Editing Gaudium et spes (section)

== Contents ==

=== Central themes ===

==== Gift of self ====
The "gift of self" from GS §24{{sfn|Gaudium et Spes|loc=§24. "...man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself."}} was a phrase used often by [[Pope John Paul II]] and particularly in his [[theology of the Body]]. This phrase has also been described as "the Law of the Gift".<ref name=":5"/> Citing the biblical concept that all men are created in the image of God, ''Gaudium'' states that man cannot truly find himself unless he understands the "gift of self", and that in understanding himself he will understand and love both God and his fellow man.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaudium et spes |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

Although no Vatican source has been found defining precisely what the "gift of self" is, some scholars and Church leaders appear to interpret it in recent decades as being associated with marriage.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ryan |first=Robert |date=2015 |title=More Than Self-Gift and Sex: The Role of Receptivity In Catholic Marital Ethics |url=https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/11301.pdf |journal=Journal of Moral Theology |volume=4 |issue=2}}</ref> 

==== Promotion of peace ====
The final chapter of the document is "The Fostering of Peace and the Promotion of a Community of Nations". This chapter references themes expressed near the start of Vatican II by [[Pope John XXIII]] in 1963 in his encyclical letter, [[Pacem in Terris|''Pacem in Terris.'']]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hogan |first=Linda |date=2014 |title=Human Rights and the Ethics of Peace: The Contribution of Pacem in Terris |url=https://www.uni-muenster.de/Ejournals/index.php/jcsw/article/view/1281 |journal=Jahrbuch für Christliche Sozialwissenschaften |language=de |volume=55 |pages=43–57 |issn=2196-6265}}</ref> ''Pacem'' defines the "common good", arguing that while individualism leads to individualistic focus and behavior and collectivism leads to a loss of the individual, the "common good" strikes a middle ground and begins with the focus on the community before returning it to the individual. ''Pacem'' focuses its argument not on a theological basis, but rather employs "natural law" to appeal to both believers and non-believers who might not be as familiar with theological sources.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Curran |first=Charles E. |date=2004 |title=The Teaching and Methodology of Pacem in Terris |url=https://www1.villanova.edu/dam/villanova/mission/catholic-social-thought/2019-CST-Materials/BW-Teaching%20and%20Method%20PT.pdf |journal=Journal of Catholic Social Thought |pages=18}}</ref>