December 18

Humankind is constantly perfecting itself, and it is perfecting itself not by itself, but by the efforts made by all the people for their individual perfection. Our efforts are establishing the kingdom of God.

1

Herod is a man of power, of autocracy, a man of a special nature, one who does not owe anything to anyone but to whom everyone is indebted, a king of the past who is going to be toppled from his throne by the king of the future. Already in the first news of the birth of this king of the future he hears a threat. What does he do? At first he is cunning and sly. The lies are then followed by murder. He commits a multitude of indiscriminate killings, he murders children, still sucking their mother’s milk, for he is afraid of a child, an unknown child. In order to destroy him for certain he has no other means. He is prepared to let everyone die, as long as that child dies also. But he does not die. The king of the future will live to fight the king of the past. It will be a long struggle, it will continue from century to century, from one Herod to another, amid suffering, weeping and blood, amid the blood of children and fathers, amid the tears of mothers and the suffering of all. But these calamities do not disturb us; keep your spirits up, take courage, fight constantly, relentlessly, without fear and without doubt, for the king of the future will triumph.

— Lamennais

2

One often hears arguments that say that all efforts to change life, eradicate evil and establish justice are useless, that all this will happen by itself, that progress will take care of it. People were traveling in a boat using oars, but the rowers arrived at their destination and went ashore, while the travelers in the boat are not taking up the oars, assuming that because the boat was previously moving, it will continue moving now.

3

Here on earth there is no rest, and should be no rest. Life is the pursuit of a goal, to which one can draw closer but which can never be attained, and thus there is no rest here. Rest is immoral. I am not confident enough to say what this goal is; but whatever it may be, it exists or must exist. Life is pointless without it; to allow this would be to deny God; moreover, it would mean to recognize life as an evil and stupid joke.

— Giuseppe Mazzini

4

All of history confirms the undeniable truth that God can be fathomed not through reason, but through obedience, that the presence of eternal order in the world becomes clear only after submitting to this order and that this is the only way we can learn his will on earth.

— John Ruskin

5

Only we alone can bring justice to the life of the world. The forces of nature cannot do anything without us. If humanity, as the aggregate of sentient beings, does not do this, no one will.

— Gizhitsky

6

If we accept that things cannot be anything other than what they are, then we are a part of the force that holds the world in its current state.

If we are defiant, we are a part of the force that changes the world.

— Solter

7

The majority of men do not think; the majority of men have to expend so much energy in the struggle to make a living that they do not have time to think. The majority of men accept, as a matter of course, whatever is. This is what makes the task of the social reformer so difficult, his path so hard. This is what brings upon those who first raise their voices in behalf of a great truth the sneers of the powerful and the curses of the rabble, ostracism and martyrdom, the robe of derision and the crown of thorns.

— Henry George

However unnoticeable and insignificant your participation in the general process of changing the life of the world for the better may be, it is necessary, because it is these insignificant, unnoticeable efforts of the majority that make up the movement towards the good that you benefit from. So do not pretend but make a real effort, even when no one is watching and urging you on.