Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Christian approach to driving

The following are excerpts from a recent Vatican document, “Pastoral Care of the Road”, which reveals the Christian approach to driving. To view the full text, please click on the title of this post.

...18. John's Gospel presents some particularly important expressions regarding the spirituality of the road…

19. Those who know Jesus Christ are careful on the roads. They don't only think about themselves, and are not always worried about getting to their destination in a great hurry. They see the people who "accompany" them on the road, each of whom has their own life, their own desire to reach a destination and their own problems. They see everyone as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God. This is the attitude that characterises a Christian driver…

39. …During the 20th century approximately 35 million people lost their lives in road accidents, whilst around one and a half billion were injured. In 2000 alone, deaths amounted to 1,260,000, and it is also noteworthy that around 90% of accidents were due to human error…

59. Resorting to our Heavenly Intercessors should not make us forget the importance of the sign of the cross, to be made before setting out on a journey. With this sign we put ourselves directly under the protection of the Holy Trinity…

60. During a journey it is also beneficial to pray vocally, especially taking turns with our fellow travellers in reciting the prayers, as when reciting the Rosary[26] which, due to its rhythm and gentle repetition, does not distract the driver's attention. This will help to feel immersed in the presence of God, to stay under his protection, and may also give rise to a desire for communal or liturgical celebration, if possible at "spiritually strategic" points along the road or railway (shrines, churches and chapels, including mobile ones)…


“Ten Commandments for Motorists”

I. You shall not kill.

II. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

III. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

IV. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.

V. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

VI. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

VII. Support the families of accident victims.

VIII. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

IX. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

X. Feel responsible towards others.

3 Comments:

At 10:53 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What perfect timing! I'm doing Driver's ED this week! I'm totally printing this out and bringing it to class tonight to show my friends.
Thanx Fr.Greg

 
At 4:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have an unrelated question. I like to learn about what different actions symbolize in the church. When a priest is ordained, why do they lay down face forward on the ground?

 
At 10:09 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The topic of reading the Bible came up recently in a group discussion. Most of us realized that we haven't read the Bible all the way through. The prospect of it seemed intimidating, but here's what I read-

If you read the Bible for 15 minutes each day, over the course of one year, you would have read in through TWICE!

Now, if the Bibe were only written on the same reading level as the newspapar (I believe that's 8th grade).....

 

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