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Office Of Readings | Week 21, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution ‘Gaudium Et Spes’ On The Church In The Modern World
‘A glimpse of what is to come.’
This passage from the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes) situates Christian hope within both the temporal and eternal dimensions of human existence. It speaks of the transformation of the universe, the destiny of humanity, and the relationship between earthly progress and the kingdom of God.
The first theme is the transitory character of the present world. The Council acknowledges the reality of sin and death, which leave creation disfigured and subject to decay. Echoing biblical language (cf. Rom 8:18–25; 1 Cor 15:42–54), the text points towards a future renewal: a ‘new earth’ where righteousness dwells, death is overcome, and creation is liberated. This eschatological vision is not speculative—’we do not know the time or the manner’—but is grounded in assurance that God himself is preparing this fulfilment.
Secondly, the text emphasises the resurrection of humanity in Christ. What is perishable will be clothed with incorruption, and the sons and daughters of God will be revealed in glory. At the centre of this transformation is love: of all that belongs to the present age, only love and its fruits endure. The permanence of love highlights its role as the true measure of progress, the essence of communion with God and with others.
The Council then turns to the question of earthly progress. Christian hope in a future kingdom does not negate responsibility for the present world. On the contrary, it gives urgency to efforts towards justice, peace, and human dignity. The constitution carefully distinguishes earthly progress from the growth of Christ’s kingdom—progress is not identical with salvation—but insists that it is significant insofar as it contributes to a more human ordering of society. In this way, earthly life provides a foreshadowing of the age to come.
Finally, the passage describes the consummation of the kingdom. At the end of time, Christ will hand over the kingdom to the Father, described in the liturgical formula as ‘a kingdom of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace’. This kingdom is already present in mystery—revealed in signs within the Church and the world—but awaits its final transfiguration when Christ returns.
The text thus unites biblical eschatology, theological anthropology, and pastoral exhortation. It affirms both the provisional character of human history and its genuine value. The Church, therefore, lives in the tension of the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’: working in the world for justice and dignity, while awaiting the full realisation of the kingdom.
A Reading From The Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution ‘Gaudium Et Spes’ On The Church In The Modern World
We do not know the time when earth and humanity will reach their completion, nor do we know the way in which the universe will be transformed. The world as we see it, disfigured by sin, is passing away. But we are sure that God is preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth. In this new earth righteousness is to make its home, and happiness will satisfy, and more than satisfy, all the yearnings for peace that arise in human hearts. On that day, when death is conquered, the sons of God will be raised up in Christ; what was sown as something weak and perishable will be clothed in incorruption. Love and the fruits of love will remain, and the whole of creation, made by God for man, will be set free from the frustration that enslaves it.
We are warned indeed that a man gains nothing if he wins the whole world at the cost of himself. Yet our hope in a new earth should not weaken, but rather stimulate our concern for developing this earth, for on it there is growing up the body of a new human family, a body even now able to provide some foreshadowing of the new age. Hence, though earthly progress is to be carefully distinguished from the growth of Christ’s kingdom, yet in so far as it can help towards the better ordering of human society it is of great importance to the kingdom of God.
The blessings of human dignity, brotherly communion and freedom – all the good fruits on earth of man’s co-operation with nature in the Spirit of the Lord and according to his command – will be found again in the world to come, but purified of all stain, resplendent and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father an eternal and everlasting kingdom: ‘a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.’ On this earth the kingdom is already present in sign; when the Lord comes it will reach its completion.
Christian Prayer With Jesus Christ
God of truth and life,
you have promised a new heaven and a new earth
where justice and peace will dwell.
Strengthen our hope in what you prepare,
and guide our labour for the dignity of all people.
May our works of love on earth
become signs of the kingdom to come,
until the day when Christ hands over all things to you,
in holiness and grace,
justice, love, and peace,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
Gaudium et spes: Latin for ‘Joy and hope’; the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, promulgated at the Second Vatican Council in 1965.
Eschatology: The theological study of the ‘last things’ – death, judgement, resurrection, and the fulfilment of creation.
New earth: Biblical phrase (cf. 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1) referring to the renewal of creation in God’s final kingdom.
Resurrection: The raising of the dead at the end of time, patterned on Christ’s own resurrection, when what is corruptible is transformed into incorruption.
Love and the fruits of love: Refers to virtues and actions that express divine charity; unlike temporal achievements, these endure eternally.
Earthly progress: Human advancement in society, culture, and technology; valuable but distinct from the kingdom of God.
Kingdom of God: God’s reign of justice, peace, and holiness, already begun in Christ and the Church, to be fully realised at the end of time.
Psalm 85, attributed to the sons of Korah, explores themes of restoration, divine favour, and the intricate relationship between God and His people. The psalm emerges from a specific historical context, likely a period of return from captivity, where the gracious hand of God had already been evident in bringing back the exiles of Jacob [ … ]
The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek word “epiphaneia,” which means “manifestation” or “appearance.” In the Christian tradition, the Epiphany is considered to be the day when the divinity of Jesus was revealed to the world through the visit of the Magi, also known as the three wise men or kings, who brought gifts to the newborn Jesus [ … ]
The Carrefour will be open, where I can buy nuts for the red squirrel, who lives in Campo Grande. The red squirrel is Valladolid’s best bit. Even as a child, I had never seen one before, apart from in picture books. It was last term’s discovery. The most beautiful encounter. I didn’t know it was there – in the park. A complete surprise. The tiny little thing bobbled and hopped, as it received in its little hands a nut from the man’s hands. Each surprising instant – it was childlike. I whispered: ‘Oh my wow.’ I walk toward the El Cortes Ingles. There is, for now, that settled feel of friends in bookshops. Though a null-affect, neutral day – it won’t glean, it is not to be scratched at. The queues are long in the Carrefour. Though, as it might be, on relatively modest incomes, many people live centrally. Their behaviours neither pinched nor stark. Yet the shop so busy while the street so empty… An error in the simulation, a glitch in the code. I potter about the aisles, which are pleasant enough, then at the tills I flinch at how expensive a little bag of up-sold nuts can be. Nonetheless, I queue for a packet of almonds. Two English men queue directly ahead of me. They are stocky, and have gay voices, their wheelie-bucket piled with soft drinks and party food, while they bitch to one another about the obviously terrible party they’re going to. The air heaves relief as I wander up the way to the broad plaza fringing Campo Grande. This is a place to see – a piece of Spain. There is a tourist information office, though unopened. At these fountains, three girls take selfies. Pompous-looking buildings, the military offices aside, line the park’s nearest vicinities. Hotel-bars have their patches. Liveried doormen idle time, for there are no paying customers, in and out the doorways’ shadows. A mixed group of kids play at the hoops on the pedestrian boulevard, and two boys practise on skateboards, working the thing out. I pass by them, touched by the thought, and happy that they are there. Wistful, I smile at the odds of the ball spilling over to me, and play in mind the agreeable scene of a fleeting connection. Then I am through the park gates. An air now – of humanity become self-selecting. Modestly understated. Understatedly modest. Campo Grande is nice but it isn’t grande… I walk slowly, and very soon hear for a second time English voices. Not them – it is an English family, just a little way ahead, a Dad and a Mum and a younger boy and an older girl, and theirs are Midlands accents. Dad seems to have been here and to know the place. He gestures panoramically. Mum wants her lunch. The girl at a difficult age. She carries a balloon-on-a-stick. Though she is sprouting – yet wears a loud dress. Then leggings, trainers. Her hair is nice… Maybe she is being okay about it. And not horrific. It’s okay once they get into it, but those months… Yet then, they mostly blossom, if they come from a good home, and become rounded personalities, entering into their womanhood. It was that… when yet they weren’t… I shudder to think of it. They walk toward the pond, and I trail, and would follow had I not been going that way. I wish I could say something so they might hear I am English too. (Fake a phone call?) How my voice might sound – there’d be all college hurling around in such matter I… a demented thing, ludicrous blurt – of Henry, Geoff, and all of them – not to mention the personal predicament. Maybe they’re a nice family. She is letting him explain what he needs to explain. And it would blow his fire, me being English. Mum and Dad. You’d probably see them all having their lunch in a little while. All sat round the table. With napkins and the menus out. Dad looks safe. I look into the pond. Terrapins live in there. But not today. I walk toward the join in the paths where the squirrel lives. There, I crumple the packet of almonds, making noise. I peer and I squat and crouch – chewing a mouthful. All the peacocks have perched right up in the trees’ branches. That never looks like something they should be doing. It’s disappointing that the squirrel isn’t here – but then the not-knowing-if is a part of it. Now, next, my visit to the National Sculpture Museum is an obligation. Canon Peter stood literally aghast when I hadn’t heard of it. Mortified, I made resolute promises. Though a few weeks have passed, it isn’t just any old something I could do on the hoof. A great commitment – it must command a known and prepared and anticipated not-just-any-old-time. But, rather, the sort you must wait for – and listen for. [ … ] Beyond Plaza Mayor, there would be a brief series of old-town alleyways. The National Sculpture Museum would be – just up there, this archway, this next…They are bleached and forgotten-looking walls, and the smoothed paving could be medieval. Not that it is making Tomàs anxious – I follow the map. A kind of place – uneasy credit-cards, and modern vaccinations, and a phone, might not help much. I fancy I feel the back-wall of a church, and that – fancifully – pressure-release drawn out of me. Only I am playing games in a nice way – making play-scared on the uncertainty – with only myself to see. The National Museum is there, modestly signed on stencilled plexiglass stuck to the stone wall. A uniformed lady sits just a little way inside the doorway. She reassures me there is no money required, and directs me over the courtyard into the planned route, showing me where I can pick up a free map. I get my […]
