Our Lord Jesus Christ’s passage on this earth produced the greatest explosion in history – in the supernatural sphere of grace and salvation, no doubt, but not solely. The Redemption’s “force of impact” was felt far beyond, penetrating to the furthest reaches of human endeavour.
In fact, it is difficult to express how far the excesses of pagan antiquity extended, as well as the degree of darkness that covered the most diverse areas of civilizations that were then timidly seeking to emerge from barbarism.
Among ancient peoples, human life was often seen as something disposable and worthless. Historiographical sources are abundant in recording cruel practices, such as the countless infanticides that took place in Rome and Sparta. There, the state did not tolerate any deformity or sickly constitution in its citizens; consequently, parents were charged with the barbaric task of putting to death those children deemed a burden to society. Euthanasia was also a common practice in Hellenic culture, where old age was feared and suicide was preached by certain organizations as a legitimate way to free oneself from physical suffering or emotional frustration.
The erudite Fr. Monsabré,1 a famous Dominican sacred orator, gathers from the most respected historians a terrifying picture of the crimes committed by pagan peoples: adultery, incest, debauchery, orgies, theft, fraud, cruelty… Defence was made for the practice of crime, for the most varied vices and for the most perverse passions. Various religions offered human sacrifices on a regular basis. Women were treated as abject objects, if not dishonoured and abused. Slaves, used like animals, were so exposed to their masters’ whims that they could be executed at a moment’s notice, for no reason at all.
And what about the institution of the family? In Rome, it gradually withered away. If Cornelia, the famous patrician matron who gave rise to the Gracchi reformers, had borne twelve children, couples who had three were already considered an exception by the beginning of the second century BC. Marriage was avoided, while divorce became so common that no one bothered to give it any semblance of justification: the simple desire for change was enough. All this was accompanied – and it could not have been otherwise – by the instrumentalization of women and children.
However, even in Egyptian society, whose female members still enjoyed considerable respect, other types of indecency multiplied, such as unions contrary to nature – we are talking here essentially about incest, which was extremely widespread in that people.
This deterioration was not limited to the realm of customs and ethical precepts. Historian Henri Daniel-Rops establishes a curious parallel, or rather, a directly proportional relationship between morality and creative force in the field of art and thought: when the former declined, the latter was also weakened. As an example of this theory, the author mentions decadent Rome, whose masterpieces, “born of the sowing of Latin soil with Greek seed,”2 were short-lived, being followed by an era of servile copies, both in the plastic arts and in literature.
A similar conclusion can be found – albeit with a completely different interpretation – in the writings of an atheist historian like Will Durant,3 who noted the existence of a relationship between the reform of customs and artistic flourishing in ancient Egypt.
At a specific moment, Jesus Christ was born and a victorious process began, destined to transform the entire world.
By giving man a share in the divine life itself, Baptism deified him and made him a temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19). Little by little, the action of the Paraclete in souls, assisted by fidelity to sanctifying grace, enhanced not only the understanding of God and His Law, but also reformed the very vision of the universe. In this way, humanity was able to gradually acquire a new way of loving, feeling, judging and acting, more and more in line with the mentality of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The evangelizing efforts of the Apostles, disciples and Fathers of the Church, together with the influence and action of a multitude of saints, inspired an unprecedented calibre of spirit, founded on the practice of the Commandments and characterized by elevation and holiness. This reform of the social body prompted Pope Leo XIII to say: “There was once a time when States were governed by the philosophy of the Gospel.”4 In fact, the mentality that gave rise to Christian Civilization so pervaded society that it shaped every area of human activity, rectifying even the tendencies.
From the Latin tendere, tendency is an inclination or propensity towards something. We all instinctively have a series of sympathies and antipathies, desires or fears, admirations or disdains for everything around us. We like certain people and dislike others; some situations appeal to us, others drive us away; we find certain scents, colours, shapes and melodies agreeable, while others cause us repulsion, apathy or annoyance. So we naturally tend towards what resonates with us in a positive way, and try to avoid the opposite.
But what causes these reactions? According to the well-established philosophical axiom, similis simili gaudet: like rejoices in like. That is why the principles, criteria and experiences that make up our mentality lead us to tend towards what we identify with, conditioning our interpretation of the world, our sense of purpose, our moral judgement and influencing all our actions.
This is exactly what happened with Christian civilization, because the love for Jesus Christ that animated the medieval people led them to want to make all things, even the smallest, similar to Him.
When Our Lord was taking leave of His followers, He gave them the mandate to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel “to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). Consequently, not only men enjoy the right to evangelization: this “work of mercy” must extend to “the whole creation”… even irrational creatures or those without life. According to some commentators, this results in the ordering of material creation according to the criteria of the Kingdom of God, to yield fruit in areas such as culture, literature, art, and language.
As the history of the Chosen People attests in the extensive teaching of the Psalms, whenever humanity chooses to follow God’s will and practise His Commandments, everything flourishes and prospers. On the other hand, when society turns away from the Lord, everything decays and peoples are threatened with regression into the darkness of barbarism and inhumanity. This is the message that Our Lady once again brought to the world, when She appeared at Fatima.
Thus, this new section of Heralds of the Gospel magazine aims to present various aspects of Christian Civilization on which the most precious Blood of the Redeemer has fallen, as expressions of His mentality, contrasting them, whenever necessary, with manifestations of opposite mentalities. In doing so, we hope to encourage enthusiasm in our readers for the “good odour of Christ” that wafts from the pages of the Gospel, and to move hearts to imitate Our Lady’s example until society conforms entirely to the ideal that will govern her Reign. ◊
Notes
1 Cf. MONSABRÉ, OP, Jacques-Marie-Louis. Exposition du dogme catholique. Préparation de l’Incarnation. Carème 1877. 11.ed. Paris: Lethielleux, 1905, p.244-247.
2 DANIEL-ROPS, Henri. A Igreja dos Apóstolos e dos mártires. São Paulo: Quadrante, 1988, p.126, nota 11.
3 Cf. DURANT, Will. Story of Civilization. Our Oriental Heritage. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1942, v.I, p.192-193; 210.
4 LEO XIII. Immortale Dei, n.21.
