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51.âÂÂPrecisely because it is linked to love (cf.
Gal
5:6), the light of faith is concretely placed at the
service of justice, law and peace. Faith is born of
an encounter with GodâÂÂs primordial love, where-
in the meaning and goodness of our life become
evident; our life is illumined to the extent that it
enters into the space opened by that love, to the
extent that it becomes, in other words, a path and
praxis leading to the fullness of love. The light of
faith is capable of enhancing the richness of hu-
man relations, their ability to endure, to be trust-
worthy, to enrich our life together. Faith does not
draw us away from the world or prove irrelevant
to the concrete concerns of the men and women
of our time. Without a love which is trustworthy,
nothing could truly keep men and women unit-
ed. Human unity would be conceivable only on
the basis of utility, on a calculus of conflicting
interests or on fear, but not on the goodness of
living together, not on the joy which the mere
presence of others can give. Faith makes us ap-
preciate the architecture of human relationships
because it grasps their ultimate foundation and
definitive destiny in God, in his love, and thus
sheds light on the art of building; as such it be-
comes a service to the common good. Faith is
truly a good for everyone; it is a common good.
Its light does not simply brighten the interior
of the Church, nor does it serve solely to build
an eternal city in the hereafter; it helps us build
our societies in such a way that they can jour-
ney towards a future of hope. The Letter to the
