Let so much suffering not be in vain

"Tantus labor non sit cassus" is a sentence in the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) sequence (form of poem – song). The cheerful subject is the end of man and the end of the world. The man who anxiously awaits his final judgment begs to be saved. The title sentence is a sort of warning, almost a threat: if at least a number of people are not allowed to be saved (including me), then the suffering of Christ will have been in vain. So don't let the first happen (and save me) lest the second happen. One might even recognize in the sentence a certain moral blackmail against God: if He does not save me and my peers, then He will have made the suffering of His own Son meaningless.

We can also apply it to the salvation of our world: "Let so much suffering not be in vain." The Church regularly points out that man is appointed to the management of nature and that he must be accountable for it. If man is letting the world perish by continuing his clear-cutting, then all the sacrifices made by Christ and his followers, including all the sacrifices made by climate activists, will have been in vain.

It can be good to be reminded of this every year. Do I consider the climate activists here to be the modern-day followers of Christ? In a certain way, yes. Of  course, the climate deniers also have their arguments, but in general I do advocate caring and good stewardship with our earth and it is a good time of the year to bring that up again.

I also refer to my blog: "Day of Wrath".

Afbeelding van Peace,love,happiness via Pixabay