While re-reading “Crossing The Threshold of Hope” by His Holiness John Paul II, I came across the following:
The Gospel, above all else, is the joy of creation. God, in creating saw that His creation was good (Genesis 1: 1-25), is the source of joy for all creatures, and above all for humankind.
God the Creator seems to say of all creation: “It is good that you exist.” And His joy spreads especially through the “good news,” according to which good is greater than all that is evil in the world.
Evil, in fact, is neither fundamental nor definitive. This point clearly distinguishes Christianity from all forms of existential pessimism.
Creation was given and entrusted to humankind as a duty, representing not a source of suffering but the foundation of a creative existence in the world.
A person who believes in the essential goodness of all creation is capable of discovering all the secrets of creation, in order to perfect continually the work assigned to him by God.
It must be clear for those who accept Revelation, and in particular the Gospel, that it is better to exist than not to exist. And because of this, in the realm of the Gospel, there is no space for nirvana, apathy, or resignation. Instead there is a great challenge to perfect creation – be it oneself, be it the world.
