Friday, October 22, 2010
Non dicatur Pater noster, neque Credo, neque Domine labia mea aperies,neque Deus in adjutorium, neque Venite exsultemus, sed absolute inchoetur.
Psalmus 50
Miserere mei Deus secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.
Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum dele iniquitatem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea et a peccato meo munda me.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco et peccatum meum contra me est semper.
Tibi soli peccavi et malum coram te feci ut iustificeris in sermonibustuis et vincas cum iudicaris.
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi.
Asparges me hysopo et mundabor lavabis me et super nivem dealbabor.
Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam exultabunt ossa humiliata.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis et omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me Deus et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.
Ne proicias me a facie tua et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.
Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui et spiritu principali confirma me.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas et impii ad te convertentur.
Libera me de sanguinibus Deus Deus salutis meae exultabit lingua mea iustitiam tuam.
Domine labia mea aperies et os meum adnuntiabit laudem tuam.
Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non despicies.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion et aedificentur muri Jerusalem.
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium iustitiae oblationes et holocausta tunc
inponent super altare tuum vitulos.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Ant. Exsultabunt Domino ossa humilitata.
Psalmus 64
Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem ad te omnis caro veniet.
Verba iniquorum praevaluerunt super nos et impietatibus nostris tu propitiaberis.
Beatus quem elegisti et adsumpsisti inhabitabit in atriis tuis.
Replebimur in bonis domus tuae sanctum est templum tuum mirabile in aequitate.
Exaudi nos Deus salutaris noster spes omnium finium terrae et in mari longe.
Praeparans montes in virtute tua accinctus potentia: qui conturbas profundum maris sonum fluctuum eius.
Turbabuntur gentes et timebunt qui inhabitant terminos a signis tuis exitus matutini et vespere delectabis.
Visitasti terram et inebriasti eam multiplicasti locupletare eam.
Flumen Dei repletum est aquis parasti cibum illorum quoniam ita est praeparatio eius.
Rivos eius inebria multiplica genimina eius in stillicidiis eius laetabitur germinans.
Benedices coronae anni benignitatis tuae et campi tui replebuntur ubertate.
Pinguescent speciosa deserti et exultatione colles accingentur,
Induti sunt arietes ovium et valles abundabunt frumento clamabunt etenim hymnum dicent.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Ant. Exaudi Domine orationem meam: ad te omnis caro veniet.
Psalmus 62
Deus Deus meus ad te de luce vigilo sitivit in te anima mea quam multipliciter tibi caro mea.
In terra deserta et invia et inaquosa sic in sancto apparui tibi ut viderem virtutem tuam et gloriam tuam.
Quoniam melior est misericordia tua super vitas labia mea laudabunt te.
Sic benedicam te in vita mea in nomine tuo levabo manus meas.
Sicut adipe et pinguidine repleatur anima mea et labia exultationis laudabit os meum.
Si memor fui tui super stratum meum in matutinis meditabar in te quia fuisti adiutor meus.
Et in velamento alarum tuarum exultabo adhesit anima mea post te me suscepit dextera tua.
Ipsi vero in vanum quaesierunt animam meam, introibunt in inferiora terrae: tradentur in manus gladii partes vulpium erunt.
Rex vero laetabitur in Deo laudabitur omnis qui iurat in eo quia obstructum est os loquentium iniqua.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Ant. Me suscepit dextera tua, Domine.
Canticum Ezechiae Regis
Isaiae 38
Ego dixi: in dimidio dierum meorum vadam ad portas inferi.
Quaesivi residuum annorum meorum. Dixi: non videbo Dominum Dominum in terra viventium.
Non aspiciam hominem ultra et habitatorem quietis.
Generatio mea ablata est et convoluta est a me quasi tabernaculum pastorum.
Praecisa est velut a texente vita mea dum adhuc ordirer succidit me de mane usque ad vesperam finies me.
Sperabam usque ad mane quasi leo sic contrivit omnia ossa mea:
De mane usque ad vesperam finies me sicut pullus hirundinis sic clamabo meditabor ut columba:
Attenuati sunt oculi mei suspicientes in excelsum:
Domine, vim patior sponde pro me. Quid dicam aut quid respondebit mihi cum ipse fecerit?
Recogitabo omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae.
Domine, sic vivitur et in talibus vita spiritus mei corripies me et vivificabis me.
Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima:
Tu autem eruisti animam meam ut non periret proiecisti post tergum tuum omnia peccata mea.
Quia non infernus confitebitur tibi neque mors laudabit te non expectabunt qui descendunt in lacum veritatem tuam.
Vivens vivens ipse confitebitur tibi sicut et ego hodie pater filiis notam faciet veritatem tuam.
Domine, salvum me fac, et psalmos nostros cantabimus cunctis diebus vitae nostrae in domo Domini.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Ant. A porta inferi erue Domine animas eorum.
Psalmus 150
Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius: laudate eum in firmamento virtutis eius.
Laudate eum in virtutibus eius: laudate eum secundum multitudinem magnitudinis eius.
Laudate eum in sono tubae: laudate eum in psalterio et cithara.
Laudate eum in tympano et choro laudate eum in cordis et organo.
Laudate eum in cymbalis benesonantibus: laudate eum in cymbalis iubilationis: omnis spiritus laudet Dominum.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Ant. Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum.
Immediate sequitur Canticum Benedictus.
Benedictus + Dominus, Deus Israel: quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suae:
Et erexit cornu salutis nobis: in domo David, pueri sui.
Sicut locutus est per os sanctorum, qui a saeculo sunt, prophetarum ejus:
Salutem ex inimicis nostris, et de manu omnium, qui oderunt nos.
Ad faciendam misericordiam cum patribus nostris: et memorari testamenti sui sancti.
Jusjurandum, quod juravit ad Abraham patrem nostrum, daturum se nobis:
Ut sine timore, de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati, serviamus illi.
In sanctitate, et justitia coram ipso, omnibus diebus nostris.
Et tu, puer, Propheta Altissimi vocaberis: praeibis enim ante faciem
Domini, parare vias ejus:
Ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi ejus: in remissionem peccatorum eorum:
Per viscera misericordiae Dei nostri: in quibus visitavit nos, oriens ex alto:
Illuminare his, qui in tenebris, et in umbra mortis sedent: ad dirigendos pedes nostros in viam pacis.
Ad Bened. Ant. Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet: et omnis, qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum.
Finita post Canticum Antiphona, dicatur secreto Pater noster, deinde legendo voce mediocri Psalmus De profundis:
Psalmus 129
De profundis clamavi ad te Domine: Domine exaudi vocem meam:
Fiant aures tuae intendentes in vocem deprecationis meae.
Si iniquitates observaveris Domine, Domine quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est propter legem tuam sustinui te Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo eius: speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem speret Israhel in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israhel ex omnibus iniquitatibus eius.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
V. A porta inferi.
R. Erue Domine animas eorum.
R. Libera me Domine de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda: * Quando caeli movendi sunt, et terra: Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
V. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miserae, dies magna et amara valde. - Quando caeli movendi sunt, et terra: Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
V. Tremens factus sum ego, et timebo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. - Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
V. Creator omnium rerum Deus, qui me de limo terrae formasti, et mirabiliter proprio sanguine redemisti, corpusque meum, licet modo putrescat, de sepulcro facies in die judicii resuscitari: exaudi, exaudi me, ut animam meam in sinu Abrahae patriarchae tui jubeas collocari.
R. Libera me Domine de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda: * Quando caeli movendi sunt, et terra: Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
Pater noster... Et ne nos inducas intentationem.
R. Sed libera nos a malo.
V. A porta inferi.
R. Erue Domine animas eorum.
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Oremus
Si summus Pontifex fuerit,
Oratio prima
Deus, qui inter summos Sacerdotes famulum tuum Ioannes Paules II ineffabili tua dispositione connumerari voluisti, praesta quaesimus, ut qui unigeniti Filii tui vices in terris gerebat, sanctorum tuorum Pontificium consorio perpetuo aggregetur.
Oratio secunda
Deus, veniae largitor et humanae salutis auctor, quaesimus clementiam tuam: ut nostrae conggationies fratres, sorores, familiares et benefactores, qui ex hoc saeculo transierunt, beata Maria semper Virgine intercedente cum omnibus Sanctis tuis, ad perpetuae beatitudinis consortium pervenire concedas.
Oratio tertia
Fidelium Deus omnium conditor et redemptor, animabus famulorum famularumque tuarum remissionem cunctorum tribue peccatorum: ut indulgentiam, quam semper optaverunt, piis supplicationibus consequantur: Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre in unitate
Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen
Requiescat in pace.
R. Amen.
Deinde Pater noster, secreto.
Lauds
Neither the Our Father nor the Credo nor Lord, open my lips nor O God come to my assistence nor the invitatory psalm, but the office begins immediately.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Ant. The bones that have been crushed shall exult in the Lord.
Psalm 65
A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem.
O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee.
The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt pardon our transgressions.
Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple,
Wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off.
Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded with power:
Who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The Gentiles shall be troubled,
And they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at thy signs: thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful.
Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it; thou hast many ways enriched it.
The river of God is filled with water, thou hast prepared their food: for so is its preparation.
Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.
Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness: and thy fields shall be filled with plenty.
The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy,
The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Ant. O Lord, listen to my prayer: let everything in the flesh come to you.
Psalm 63
O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day.
For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!
In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.
For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips will praise.
Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.
Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning:
Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:
My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.
But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth:
They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes.
But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Ant. Receive me atthy right hand, O Lord.
Canticle of King Ezekiel
Isaiah 38
I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell:
I sought for the residue of my years. I said: I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living.
I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest.
My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd’s tent.
My life is cut off, as by a weaver: whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off: from morning Even to night thou wilt make an end of me.
I hoped till morning, as a lion so hath he broken all my bones:
From morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.
I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove:
My eyes are weakened looking upward:
Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for me. What shall I say, or what shall he answer for me, whereas he himself hath done it?
I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
O Lord, if man’s life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such things as these, thou shalt correct me, and make me to live.
Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter:
But thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish, thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth.
The living, the living, he shall give praise to thee, as I do this day: the father shall make the truth known to the children.
O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Ant. From the gates of hell deliver their souls, O Lord.
Psalm 150
Praise ye the Lord in his holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power.
Praise ye him for his mighty acts: praise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness.
Praise him with the sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and choir: praise him with strings and organs.
Praise him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Ant. Let every soul praise the Lord.
The Benedictus canticle immediately follows.
Blessed + be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been since the world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy Covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham, that he would give us;
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear;
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest: for thou
shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Day-Spring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Ben. Ant. I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, even though he dies, shall live: and all who live and believe in me shall have life eternal.
Closing after the Canticle Antiphon, the Our Father is said in secret, and then in a low voice is read:
Psalm 130
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it?
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law,
I have waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
V. From the gates of hell
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord.
R. Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that dreadful day * When the heavens and the earth shall be moved: when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
V. Day of wrath, day of anger, of calamity and misery when the day of account and wrath shall come. - When thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
V. I am full of fear and I tremble: when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. - When you come to judge the world by fire.
V. O God, creator of all things, who have formed me from the clay of the earth and miraculously have redeemed me by your precious blood, although my body may rot in this life, you will make it rise from the sepulchre on the day of judgement. Hear, o hear me so that thou might bid my soul to recline upom the bosom of the patriarch Abraham.
R. Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that dreadful day * When the heavens and the earth shall be moved: when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.
Our Father ... and lead us not into temptation.
R. But deliver us from evil.
V. From the gates ofhell
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord.
The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
If for the Pope,
First prayer
O God who in thine ineffable will hath desired thy servant Pope John Paul II to number among the highest of priests, grant, we beseech thee, that he who on earth carried the vicarage of your only-begotten Son, may also be joined unto the the perpetual society of your holy popes.
Second prayer
O God, the giver of pardon, and the lover of human salvation, we beseech thy clemency, that thou grant the brethren of our congregation, kinsfolk, and benefactors, which are departed out of this world, blessed Mary ever virgin making intercession with all the saints, to come to the fellowship of eternal blessedness.
Third prayer
O God, the creator and redeemer of all the faithful, give unto the souls of thy servants, men and women, remission of all their sins, that through Godly supplications they may obtain the pardon which they have always wished for. Who livest and reignest, world with end.
R. Amen
May he rest in peace.
R. Amen
Then the Our Father is said in secret.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Concept Note THE ROLE OF SUB-NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS IN ACHIEVING ...
Although the main reason for decentralization around the world is that it is simply happening, there are a multitude of design issues that affect the impact of different types of decentralization on efficiency, equity and macrostability. In this regard, there is a growing body of literature examining the economic rationale for decentralization.
Economists justify decentralization on the grounds of allocative efficiency. The rationale is that decisions about public expenditure that are taken by a level of government closer, and more responsive, to a local constituency are more likely to reflect the demand for local services than similar decisions taken by a remote central government. The secondary, also important benefit in that people are more willing to pay for services which they find to be responsive to their priorities, especially if they have been involved in the decision making process with regard to delivering the services. One argument asserts that a primary economic rationale for decentralization is to improve the "competitiveness" of governments and enhance innovation -- hence the likelihood that they will act to satisfy the wishes of citizens.
A number of issues, both theoretical and practical, complicate the view of whether decentralization is a good or unfortunate economic strategy. At the macro level, an important concern has been that decentralization may make stabilization policies more difficult to implement, and indeed, may itself lead to destabilizing levels and composition of overall public expenditures and public debt. Another perspective on this, however, is that decentralized systems can be designed to avoid destabilizing effects and ensure correct incentives. Some of the "decentralization" in the 1980s, for example, was actually an offloading of fiscal imbalances by central governments to subnational governments. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising to see a strong association between decentralization and fiscal imbalances at lower levels. Another macro level controversy for which evidence is inconclusive is whether decentralization retards economic growth.
Concerns about equity -- interjurisdictional and interpersonal -- have been central to the discussion of decentralization. Some jurisdictions are better endowed with resources than others, perhaps because of size or location. In addition, historical circumstances (e.g., apartheid) may have created local. Thus, an intergovernmental fiscal program may be designed to shift resources to disadvantaged areas to ensure that all citizens enjoy a minimum level of service, regardless of location, or receive enhanced assistance to accelerate amelioration of deficits, because of location. The allocation of poverty program grants to subnational levels should be analyzed within a particular country context since lack of transparency, or inadequate specificity in transfer design, sometimes results in wealthier areas receiving more resources than poorer areas.
It is usually argued that ultimately central governments are responsible for ensuring interpersonal equity, but local governments also play very important roles in implementing central distributional programs and in determining a host of tax, expenditure and intra-locality transfer schemes. Where local economies are intrinsically open and many resources, especially key human resources, are mobile, only limited success should be expected from jurisdictionally focused distributional programs.
The specific services to be decentralized and the type of decentralization will depend on economies of scale affecting technical efficiency and the degree of spillover effects beyond jurisdictional boundaries. These are issues that need to be taken into account in the design of a decentralized system. In practice, all services do not need to be decentralized in the same way or to the same degree. In an important economic sense, the market is the ultimate form of decentralization in that the consumer can acquire a tailored product from a choice of suppliers. The nature of most local public services limits this option and establishes a government role in ensuring the provision of these services, but it does not automatically require the public sector be responsible for the delivery of all services. Where it is possible to structure competition either in the delivery of a service, or for the right to deliver the service, the evidence indicates that the service will be delivered more efficiently. Although uncommon in practice, local governments have successfully competed for the right to provide certain local services. In an array of local public services in any particular country, a mix of solutions from deconcentration to managed competition/privatization is likely to co-exist.
Although politics are the driving force behind decentralization in most countries, fortunately, decentralization may be one of those instances where good politics and good economics may serve the same end. The political objectives to increase political responsiveness and participation at the local level can coincide with the economic objectives of better decisions about the use of public resources and increased willingness to pay for local services. At least five conditions are important for successful decentralization:
Many developing countries are seeking to improve governance with fiscal decentralization. It is therefore worth revisiting what we know about political and economic institutions to understand how and under what circumstances decentralization can be beneficial. In an effort to do that, I review past research on the governance implications of devolving power to subnational authorities. Based on this review, I find that the gains from decentralization depend sensitively on how subnational authorities and intergovernmental relations are structured. I therefore conclude the paper by drawing nine lessons from theory and experience to help improve the design of decentralized institutions. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, and showed unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass, and signified it. Blessed are they who read and hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things which are written." The beginning of the book promises blessing to him that reads and hears and keeps, that he who takes pains about the reading may thence learn to do works, and may keep the precepts.
Defining Our Terms
One definition of justice is "giving to each what he or she is due." The problem is knowing what is "due".
Functionally, "justice" is a set of universal principles which guide people in judging what is right and what is wrong, no matter what culture and society they live in. Justice is one of the four "cardinal virtues" of classical moral philosophy, along with courage, temperance (self-control) and prudence (efficiency). (Faith, hope and charity are considered to be the three "religious" virtues.) Virtues or "good habits" help individuals to develop fully their human potentials, thus enabling them to serve their own self-interests as well as work in harmony with others for their common good.
The ultimate purpose of all the virtues is to elevate the dignity and sovereignty of the human person.
Distinguishing Justice From Charity
While often confused, justice is distinct from the virtue of charity. Charity, derived from the Latin word caritas, or "divine love," is the soul of justice. Justice supplies the material foundation for charity.
While justice deals with the substance and rules for guiding ordinary, everyday human interactions, charity deals with the spirit of human interactions and with those exceptional cases where strict application of the rules is not appropriate or sufficient. Charity offers expedients during times of hardship. Charity compels us to give to relieve the suffering of a person in need. The highest aim of charity is the same as the highest aim of justice: to elevate each person to where he does not need charity but can become charitable himself.
True charity involves giving without any expectation of return. But it is not a substitute for justice.
Defining Social Justice
Social justice encompasses economic justice. Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institutions as tools for personal and social development.
Defining Economic Justice
Economic justice, which touches the individual person as well as the social order, encompasses the moral principles which guide us in designing our economic institutions. These institutions determine how each person earns a living, enters into contracts, exchanges goods and services with others and otherwise produces an independent material foundation for his or her economic sustenance. The ultimate purpose of economic justice is to free each person to engage creatively in the unlimited work beyond economics, that of the mind and the spirit.
The Three Principles of Economic Justice
Like every system, economic justice involves input, output, and feedback for restoring harmony or balance between input and output. Within the system of economic justice as defined by Louis Kelso and Mortimer Adler, there are three essential and interdependent principles: The Principle of Participation, The Principle of Distribution, and The Principle of Harmony. Like the legs of a three-legged stool, if any of these principles is weakened or missing, the system of economic justice will collapse.
The Three Principles of the Kelso-Adler Theory of Economic Justice
The Principle of Participation
The principle of participation describes how one makes "input" to the economic process in order to make a living. It requires equal opportunity in gaining access to private property in productive assets as well as equality of opportunity to engage in productive work. The principle of participation does not guarantee equal results, but requires that every person be guaranteed by society's institutions the equal human right to make a productive contribution to the economy, both through one's labor (as a worker) and through one's productive capital (as an owner). Thus, this principle rejects monopolies, special privileges, and other exclusionary social barriers to economic self-reliance.
The Principle of Distribution
The principle of distribution defines the "output" or "out-take" rights of an economic system matched to each person's labor and capital inputs. Through the distributional features of private property within a free and open marketplace, distributive justice becomes automatically linked to participative justice, and incomes become linked to productive contributions. The principle of distributive justice involves the sanctity of property and contracts. It turns to the free and open marketplace, not government, as the most objective and democratic means for determining the just price, the just wage, and the just profit.
Many confuse the distributive principles of justice with those of charity. Charity involves the concept "to each according to his needs," whereas "distributive justice" is based on the idea "to each according to his contribution." Confusing these principles leads to endless conflict and scarcity, forcing government to intervene excessively to maintain social order.
Distributive justice follows participative justice and breaks down when all persons are not given equal opportunity to acquire and enjoy the fruits of income-producing property.
The Principle of Harmony
The principle of harmony encompasses the "feedback" or balancing principles required to detect distortions of either the input or output principles and to make whatever corrections are needed to restore a just and balanced economic order for all. This principle is violated by unjust barriers to participation, by monopolies or by some using their property to harm or exploit others.
"Economic harmonies" is defined in The Oxford English Dictionary as "Laws of social adjustment under which the self-interest of one man or group of men, if given free play, will produce results offering the maximum advantage to other men and the community as a whole." This principle offers guidelines for controlling monopolies, building checks-and-balances within social institutions, and re-synchronizing distribution (outtake) with participation (input). The first two principles of economic justice flow from the eternal human search for justice in general, which automatically requires a balance between input and outtake, i.e., "to each according to what he is due." The principle of harmony, on the other hand, reflects the human quest for other absolute values, including Truth, Love and Beauty.
It should be noted that Kelso and Adler referred to the third principle as "the principle of limitation" as a restraint on human tendencies toward greed and monopoly that lead to exclusion and exploitation of others. Given the potential synergies inherent in economic justice in today's high technology world, CESJ feels that the concept of "harmony" is more appropriate and more-encompassing than the term "limitation" in describing the third component of economic justice. Furthermore, "harmony" is more consistent with the truism that a society that seeks peace must first work for justice.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8
Integral to the Carmelite charism is a commitment to building peace, upholding justice, and maintaining the integrity of God's Creation (sometimes abbreviated to JPIC). The Carmelite Family in Britain and across the world seeks to preach Christ's Good News and build up God's kingdom on earth by living in solidarity with the planet and its people.
JPIC in Carmelite Spirituality
The 1995 Constitutions of the Order speak of justice and peace as foundational to Carmel: "The Rule of Saint Albert speaks of a community whose members are open to the indwelling of the Spirit and formed by the Spirit’s values: chastity, holy thoughts, justice, love, faith, the expectation of salvation, work accomplished in peace, silence which, as the Prophet tells us, is the cult of justice and brings wisdom to word and action; and discernment, 'the guide and moderator of all virtues'." (§16) The first Carmelites on Mount Carmel learned to respect their environment, tending the land and seeking to live in peace with others.
Today Carmelite friars, apostolic sisters and laity live "in the midst of the people", sharing the joys and sorrows of those around us. As the 1995 Constitutions state: "This way of being in the midst of the people is a sign and a prophetic witness of new relationships, of fraternity and friendship among men and women everywhere. It is a prophetic message of justice and peace in society and among peoples. As an integral part of the Good News, this prophecy must be fulfilled through active commitment to the transformation of sinful systems and structures into grace-filled systems and structures. It is also an expression of the choice to share in the lives of “the little ones” (minores) of history, so that we may speak a word of hope and of salvation from their midst - more by our life than by our words. This option flows naturally from our profession of poverty in a mendicant fraternity, and is in keeping with our allegiance to Christ Jesus, lived out also through allegiance to the poor and to those in whom the face of our Lord is reflected in a preferential way." (§24)
In recent years a number of reflections on JPIC issues have been produced by the Carmelite Family, notably two letters from the Prior General: The God of Our Contemplation (2004) on the connection between contemplation and the work for justice; and The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor (2006) on the meaning of poverty for Carmelite life.
Individual Carmelites (including Johan Bergström-Allen, Wilfrid McGreal and Míceál O’Neill) have written on issues of justice, peace and the integrity of Creation, and some of these reflections can be found in the Contemporary Authors page of the Carmelite Spirituality section of this website.
JPIC activities in the British Province of Carmelites
Carmelite individuals and communities in Britain, both religious and lay, live out their commitment to justice, peace and the integrity of Creation in a variety of ways, including:
- supporting aid and development charities such as CAFOD and SCIAF
- purchasing Fairtrade products for our churches, homes and workplaces, and consuming ethically
- praying in solidarity with the poor and marginalised
- supporting the work of peace movements such as Pax Christi, Friends of the Holy Land and the Network of Christian Peace Organisations
- co-sponsoring the Ebor Lectures in Theology and Public Life, which deal with ethical and social issues
- recycling household and office waste
- outreach ministry among the unchurched, and those who feel excluded from the Church
- reducing energy consumption
- developing a Peace Garden and wooded areas at Aylesford Priory
- caring for the sick and elderly
- seeking to Live Simply
- raising awareness of social justice issues, collaborating with groups such as Progressio, the Catholic Association for Racial Justice, diocesan Justice & Peace Groups, the National Justice & Peace Network, and the Conference of Religious
- off-setting carbon emissions generated by travel for meetings of the Order
- collecting stamps that are sold to raise funds for a project in Timor Leste that provides people with life-long skills and trades
- providing clinics, maternity units, electricity generators and houses of formation in projects run by our brothers and sisters in Africa and Asia, including the mission of the Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters in Liberia (to read the latest Liberia Bulletin please click here)
- collecting money in response to natural disasters
- prison chaplaincy and rehabilitation work
- working among the homeless
- promoting the witness of Christian martyrs who spoke out in favour of justice, including Titus Brandsma and Oscar Romero (for example through the Archbishop Romero Trust, and by printing reflections on Romero in Assumpta magazine)
- building peace through better understanding of our neighbours, particularly through ecumenical and interfaith encounter and dialogue
- political lobbying and peaceful demonstrating, for example during the Climate Wave event in December 2009
- speaking out in defence of human rights, including religious freedom
- campaigning on issues of Climate Justice, in collaboration with groups such as Operation Noah and Christian Ecology Link (for an article on Carmelite spirituality and climate justice click here)
- promoting the place of women within the Church and Society, in conjunction with partners such as the National Board of Catholic Women
- raising awareness of JPIC issues through the Carmelite Forum and Carmelite Institute of Britain & Ireland
- supporting the work of the Carmelite NGO (see below)
The Carmelite NGO
In recent years the Carmelite Order has had an NGO (non-governmental organisation) presence at the United Nations. The Carmelite NGO proclaims Christian values in the international forum, and informs the Carmelite Family about issues facing a globalised society.
To read an introductory booklet (in PDF format) about the Carmelite NGO's purpose and projects please click here.
The Carmelite NGO organises two Days of Prayer each year - on 5th June (World Environment Day) and 10th December (World Human Rights Day) - to inform Carmelites and to inspire them to prayer and action on issues of global significance. Recent issues highlighted by the Carmelite NGO include: human trafficking, climate change, and the situation in Zimbabwe. On 5th June 2010 the NGO Day of Prayer focuses on the topic of water: to download the reflection booklet (in PDF format) please click here.
Four times a year the NGO produces a newsletter caled Carmengo. It is available to subscribers in Britain for an annual donation of just £5.00. To download the subscription form (in PDF format) please click here.
How can you contribute to the Order's JPIC work?
- Inform yourself about JPIC issues through resources produced by the groups listed above; subscribe to the Carmelite NGO newsletter.
- Pray and reflect upon issues of justice, peace and the integrity of God's Creation; our apostolates and attitudes must be grounded in a living relationship with God in prayer.
- Support some of the activities listed above, and seek to live simply that others may simply live.
- Consider donating time or money to the work of the Province and its partners.