Explore "One's Word and Friendship" by Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Message to the Educational Community-March 31, 2002.
In life there are moments (few, but essential) when it is necessary to make decisions that are critical, total, and foundational. Critical, because they lie exactly on the line that separates commitment from hesitation, hope from disaster, life from death. Total, because they do not relate to an aspect, an optional 'matter' or 'challenge,' or a specific area of reality, but define a life in its entirety and for a long time. More than that, they shape the innermost identity of each individual. They not only take place in time but also give shape to our temporality and existence. It is in this sense that I use the third adjective: foundational. They create the basis for a way of life, a manner of being, of seeing and presenting ourselves to the world and to others, a certain position toward future possibilities.