JUSTICE
CONFERENCE — Attending a social justice conference
in Winnipeg Nov. 26 - 27 were, from left: organizing committee member
Michele Garlinski, Archbishop James Weisgerber and Sister Johanna Jonker,
co-ordinator of Micah House, the Archdiocese of Winnipeg’s Catholic
Centre for Social Justice. (Buchok photo)
Humans are made for
each other: Weisgerber
By James Buchok
WINNIPEG — A person
becomes truly alive when they live for others, said Archbishop James
Weisgerber, “and that is the meaning of the church,” he
added.
Weisgerber was speaking at
a social justice conference entitled Life and Dignity for All sponsored
by Micah House, the Archdiocese of Winnipeg’s Catholic Centre
for Social Justice, and hosted by St. Paul’s High School Nov.
26 and 27.
“If we live for ourselves
we’re not going to be of any help to anybody and we won’t
be alive,” Weisgerber said as he addressed the topic, What is
Life?
The conference presented
sessions on dignity for the aging, communities in crisis, gang culture,
unwanted pregnancies and adoption options, and the challenges of living
on First Nations reserves. A ministry fair ran throughout the conference
with information displays from more than a dozen social agencies.
“To be human, to be
living — we all interpret it in different ways. What it means
to be alive determines how we live and how we trust others, ”
Weisgerber said.
“In the Book of Genesis
God created Adam just as every one of us was created by God and is chosen
by God. The spirit of God is in each of us. God breathed into us his
own life. We all share the life and image of God,” the archbishop
said. “We are made for each other. It is in relationships that
we bear God’s image.”
Weisgerber said in the Garden
of Eden it was not good for man to be alone “because alone he
could not reach his potential, he could not learn to love. He said God
told Adam and Eve ‘All this I give to you but do not eat of this
tree.’ Adam and Eve chose sin and created havoc for the rest of
us. Sin was quickly followed by hate, war and murder. When we choose
sin we create chaos. None of that is part of God’s plan.
“We are free to choose
who we are,” Weisgerber said. “We create our lives and identity
by the choices we make: life, death, virtue or sin. You have to choose
to do the right thing.
“Take a snapshot of
the world. It’s a travesty how so many people are hungry, have
no safety, are forced into the sex trade. All those things are happening
to these wonderful creatures that God has made.”
Weisgerber said the long
nights of the Christmas season in places like Winnipeg are symbolic.
“When things were really dark God came to the rescue in the person
of Jesus. This is God’s new plan. Humanity didn’t respond
well to God’s old plan, so he made a new one. God does not give
up on us until his purpose for us is complete.
“Jesus comes to teach
us what it means to be truly alive,” Weisgerber said. “Jesus
is God entering into our human condition. He is the model of what it
means to be human. He shows us what living truly means and it means
being there for other people. He combines serving and loving God with
loving our neighbour.”
The archbishop said during
the sacrament of reconciliation a person might say they fear they have
destroyed God’s plan. “But God creates another plan and
the new plan is always better than the old plan.” He said he has
seen how a person who recovers from an addiction “becomes greater
than they ever were.
“God has a plan for us and the whole world and the plan is that we become a people of loving care,” Weisgerber said. “Each one of us is part of bringing his creation into being.”
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