Advent joy and hope: Gaudium et Spes at 60

The four candles on the Advent wreath represent hope, peace, joy and love. As we light one each Sunday, they help us to mark the passing of time as we look towards the coming of Christ at Christmas. Two of these candles have a special meaning this Advent. Sixty years ago, Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) the final document of the Second Vatican Council was issued on 7 December 1965. This document is one of the four Constitutions or major documents of the council and addressed the Church’s relationship with the modern world.

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.

GAUDIUM ET SPES #1

Every day human interdependence grows more tightly drawn and spreads by degrees over the whole world. As a result the common good[…] today takes on an increasingly universal complexion and consequently involves rights and duties with respect to the whole human race. Every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups, and even of the general welfare of the entire human family.

GAUDIUM ET SPES #26

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Why Gaudium et Spes is important to CAFOD

Jane and Chris, who work for CAFOD in their local dioceses, reflect on the importance of Gaudium et Spes for the Church and for CAFOD.

Jane Crone, Community Participation Coordinator in East Anglia and Brentwood

I first read Gaudium et Spes over thirty years ago. Pope John XXIII said that the aim of the Council was to open the windows of the Vatican so that the fresh air of the Spirit could come in. This fresh air is found in the joyful and hopeful opening words of the document, which place Christians in solidarity with the rest of the world, especially those who are suffering:

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.

GAUDIUM ET SPES #1

Just two years before the start of the council, CAFOD’s founding mothers responded to an echo in their own hearts when they heard that a mother and baby clinic in Dominica needed support. This led them to organise the first Family Fast Day. Sixty years later Catholics continue to respond to the same echo in their hearts through prayer, actions and giving.

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Gaudium et Spes calls the whole Church to read the signs of the times and to enter into an ‘honest dialogue’ with the whole human family. The aim is the promotion of the common good, excluding no-one. It was written at a time when the human family was deeply concerned about the threat of nuclear war and the effects of technology on human flourishing. We share the same concerns today and, in the spirit of Gaudium et Spes, the Church still responds to them.

As shown by Pope Leo XIV making peace a theme of the first few months of his pontificate. His first words to the world as Pope were ‘Peace be with all of you’. He has also suggested that his first encyclical will respond to “developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour” (Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals, 10 May 2025).

Pray for peace in our world.

Chris Gallagher, Community Participation Coordinator in Nottingham

The joy and hope throughout Gaudium et Spes is central to the work of CAFOD today. The Church’s Catholic Social Teaching is the very DNA of all that CAFOD does.

So, in this season of Advent as we light our candles of hope and joy let us reflect, pray and revisit this council document with specific focus on the dignity of the human person:

Every day human interdependence grows more tightly drawn and spreads by degrees over the whole world. As a result the common good[…] today takes on an increasingly universal complexion and consequently involves rights and duties with respect to the whole human race. Every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups, and even of the general welfare of the entire human family.

GAUDIUM ET SPES #26

Gaudium et Spes describes the global family to which each of us belong as we strive for equal rights and justice within the horizon of the common good. It is a vision that we at CAFOD hope all people can share. What the Church offers to the modern world is a sense of what makes us a family, a sense that all of God’s Creation is good and that all people are made in the image and likeness of God. A Catholic understanding of what it means to be human is essentially about recognising the unique gift of everyone we encounter. This is never more apt than in the season of Advent. As we wait for the manifestation of the Incarnation, we recognise God most evidently in those who have the least and need the most.

A pilgrim people

Gaudium et Spes is rooted in the Second Vatican Council’s theology of the Church as the Pilgrim People of God journeying together and striving for justice, peace and the common good. Throughout this Jubilee year, we have been encouraged by the various initiatives and moments of reflection to understand ourselves as pilgrims of hope on earth. What could be a better way to journey through Advent and the Christmas season and into a new year with the humility of the pilgrim and hope rooted in the “mystery of God's love”? (Gaudium et Spes, #45).

Reflect on the gifts and challenges of the Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope with our guided reflection video.

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