CHAPLAIN’S CORNER (Cont'd)
to have been more than man-* possessed an
attribute which we know from our own ex
perience to be utterly beyond the capac
ity of human nature. He' possessed an in
finite capacity for love that enabled
Him to regard and treat every other be
ing's personality, need and suffering as
though they were His own. He did not
love only individually and spasmodically
as all human beings at- times do,even the
worst and most selfish; He loved so much
that all human suffering and need matter
ed to Him.
Moral perfection is incompatible with
human nature.
For if a perfect man existed in a world
such as ours, he would die of horror and
compassion at the terrible things that
happen in it every second. However ten
der and loving, however shaken and moved
by the sufferings and tragedies that ef
fect them personally, men and women in
stinctively close their hearts to other
tragedies every whit as great as- their
own and those immediately around them.
A perfect being would not shut his heart
in self-protection. He would suffer with
others and give himself unceasingly to
relieve and succor them.
The whole meaning of Christmas, the
miracle of Christ’s birth - and death
is that once and once only in human his
tory the;re was such a being# He so loved
His fellow men that His whole life wag
dedicated without the least alloy of self
to the relief and service of all those
who stood in need of them*
He left us two commandmentss that we
should love Cod - whose nature He re
vealed to us by His own - with all our
being; and that we should love our nei
ghbor as ourselves. However far we are
from fulfilling either, we all of us, as
a result of Christ’s life, come at
Christmas for a moment a little nearer
to both.
- Used by permission of •
Readers Digest.
... CUBA.-'.
QUESTIONS AND' ANSWERS
What .-is the standard of living like
today in Cuba?
. While there is no doubt that Castro
has accomplished a more even distribu-.;
tion of Cuba’s wealth, living conditions
for most Cubans have, declined severely
under communism. Where once the average
Cuban enjoyed pne of the highest stand
ards of living in the hemisphere, he now
finds that many items which he once con
sidered essential are now rationed or
altogether unavailable. High unemploy
ment continues, consumption generally
has been severely curtailed, promises
of new low-cost housing have failed to
materialize, and the Cubans are now
dependent upon the Soviet bloc for many
everyday food iterns *
Are the Cuban people still behind
Gastro?
Though it is hard to judge accurately,
it is estimated that'Castro retains the
positive support of only about 20?j of 1
the population - mostly people under 25
years of age, and buraucrats committed
to the success of the Revolution. Dis
affection is growing steadily, as is
shown both by the flow of disillusioned
Cubans fleeing the country and by the
increasing instances of spontaneous up
risings, antigovernment sabotage, and
widespread passive resistance. Dissat
isfation is even beginning to grow
among those under 25, as well as among
the older Cubans.
How many Cuban refugees have fled the
Castro regime?
Over two hundred thousand Cubans have
taken refuge in other countries border
ing the Caribbean, and about half of
these are in the United States.
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