The Lord's Prayer from a Justice Perspective - CANCELLED

IN CONSIDERATION OF THE PRESENTER'S HEALTH, THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED

At the very heart of the Lord's Prayer is the reality of the kingdom of God.   It represents God's vision of the abundant life for humanity, a life that is really meaningful in a society worthy of human beings.  It also constitutes the basic vocation of every disciple of his:  "But strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt. 6:33; Lk. 12:31). 

Divine "righteousness" points to the most important and, today, severely tested Christian concern of social justice -- a recognition of the dignity and rights of one's neighbours or the concern for fellow human beings in the societies in which we live.   Because of this, the Lord's Prayer is worth exploring as starting point and, perhaps, even as a framework in discussing justice matters which the 1971 Synod of Bishops declared as "a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel."

This two-part presentation will explore both how social justice is rooted in the Lord's Prayer and how it is expressive of social justice. In examining its various petitions from this particular viewpoint, we gain insight into the "why" and the "what" of social justice.

Presenter

José M. de Mesa is a lay theologian, recognized as one of the most important theologians of the world today by the Missionwissenschaftliches Missio in Aachen, Germany. He is presently a University Fellow at De La Salle University, Manila and a Professor of Applied Theology at the Inter-Congregational Theological Centre in the Philippines. He also teaches regularly in Theological Union in Chicago and East Asia Pastoral Institute and is a published author.