Coherence of Potent Minds

(Pacem in Terris, St. Pope John XXIII, 1963)

By: Luiz Gabriel M. Parinas

In 1963, Pope John XXIII released his encyclical addressed not only to Catholics but to all people of
goodwill entitled “Pacem in Terris” which means “Peace on Earth.” It was written to raise awareness on one
of the issues that concerned the world – nuclear war. During this time, nuclear wars were rampant and crisis
and nuclear weapons began to proliferate that caused fright and tension to people. These were the times when
our world was in troubled waters for as the wars and injustice occur, the order designed by God was not
observed. Peace was not achieved for the people let the walls of apathy block the path towards success.
Peace is one of the things we must acquire in order to fully reach our destination. But for many instances,
peace had been elusive for us. However, it is not a reason for us to stop attaining peace but a motivation to
strive hard and do our very best to achieve it. And with the help of Pacem in Terris, which still stands as a
permanent commitment to peace even after several years of its publication as said by Pope Francis, we can
acquire peace as it will teach us the values and lessons that will serve as our vehicle in our journey to a peaceful
life. It was also linked with justice which is essential to peace for according to bishops, peace in not just the
absence of war but justice throughout society.
And that is why, it is a challenge for each one of us to serve as instruments of love through out our vast
world. We must always let love prevail in our lives for it is the foundation of all goodwill and the start of a
whole new world where negativity will not grow and foster. We should make Jesus our inspiration for He came
on earth to serve and not to be served so we can understand the uniqueness and diversity we have in the world.
Let us learn how to love without borders for it will unite us and lead us to a place where we will be worry-free
because wars and misunderstandings are eliminated. As one nation living in this one world, let us stand firm
and act as one for it will be the key to having peace on earth.
However, we cannot deny the fact that nowadays, we have not yet reached our destination as we are
still on the journey towards achieving peace. Our generation faces myriad moral, social, political, environmental,
economic, and other issues that can affect individuals like us. We are still in the middle of a fight and therefore
we need to be united as we ask for God’s help so we can surpass all these issues. We must include in our prayer
the issues we are facing and ask for God’s guidance for definitely, He will help us overcome these problems. We
should let God interfere in our lives and be witnesses of His grace and mercy for this will help us to be one as
we fight the challenges of life for indeed, we don’t win a fight by fighting each other; we win a fight by fighting
together.
In the end, achieving peace and order is still in our hands. And we have to remember that our minds are
as powerful as the nuclear bombs and we have to use this as our strength to be strong enough in facing the
obstacles in life. We have to be united so we can have a coherence of our potent minds for a peaceful world for
ourselves and for the generations to come. We must stop wars now and let love prevail for this will break the
barrier and welcome us to a new world full of faith, hope, love and peace. Let us keep the fire burning and
prove to the world that we can achieve peace if we will have a coherence of potent minds.