Stichting DeSolidariteit heeft Desiderius Erasmus bereid gevonden om zijn licht te laten schijnen over het komend jaar, niet in Latijn maar in Engels, de ‘lingua franca’ van vandaag:
New Year’s Message 2025
December 23, 2024
Dear citizens of this world,
The year 2025 lies before us, a new beginning full of promise and hope. Allow me, Erasmus, a man of my time but with an eye for eternity, to share a few thoughts about the state of humanity and what I see as our shared calling.
Heel de Mens: A Call for Wholeness
In my time, as in yours, people wrestled with the question of how to perfect human life. Heel de Mens—
what a noble pursuit!—requires not only the filling of the stomach and the sharpening of the mind but also the nurturing of the heart. For what is a human being without compassion, without wisdom, without the ability to place the welfare of others above self-interest?
Let 2025 be the year in which we embrace Heel de Mens in all its facets. Body, mind, and soul deserve equal care. Education should not only teach what to think but how to think. Economic prosperity must not come at the expense of the vulnerable. And technology, grand as it may be, must not reduce humanity to mere cogs in a machine.
Solidarity in a Divided World
Your world is far larger than mine ever was, but also more divided. Borders separate peoples, and differences in opinion often outweigh shared humanity. In my time, I saw how division led to war. I implored rulers and nations to choose peace, reason, and solidarity.
Today, I would call upon you to do the same: let solidarity not remain an ideal but become an act. The crises of your time—poverty, climate change, inequality—demand cooperation that transcends borders. Heel de Mens can only flourish if we see each other as equals, united in our vulnerabilities and strengths.
Yet, in this spirit of solidarity, I cannot remain silent on an issue dividing your society: the asylum policy of Faber. This policy, which closes the door to those fleeing war, persecution, and hunger, defies the conscience and violates the very concept of universal brotherhood. How can we justify ourselves while turning our backs on those seeking refuge? This policy is not only an affront to human dignity but also contradicts the wisdom of the ages, which teaches that to deny hospitality to a stranger is to diminish our own humanity.
Let us not forget that the great cultures and civilizations of history were built on openness and the welcoming of the other. Those who knock on your door today bring not only their needs but also their hopes, talents, and contributions to your future.
The Power of Hope and Responsibility
The era in which I lived was turbulent, and yet I placed my trust in the reason and goodness inherent in humanity. You, too, live in uncertain times, but I see opportunities. Your knowledge is vast, your means to do good abundant. Use them wisely. Employ your technology for peace, your prosperity for justice, and your voice for truth.
Heel de Mens requires a balance between freedom and responsibility. The good life is not found in selfishly pursuing personal happiness but in serving a greater whole. This is the lesson I drew from the Gospels, and it is as true today as it was five centuries ago.
A Message of Hope
Let us begin this new year with the choice to see one another as brothers and sisters, to resist losing ourselves in the frenzy of the moment, and to strive for what holds eternal value: love, wisdom, and justice.
We wish you all a year in which we work together to achieve Heel de Mens —a wholeness that not only elevates ourselves but also makes the world around us more beautiful.
With deepest respect,
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Stichting DeSolidariteit
