Senarlo, Maria Guilka R.

JD3 LS Form MIDTERM EXAM

In the first six chapters of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the two

of the best insights I learned are:

(1) HE IS OMNIPRESENT.

The presence of God is something that is still a puzzle to people. Some believe that He

cant be in different places at all times, but most of us believe otherwise. We can say that God is

omnipresentthat he can be found in anything, anyone, at any time in any place. We all know

that this sounds impossible, but this is God we are talking about. Whenever we wake up in the

morning, He is there. He is in every clothing that drapes our body, in every meal that we take,

and in every prayer that we utter. As surprising it may seem, God is everywhere.

Knowing that God can be found anywhere, it is just right to say that He is in every person

you meet. He can be in the guy you sat beside with in the train, or the girl next in line to you at a

coffee shop. No matter who it is, God can be found in him or her. This just goes to show that we

are made in likeness of God. Not that we actually look like him, but our humanity is based on

how He was back in His time. Because of this likeness, we get to enjoy several rights and

privileges that work around a grander scheme of things. These things might be enshrined in a

legal document, or practiced through tradition, but no matter what, humans are known to have

rights and privileges. However, we all know there are limits to these and fundamentally, these

rights should not give way for us to harm others. Due to our likeness to Him, it is our obligation

to act accordingly to His will. It would be a disrespectful thing to do otherwise. This is the main

reason why in everything we do, we should always think of the common good.
 Acting in the premise of showing goodness is not actually difficult to do. Humans have

innate goodness in them ever since the day of their birth. However, as time progresses, we

develop a sense of self-centeredness and it leads us to wrongdoings. This is unavoidable because

we are all sinful in our own ways. But this doesnt mean that we should stop considering the

welfare of those around us. It is an imperative of God for us to promote common good and stop

spreading evil. After all, it is goodness that brings happiness and harmony in our world. This

goodness is what gives us the sense of humility. Several generations of people have gone by,

each having someone who thinks he or she is better than the other, but this has just caused

clamor in the world. As human beings, we should know that we were created equally, and we

will die as equals. No amount of money, power, and fame will make us greater than anyone else.

In the eyes of God, we are all His children, and technically speaking, we are siblings with

everyoneand siblings do not fight. Instead, they always make sure that everyone is well-off.

Ultimately, it is how we perceive others that will determine how we treat them. It is true

that different people have different attitudes, but this should not be a problem when doing good

to them. Showing goodness does not need qualifications; its either youre good to everyone or

youre good to no one. We must always remember that we are men among equals and that our

deeds are a reflection of who God is. We were created in His image, the least we can do is live up

to it.
(2) LOVE IS ALL WE NEED TO DO GOOD AND SEE GOOD IN EVERYTHING

Love can never be learned but can only be felt. It is not something one is capable of

teaching nor learning but one that is innate with us and it is through everyday living that we let

love grow.

Love is something that we first understand at home. It is our family that gives us the first

feeling of genuine love. Those moments of actually having someone we trust is first felt in the

family. A home is where love is cultivated, and the funny thing is, it never stops to grow.

When we leave our home, we start meeting new people and thats when we start knowing

how to love others. Meeting new people gives us sense of animosity, but bridging the gap will

actually make you realize that the love we feel from our family can also be given by us to our

friends. But when it comes to strangers, love is still present no matter how little. We might not

know others personally, but respecting them despite everything is showing love to them.

It is through love that we show goodness to everybody even to strangers and it is through

it that we see goodness in them despite different culture, status, race, religion, gender, or

nationality. There goes different sayings such as, Love has no gender; Love has no race;

Love has no age; Love has no religion; etc. It goes to show that love makes us more capable

of understanding the presence of diversity in life. It is through love that we do not discriminate,

that we do not shame some people because we think they are different and inferior than most of

us. It is through love that we accept flaws and imperfections. It is through love that we see more

of God than evil.