The power and greatness of a person do not necessarily go hand in hand. Recent history compiles several examples of people who are seen as great yet were practically devoid of any temporal power to speak of. Examples like Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi, St Gorg Preca and Abbe Pierre of France, just to mention a few, are surely considered to be great figures of recent history, who contributed greatly to their cause, yet did not have any worldly power. On the other hand the opposite is also true, whereby great dictators exerted great power, yet history frowns upon them, as they are not remembered for anything other than the hurt and pain they generated.
During an enlightening meeting we Members of Parliament had with Archbishop Cremona last week, precisely about the mystery of Easter, I found myself reflecting about this and beyond. Samson was strong, however he even had moments when he was oblivious that ‘God had left his side’, as the book of Judges in the Old Testament states, when Samson didn’t fulfil his duty.
Power is the search for the truth. A temporal and existential truth. The transcendental truth that one reaches with a well formed and well informed conscience. This does not necessarily refer to a person belonging to a particular faith or other, because as we have seen, and still see, leaders who do not necessarily embrace our faith can administer power in a most exemplary, wise and just way. In the same way, there are leaders who declare to embrace the Catholic faith and yet find no ulterior end to power, as it becomes an end in itself, not a means to a greater end. As Thomas Aquinas claimed, “for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act.”
It is the natural principles of the natural law that we have entrenched in our hearts that need to guide us. Which principles need to be nourished by sound teachings and healthy discussion. It is healthy to exchange ideas in a dialogue, with the aim of learning from each other, which is what we are truly meant to be doing with our entrusted power. No one can render him or herself indispensable, as a result of holding power for a while. In his Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas claims that: “Virtue denotes a certain perfection of a power. Now a thing’s perfection is considered chiefly in regard to its end. But the end of power is act. Wherefore power is said to be perfect, according as it is determinate to its act”. So the correct exercise of power is a virtue, and whoever acts with virtue translates the power into good.
This is a special week in our calendar. Throughout this week we have been through the ‘Ghanja tal-Imnikket’ by Ruzar Briffa, which will evolve into the Gloria from Handel’s Messiah tonight. Every Good Friday we reflect on abuse and the unjust administration of power. We reflect on the importance of submission to what is expected of us, on humility, on the injustice caused by those who feel their power threatened, and on the glory of victory over evil. So it is well in place to celebrate tomorrow. Our steadfast faith wins and gives us a better dimension of temporal power. Because it is true that a man’s character is judged by the way he handles power given to him.
Happy Easter to you Mr Editor, your staff and all the readers of this newspaper.
Dr Azzopardi is parliamentary secretary in the
Finance Ministry.
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