
4. Father Arrupe is optimistic about creating justice in the world because he believes that the creation of justice is a hard call but a possible one. He believes that there are enough tools that can be used to create the desired justice in the world. He says that the primary instrument that will enable humanity to create justice if the Spirit that makes men seek the will of God continually. It is this Spider that will give men the sensitiveness to the directions where God is constantly calling them in accordance with the changing seasons (Arrupe 125). Theretofore, according to Father Arrupe, change will be possible by listening to the Spirit of God, knowing the direction in which it is leading the people and by promoting the type of education that enables the creation of justice at all times. Ultimately, man cannot rely only on his or her understanding. He or she must also seek the help of spiritual power that would, therefore, guide them. Similarly, people need to be able to work for the justice of the God and that of the world. They also need to love one another and be able to know when to work for the individual self and when to turn to their neighbors. By using the tools provided in the system and by using the old structure of the world in the right way, it will be possible for people to achieve the creation of justice.
Works Cited
Arrupe, Pedro. Men for others. Valencia: The Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1973.Print
Kolvenbach, Peter. The Service of faith and the promotion of justice in American Jesuit higher education . Santa Clara: Santa Clara University, 2000.Print
