No, I am not going mad. It is the end of another year - the Church Year. The Church always loves to be different. Yesterday was the Last Sunday of the Church's Year and was also the annual Festival of Loy Krathong in Thailand.
Loy Krathong falls on the first full moon at the end of rainy season. It is a water based festival where all the people go to some waterway to float their krathong - a floating body to be used for placing symbols of oneself. You can see mine in the above picture. It was environmentally friendly as it was made of bread and so the fish could eat it and enjoy. It was also made into the shape of a turtle - very cute.
The idea of Loy Krathong is very simple. It involves a ritual where each individual floats their krathong with symbols of themselves - a piece of a fingernail, a strand of hair, incense, candle. As you float your krathong and it goes away down the waterway, you are symbolically letting go of all the bad in your life and wishing for a whole new start. I really enjoy this festival and it so lovely. It really does have a special meaning for life.
Could this be the Year of the Turtle?
I am John Murray, an Australian, Catholic priest of the Order of St Augustine. I live and work in Thailand and have been here since October 2005. I have many stories from my life journey and would simply like to share some of them. So hope you enjoy and go away sometime with a smile or a helpful little insight.
We gather
to give thanks for my 25 years.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
What did I say?
I went along to the cathedral on Sunday prepared to preach on the readings for the 32nd Sunday of the Year. Instead I discovered that it was All Saints Day in Thailand. So I had to do a last minute change on my homily. This I did and I thought what I had to share was somewhat just okay given the circumstances.
What did I discover instead?
People were commenting on the homily and telling me that it is one of the best ever. I think - Really? What was it about Sunday that was different?
I think it is that I touched on a 'raw nerve', a relevant topic. My first line was to present my view on the issue of family planning in the Philippines and the Church's strong reaction to act. I hinted at the Church's own hypocrisy and its lack of response to injustices like the children on the street that I see in Manila.
The people seemed impressed that I would publicly touch on such a delicate issue as a priest and that I would speak honestly, presenting a different view from the party line. Still this was me being me - naming as it is and why not? Maybe this speaks of what people are hungering for in Church, in the world - not just to be told but to be trusted so that they can do their own reflecting and decision making.
What did I discover instead?
People were commenting on the homily and telling me that it is one of the best ever. I think - Really? What was it about Sunday that was different?
I think it is that I touched on a 'raw nerve', a relevant topic. My first line was to present my view on the issue of family planning in the Philippines and the Church's strong reaction to act. I hinted at the Church's own hypocrisy and its lack of response to injustices like the children on the street that I see in Manila.
The people seemed impressed that I would publicly touch on such a delicate issue as a priest and that I would speak honestly, presenting a different view from the party line. Still this was me being me - naming as it is and why not? Maybe this speaks of what people are hungering for in Church, in the world - not just to be told but to be trusted so that they can do their own reflecting and decision making.
Where to effect change
Yesterday, I mentioned that having Alejandro and Luciano, who are of the Order's Curia, visit me in Bangkok was more productive and worthwhile for me and my mission than my being at the Order's Intermediate General Chapter. Why do I say that?
After all the General Chapter was a good experience, full of many great opportunities to meet, to connect, to see how the show operates, to gain some new insights. As for achieving any great movements for change, I did not see that happen and maybe I should not expect that to happen at such a level. What I saw more was the frustration with needed change not happening and just how slowly change does occur.
My reflection simply was that the macro-level is not the place where we can normally expect change to occur. It can and does occur there but probably more rarely than at the more micro-levels. At the macro-level, change is affected in exceptional or certain circumstances, when the need for change is high. Normally this is not the case. Change is not easy for anyone and so it is more likely to occur at the local level, at the grassroots or the personal level. Just for what it is worth as I thought I should explain my position.
After all the General Chapter was a good experience, full of many great opportunities to meet, to connect, to see how the show operates, to gain some new insights. As for achieving any great movements for change, I did not see that happen and maybe I should not expect that to happen at such a level. What I saw more was the frustration with needed change not happening and just how slowly change does occur.
My reflection simply was that the macro-level is not the place where we can normally expect change to occur. It can and does occur there but probably more rarely than at the more micro-levels. At the macro-level, change is affected in exceptional or certain circumstances, when the need for change is high. Normally this is not the case. Change is not easy for anyone and so it is more likely to occur at the local level, at the grassroots or the personal level. Just for what it is worth as I thought I should explain my position.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Where have I been?
I look back at my life since I went home to Australia in mid-July and it just seems that life has been hectic with one big thing after another.
I go to Australia for three weeks for Provincial Chapter and then with my family. I return home to Bangkok, I catch up with my work and then it is off to the Philippines for Intermediate General Chapter of the Order. I return home to Bangkok, I catch up with my work and then it is the visit of Alejandro and Luciano on their way home to Rome. Then there was the Asia-Oceania Church Meeting on the Pastoral Care of those on the Street, followed by off to Phuket to visit my great friends holidaying there form Echuca. Now life seems to be returning to normal before I go off again to Rome and Madrid for a meeting and some work. This seems to be my life.
In the midst of it all, I can lose sense of what it is all really about and what are the central messages for me coming out from my various activities.
The visit of Alejandro and Luciano was a very positive one. For me, their visit was more worthwhile and productive than my going to the Order's Chapter as these two men of the Order's leadership came here, saw me and my work, came to understand what I do and saw the value of what I do. They went away not just affirming me but understanding me and what I am on about. That sort of established relationship is invaluable and can only happen through personal interchange.
The international Church meeting here in Bangkok on Pastoral Care covered the issues surrounding the trafficking in women and children, the homeless and the sex trade. It was a great opportunity. I heard and met Shay Cullen from Olongopo in the Philippines. He has worked there for 40 years on behalf of children and it was something to connect with a hero as just a fellow human being doing good. Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon was my discussion group leader. He was a very friendly man and so easy to talk with. I interviewed him for UCAN, as I also interviewed a Pakistani woman who is a leader in the area of women's issues and rights in the Church there. She was a very gracious woman who spoke of the great suffering of Christian women in Pakistan. Then there were the two Sisters from Australia and New Zealand. They were just great characters doing great work on the edge in their own way. It was an all round healthy and life giving experience of Church given by the Asian Bishops' Conferences. For my reports, you can research UCAN in its October 2010 archives - www.ucanews.com
Then there was Phuket and Norm and Denise. What can I say? They were the same as ever, living and enjoying life in their own inimitable way and as happy as ever to share it with me.
Now life in Bangkok seems to come back to normal. But is normal ever a state in a Bangkok? Is life just a series of non-connected events that make for a hectic and tiring schedule? Yesterday was All Saints in the Thai Church. It made me think of two past characters in my life - the open hearted Dorothea and the eccentric Bruce. They have given me so much and helped to make me who I am. As I go along in this hectic life, Sr Dottie and Bruce tell me that all is interconnected and has a purpose in making me who I am and making life a more whole picture.
I go to Australia for three weeks for Provincial Chapter and then with my family. I return home to Bangkok, I catch up with my work and then it is off to the Philippines for Intermediate General Chapter of the Order. I return home to Bangkok, I catch up with my work and then it is the visit of Alejandro and Luciano on their way home to Rome. Then there was the Asia-Oceania Church Meeting on the Pastoral Care of those on the Street, followed by off to Phuket to visit my great friends holidaying there form Echuca. Now life seems to be returning to normal before I go off again to Rome and Madrid for a meeting and some work. This seems to be my life.
In the midst of it all, I can lose sense of what it is all really about and what are the central messages for me coming out from my various activities.
The visit of Alejandro and Luciano was a very positive one. For me, their visit was more worthwhile and productive than my going to the Order's Chapter as these two men of the Order's leadership came here, saw me and my work, came to understand what I do and saw the value of what I do. They went away not just affirming me but understanding me and what I am on about. That sort of established relationship is invaluable and can only happen through personal interchange.
The international Church meeting here in Bangkok on Pastoral Care covered the issues surrounding the trafficking in women and children, the homeless and the sex trade. It was a great opportunity. I heard and met Shay Cullen from Olongopo in the Philippines. He has worked there for 40 years on behalf of children and it was something to connect with a hero as just a fellow human being doing good. Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon was my discussion group leader. He was a very friendly man and so easy to talk with. I interviewed him for UCAN, as I also interviewed a Pakistani woman who is a leader in the area of women's issues and rights in the Church there. She was a very gracious woman who spoke of the great suffering of Christian women in Pakistan. Then there were the two Sisters from Australia and New Zealand. They were just great characters doing great work on the edge in their own way. It was an all round healthy and life giving experience of Church given by the Asian Bishops' Conferences. For my reports, you can research UCAN in its October 2010 archives - www.ucanews.com
Then there was Phuket and Norm and Denise. What can I say? They were the same as ever, living and enjoying life in their own inimitable way and as happy as ever to share it with me.
Now life in Bangkok seems to come back to normal. But is normal ever a state in a Bangkok? Is life just a series of non-connected events that make for a hectic and tiring schedule? Yesterday was All Saints in the Thai Church. It made me think of two past characters in my life - the open hearted Dorothea and the eccentric Bruce. They have given me so much and helped to make me who I am. As I go along in this hectic life, Sr Dottie and Bruce tell me that all is interconnected and has a purpose in making me who I am and making life a more whole picture.
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