by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Tomorrow, September 24,Trinidad and Tobagowill mark the day when we became a Republic (August 1, 1976). We gained our Independence in 1962 and our Republican status in 1976.
We are supposed to be paddling our own canoe, as the saying goes, heading in a direction that will transform our society into one in which all ethnic/religious communities will have an equal place and will live in harmony with each other; where love of God and of neighbour and love of all God’s creation is evident in the thoughts, words and actions of citizens; where justice and peace reigns.
Dr Eric Williams ended his Independence Day address by saying: “Let us then as a nation so conduct ourselves as to be able always to say in those noblest and most inspiring words of St Paul, ‘By the Grace of God we as people are what we are, and His Grace in us hath not been void.’”
We are here by God’s Grace and if His Grace in us is not to be void, we must take urgent action to pull back from the brink and to show by the way we live our lives that His Grace is sufficient for us to build a great people and a great country.
We must acknowledge the responsibilities that come with being a Republic, which,
as Wikipedia reminds us, is “a form of government in which the country is considered a ‘public matter’ (Latin: res publica), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of states are subsequently, directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited.”
The coffers of the nation are not the private property of anyone. Our elected representatives are there to serve us; and we must also serve – particularly the least of those among us (Matthew 25: 35-40).
Today’s Gospel (Mark 9:30-37) sends a clear message to all citizens. The disciples were arguing among themselves as they journeyed with Jesus through Galilee toCapernaum. They were arguing about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus’ “lesson” to them is instructive to all of us: “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.”
How many servant-leaders do we have in TT/the world today? How many of our leaders are more concerned about being “the greatest” – acquiring power, wealth and fame, than about doing the people’s business/serving the people?
Inter alia, servant leaders must swim against the current culture of individualism and selfishness; demonstrate respect for the sanctity of all life and the dignity of each human person; listen to citizens and create opportunities for dialogue; recognise and respond in a timely manner to the needs of the people e.g. the poor and vulnerable, the differently abled, the sick, the addict, victims of crime and their families as well as offenders and their families; ensure that the economy works for the people.
Servant leaders have a vision about how they will use the nation’s resources to promote the common good/sustainable development/integral human development/ecological justice.
And see what Jesus says in today’s Gospel about children. The plight of many of our children in TT is a scandal. TT is still not child-friendly enough. What are we doing for the least of those among us?
Please tune in to Channel 10 (TCN) on Tuesday September 25 from 8.00 – 9.00 p.m. and call in to participate in CCSJ’s Ask Why TV programme. Panellists will be: Msgr Mike de Verteuil, Fr Robert Christo, and Bernadette Price who will discuss with me issues relating to the theme for Respect For Life Week – Respect Life: Be living witnesses to our Faith. We can only respect life if we live our Faith. The path to greatness is to live as Jesus did; to model our lives on His.
On June 27, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that the path to real greatness in life is not found in self-promotion but in sacrificial love towards God and other people. David Kerr reports that the Holy Father said: “Human logic often seeks self-realisation in power, dominion, in powerful means. But the incarnation and the cross remind us that full realisation is found in conforming our human will to the Father, in the emptying of one’s selfishness, to be filled with love, God’s charity and thus truly become able to love others.” Following Christ is not just a subscription to a moral code but involves “all of our existence in our way of thinking and acting.”
