In Western society, and within it, in ecclesial life, it is not uncommon to encounter people, institutions, and companies that live by what the philosopher Adela Cortina calls “Minimal Ethics“: it would be enough for us to guarantee what is essential for coexistence.
In the Gospel, Christ‘s self-giving is total: this is precisely what we celebrate during Holy Week and, even more specifically, during the next three days of the Easter Triduum. And it is worth asking ourselves whether, as individuals, as Christians, or as people, we too live in a state of minimalism or continue to seek the fullness of the Gospel.
Jesus‘ lifestyle is not deceptive. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he experiences anguish and fear, but he does not renounce his mission. His prayer sums it all up: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).
The cross is a life lived to the extreme of love. Jesus does not limit himself to fulfilling the bare minimum: he forgives his enemies, shows solidarity with the poor, and gives his life for all. As the Gospel of John says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). The horizon of Christian and religious life would therefore be an existence marked by the logic of giving, service, and fidelity to the Gospel.
The philosopher Adela Cortina distinguishes between ethics of minimums and ethics of maximums. The former refers to those basic values that allow for coexistence in a pluralistic society. In this sense, human rights represent the minimum standards of justice that every society must guarantee: civil and political rights, social, economic and cultural rights, the right to peace, to a healthy environment, and to development.
But human life is not confined to this ethical ground. Justice needs to be driven by higher ideals of solidarity, compassion, and selflessness. This is where ethics of the highest ideals come into play. Applied to the life of the Church, this reflection raises an important question: from what perspective do we live out our mission?
In pastoral practice, this difference is clearly perceived. A minimal pastoral approach is limited to the administration of sacraments; a maximalist one integrates social commitment, closeness to the poor, and the transformation of reality.
In schools, the minimum is a good academic education; and the maximum is to accompany integral growth with a solid human, spiritual and Christian formation.
In missions, the minimum is reduced to sacramental care; and the maximum involves promoting development, education, health, dignity or the defense of the Common Home.
Throughout the history of the Church, there are many examples of radical evangelical commitment. Saint Ezekiel Moreno, an Augustinian Recollect and missionary, and a special protector of cancer patients, was never one of the “minimums.” His mission was centered on serving the Kingdom of God fully, without hesitation or limitations.
Holy Week is a good time to ask ourselves: Are we living our vocation (lay, religious, priestly, married) from a place of minimalism or from a place of maximalism? Our strength lies in recognizing the style of the one who “loved us and gave himself up for us” (Eph 5:2).
The cross of Christ reminds us that true love never settles for the bare minimum; it seeks to go further. Ultimately, the Gospel is never a proposal of the bare minimum: it is an invitation to love to the extreme.
