Peace, Love, Faith, and Hope at Christmas 2023

by: Dr. The Hon. Ralph E. Gonsalves
Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

CORE VALUES

Peace not strife and war, Love not fear and hate, Faith not faithlessness and cynicism, and Hope not hopelessness and learned helplessness, are what humanity, including St Vincent and the Grenadines, must embrace in quest of redemptive grace, fulfilling and uplifting lives and living. These virtues are at the core of the Christian faith, initiated at the first coming of Jesus Christ, whose birth we commemorate at this time.

We have been taught by the Psalmist that love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other; faithfulness springs from the earth; and righteousness looks down from heaven. Emphatically, we have been enjoined to pursue righteousness, faith, hope, love, and peace. Indeed, we accept the teaching that anyone who has faith even as small as a mustard seed, can move mountains; nothing will then be impossible for you and me. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And this hope, always fresh and never stale, always true and never false, is an anchor for the soul, firm and secure; still, hope that is seen is no hope at all; if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently and with understanding.

In the temporal world, what we hope for is always wisely assessed in the condition in which we are, the place from which we have come, how we have come to where we are, who or what assisted or caused us to be where we are, and who or what can best help us to where we want and wish to go. An understanding of all this interrogated information and knowledge of our life’s journey is vital to the processing of one’s hope, applying one’s heart to wisdom to prompt fresh hope, grounded hopefulness, and wise judgement.
To be sure, hope springs eternal in the breasts of men and women as a consequence of two conjoined impulses, thoughts, or ideas, reflecting the human condition: First, human imagination; and secondly, human beings, by and large, are perpetually in a condition of dissatisfaction to one degree or the other. Both the permanent imagination and a degree of perpetual dissatisfaction prompt humanity to seek progress and betterment, always. In that search, we must never throw away the bone and opt for a shadow, a mirage, an illusion, prompted by false prophets who, contradictorily, are also apostles of learned helplessness, and thus of hopelessness. These shadows, mirages, illusions lead inevitably to disillusionment; they emanate not from a genuine place of love, faith or fresh—hopefulness, but from delusions, false hope, vainglory, and selfish agendas, the stock-in-trade of the assorted, proverbial, snake-oil salesmen and women.

GREATEST OF ALL IS LOVE

The greatest of all these virtues is love. We have been instructed, and we accept that: If you or I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if you or I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, you or I are nothing. Love is patient, it is kind; it is not self-seeking; it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. Always, we must love our neighbour; and everyone is our neighbour, even when we stand against him or her because of his or her wrong-doing. Social solidarity emanating from the social individual, not an atomised individualism, is love; it is Christianity in action.

These precepts are not always easy to possess, sustain or apply in practice. Yet we must seek them, embrace them, and try to live them in the best way humanly possible. And if we fail, we must keep on trying; indeed, it is a never-ending endeavour. This ought to be part of our Christian reflection and our New Year resolution.

SVG TODAY

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines today this love and caring must be made manifest in our families, schools, churches, communities, work-places, and the nation-at-large. If we follow these verities, the extent of crime and violence in our society would be markedly reduced. Our societies would thus be more harmonious; and there would be greater progress, prosperity, security, and sustainable development.

Recently, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of States of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC), and the United Nations acted in accord with Guyana and Venezuela to bring peace between these two countries. The Joint Declaration of Argle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela, shares the virtues of peace, love, faith and hope.

Across St. Vincent and the Grenadines these values are promoted and embraced by an overwhelming majority of people. But there is a tiny minority of persons who seek to undermine our peace, security, and tranquility. We must bring them to the path of enlightenment, understanding, wisdom, patience, and calm. This is central to an uplifting self-mastery under the suzerainty of Almighty God.

PROGRESS BUT MORE TO BE DONE

Overall, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been making outstanding progress in every area of material life, living, and production. The numbers, the data, support this assertion. Still, there is much more to be done. It is vital that everyone takes advantage of the tremendous opportunities available for individual and national advancement. Each must deliver according to his/her ability and each must be rewarded according to his/her work. At the same time, the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalised must be accorded a reasonable safety net which emphasizes a satisfaction of their needs. All this is part of the tried and tested, core values of our Caribbean civilisation. At Christmas 2023 we must reflect, and act, upon them.

SALUTATIONS

On behalf of the government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and on my own personal behalf, and that of my family, I say: Happy Christmas 2023, and a Prosperous, Productive 2024!