Question 9.145

9.145 The Holy Father rejects the pitfall of pessimism and invites all to envisage the future in a positive way, does he not?

In his apostolic exhortation, Francis decided to quote the address of John XXIII at the opening of the Council. Good Pope John, by his character and experience, always looked at the human scene with optimism. He spoke as follows in his characteristic tone of voice: “At times we have to listen. . . to the voices of people who, though burning with zeal, lack a sense of discretion and measure. In this modern age they can see nothing but prevarication and ruin. … We feel that we must disagree with those prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster, as though the end of the world were at hand. In our times, divine Providence is leading us to a new order of human relations which, by human effort and even beyond all expectations, are directed to the fulfillment of God’s superior and inscrutable designs, in which everything, even human setbacks, leads to the greater good of the Church” (quoted in EG 84).

Nevertheless, being optimistic does not prevent us from being clear-sighted. Benedict XVI was a master of lucidity. I am thinking in particular of the words of that great pope at the end of his pontificate, in October 2012, concerning the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Council: “We are also happy today, we hold joy in our hearts but I would say it is perhaps a more measured joy, a humble joy. In these fifty years we have learned and experienced that original sin exists and that it can be evermore expressed as personal sins which can become structures of sin. We have seen that in the field of the Lord there are always tares. We have seen that even in Peter’s net there were bad fish. We have seen that human frailty is present in the Church, that the barque of the Church is even sailing against the wind in storms that threaten the ship, and at times we have thought: ‘the Lord is asleep and has forgotten us’. These are some of the experiences of the past fifty years, but we have also had a new experience of the Lord’s presence, of his goodness and of his strength. The fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire of Christ, is not a voracious, destructive fire; it is a silent fire, a small flame of goodness and of truth that transforms, that gives light and warmth. We have seen that the Lord does not forget us. Even today in his humble way the Lord is present and warms our hearts, he shows life, creates charisms of goodness and charity that illuminate the world and are a guarantee for us of God’s goodness. Yes, Christ is alive, he is with us even today, and we can be happy today too because his goodness will not be extinguished; it is still strong today!” This explains why Benedict XVI spoke so much about Christian joy and why his face was illuminated by a tender, profound smile marked with kindness.