> [[itc-qvh-05|← Previous]] | [[quo-vadis-humanitas-toc|TOC]] | [[itc-qvh-07|Next →]] # Conclusion 159\. At the beginning of our journey, a question resounded, shared with our brothers and sisters in humanity: *Quo vadis, humanitas?* At this juncture of the twenty-first century, the human family is faced with questions so radical that they threaten its very existence as we have known it until now. The unprecedented scientific and technological development in the history of the planet must be accompanied by a corresponding growth in responsibility that directs progress towards the good of human beings, because today they are exposed to risks never before imagined. The impact of technoscientific development, particularly the digital revolution, on human experience is profound, both in terms of our relationship with the environment and our relationship with others in society, with ourselves and with God. New technologies may usher in an era of real change in the human condition, reflected in the fears of the social imaginary of mass culture and in the disturbing optimism or pessimism of *transhumanist* and *posthumanist* movements. Today more than ever, the anthropological and cultural proposal that Christianity offers involves the conception of life as a vocation, which makes possible a human way of inhabiting time and space and of conceiving intersubjective relationships, while at the same time becoming a prophetic judgement on the more disturbing aspects we cannot fail to recognise in *transhumanism* and *posthumanism*. 160\. The concept of life as a vocation is the perspective in which the decisive and complex process of forming identity at a personal and social level can/must be placed. The Christian view of life articulates identity with the recognition of an original free gift that goes before and the acceptance of a task that follows, entrusted by God’s love to the freedom of individuals and peoples. All human beings are called to receive themselves as a gift, to share the gift of difference, to become a gift for others, to recognise the transcendence of the gift as something divine. This process, which affects personal and social identity, is never static or defined once and for all, but has an intrinsic dramatic dimension, which is revealed in the ‘polar tensions’ typical of human experience throughout history, which become radicalised in the face of the challenge of evil, as it seeks to alter their original meaning. The dialogue between human and divine freedom, in accepting or rejecting the gift of divinisation by grace, cannot fail to have a dramatic character: ‘See what great love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is we are! That is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, but what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.’ (*1 Jn* 3:1-2). 161\. In our societies, driven by pressing dreams of unlimited enhancement or even replacement of the human, the Christian faith makes this theological, pastoral and cultural proposal. It is a theoretical and practical understanding of the human that the ecclesial community always wants to put before its members and wishes to present to everyone. The Christian proclamation identifies the appropriate way to go beyond (*trans*) the limits of human experience, with the deification (*theiosis*) possible only to God,\[196\] which is the exact opposite of *transhumanist* self-deification. It is concretely realised by way of vocation in Christ (cf. *Rom* 8:1; *2 Cor* 5:17; *Gal* 3:26-28; *2 Tim* 3:12). The Son of Man is the One in whom the tensions constitutive of the human being find dynamic balance. Through the gift of his Holy Spirit, the baptised participate in this fullness, not yet perfectly within the course of history, but awaiting the definitive recapitulation, when God will be all in all (cf. *1 Cor* 15:28). Thus, in the face of the various reductions we have described, where certain aspects of the human are put to death, the Catholic *forma mentis* seeks a dynamic synthesis in which no dimension of common experience is lost, while respecting its constitutive tensions. 162\. We must emphasise once again that the fact that these tensions can find convergence in faith does not mean some kind of premature elimination of the drama of life. The gift of the Spirit of the Risen One is freely offered to human freedom, which cooperates with divine grace. In Christian life, the drama of creation is neither eliminated nor ignored. Natural tensions are, in a certain sense, experienced with greater radicality, because of the emergence of a new awareness: Christians know in Christ their condition as beings who owe everything to the initiative of God the Father and who, at the same time, are called by Him to the most authentic development and full gift of themselves. For this reason, their proclamation of salvation does not insist so much on their own ability to overcome natural or cultural limitations for themselves (even technologically), but rather on the affective and grateful acceptance of the gift of a love that makes possible the development of personal and social identity, inasmuch as it works through charity (cf. *Gal* 5:6), taking on a creative task for a better service to the common good.\[197\] In this way, it contributes to the fulfilment of the divine plan according to an asymmetrical reciprocity of gifts. **1\. The fully human Mother** 163\. In light of this theological-pastoral perspective, Mary, Immaculate and Assumed into the bosom of God the Father with Jesus, appears as the admirable figure of a human being in whom the tensions between soul and body, man and woman, and individual and community express their fullness according to a unity that does not destroy but enhances each integral element. Mary’s obedience to the Lord’s call is attested to as perfect availability in her entire personal being, spirit and body; it is attested to as a virginal and maternal fruitfulness for the building of a new people in human history; it is also attested to as a paradigm of personalising integration into the community of disciples (cf. *Jn* 19:25-26). In fact, in Mary, the Church contemplates what we all hope to be: the image of a human being in her fullness.\[198\] In the circumstances of her life, Mary achieves a synthesis that unites the call of love and free response; personal vocation and social mission; filial identity and fraternal communion; the proclamation of God and service to other human beings; responsible obedience and generous service; the acceptance of the gift and the free giving of oneself; the joy of song and serene meditation on life; belonging to her own people and openness to all generations; acceptance of her own limits and the happiness of faith; the ‘yes’ to the fulfilment of God’s will (cf. *Lk* 1:26-38) and the concern that all may do what Jesus will tell them (cf. *Jn* 2:5). Mary accepted her life as a vocation and thus realised her personal identity in the fulfilment of the mission entrusted to her, so that the loving plan of the Triune God for all humanity might be accomplished. **2\. The challenge of the poor** 164\. The relentless technological development that we consider in this text, which favours above all those who already have much power, challenges us to turn our gaze to the poorest. If this development, together with the ideologies that accompany it, involves serious risks, as we have seen, these will be even greater for the weakest and most defenceless, that is, for those who count for nothing because they are of no use to the workings of the more powerful. They run the risk of becoming waste material, ‘collateral damage’, swept away without mercy. As Christians, however, we are called to see them through the eyes of Christ, who says to each of them: ‘I have loved you.’ (*Rev* 3:9) As Pope Leo XIV explains, Christ ‘by his love given to the end, shows the dignity of every human being.’\[199\] This encourages us to ‘perceive the strong connection that exists between Christ’s love and his call to be close to the poor.’\[200\] From this arises the duty to be particularly attentive—as humble sentinels—to the consequences that new developments in society may have on the lives of the least among us. We must respond with a prophetic word and with generous involvement. The authenticity of our faith and the human value of our lives are at stake. --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-itc-qvh]]